METRO
By using DQE to check its B2B customer data as soon as it is entered, METRO France eliminates the risk of non-compliant situations, protecting its status as a wholesaler.
As France’s leading foodservice supplier, METRO France offers restaurateurs and shopkeepers a comprehensive range of food products, from ultra-fresh to dry goods, with related equipment and services.
DQE’s real-time data entry checks ensure that our B2B data collection is verified and up to date. This gives us greater control over the risk of situations that could lead to us not complying with wholesaler status.
Roland Blanchemain
Data Quality and Governance Manager - METRO
Use case
Issues
METRO France is a key supplier for food professionals – producers, restaurateurs and artisans – when it comes to sourcing food products and professional equipment. Each customer has a METRO card, created when they open their account, allowing them to buy in METRO stores, benefit from services such as in-store delivery and pick-up, and place an order on the marketplace.
As it is a wholesaler, METRO France sells its products and services exclusively to professionals. Roland Blanchemain, Data Quality and Governance Manager at METRO France, explained: “When a customer account is opened, we check that the customer is a professional that is working in the food service industry. These controls help us maintain our compliance. In the event of an inspection, any situations of non-compliance that come up incur penalties, with the risk of our wholesaler status being called into question.”
As such, customer data is a critical asset for the brand. Elements of B2B data are varied and complex, and can include the company registration number, legal business name, manager’s name, and postal address. However, checking them while opening an account and creating a METRO card is essential for identifying any profile that is not authorized to buy from a wholesaler. In order to get around the pitfalls of manual data entry and post-collection data control, in 2019, METRO France decided to implement a data quality solution for qualifying B2B data in real time as it is entered.
Solutions
METRO France launched a call for tenders, and DQE One, the DQE solution, emerged as the most appropriate option to ensure that the company has B2B data that is up to date, accurate, and validated as soon as it is entered. Among DQE’s strengths are its variable APIs, which free METRO France from the fixed API constraints of a previous solution.
Currently, METRO France has deployed the DQE module for qualifying B2B data entries in real time on the user interface for account opening requests made by customers, both in-store and online. Its employees also use DQE One to manage the creation of METRO cards for customers. “DQE enables us to meet our two main objectives: having qualified customer data from professionals authorized to buy from METRO France, and facilitating the B2B data collection work of the staff in our stores,” said Roland Blanchemain.
Results
More rigorous controls for and compliance with wholesaler status
In the past, METRO France checked company data after it had been collected. “As long as customer data was checked after collection, we had to make a lot of corrections, and sometimes had to block unauthorized customers,” explained Roland Blanchemain.
Qualifying data using DQE has eliminated this situation. This ensures that METRO France fully complies with its status as a wholesaler. Roland Blanchemain confirmed: “DQE’s real-time data entry checks ensure that our B2B data collection is verified and up to date. This gives us greater control over the risk of situations that could lead to us not complying with wholesaler status.”
B2B data that is up to date and ready for e-billing
With qualified B2B customer data, METRO France can switch to electronic invoicing. In particular, this dematerialization will change the way invoices are checked by the authorities: controls will no longer be on an occasional basis, but automated and continuous and applied to the flow of invoices sent to the authorities.
At METRO France, B2B customer data that is used on invoices, qualified by DQE One, is reliable and compliant. “DQE helps us to dematerialize our invoices correctly. Qualifying B2B data in real time strengthens our controls and enables us to justify that we only invoice authorized customers,” said Roland Blanchemain.
Satisfaction for both teams and customers
The DQE One solution integrates seamlessly into METRO France’s data entry interface, with field autocomplete. “With DQE, field automation makes filling in the form much smoother, without the risk of error associated with manual input. We’ve cut the time it takes to create a customer record at least in half,” said Roland Blanchemain.
METRO France’s teams were quick to adopt DQE’s automated and controlled data entry. Simplified, more reliable data collection means greater operational efficiency, a source of satisfaction. Customers benefit too: the time spent at the counter to open an account in the stores has been significantly reduced.
SECTOR
Retail
CHALLENGES
- Collecting B2B data that is verified and up to date
- Dematerializing invoices using reliable data
- Making it easier for employees to input data
DQE SOLUTION
BENEFITS
More rigorous controls for and compliance with wholesaler status
B2B data that is up to date and ready for e-billing
Satisfaction for both teams and customers
