In the interest of our customers, we – as a wholesaler – are responsible for compliance with recognised product safety and quality standards. In this regard, the main focus is on our own brands, which comprise food, non-food and near-food items, because this is where we have the greatest influence. This is also reflected in our sCore strategy, which aims to increase the proportion of our own brands to more than 35% by 2030.
Product quality and safety
The foundation for ensuring perfect product safety and quality is our METRO Quality Policy along with our global METRO Quality Approach, which was introduced in all METRO companies.1 A management system has been established to monitor the above-mentioned processes and to ensure the effectiveness of implementation of the global METRO quality standards. All METRO units must be audited on the basis of a risk assessment with an acceptable result of at least 75% or, alternatively, undergo an intensive development plan monitored by the Quality Assurance department.
Top management is involved in the processes. For example, the Management Board is informed once per year by means of a quality assurance report, which contains all KPIs and measurements relevant for product quality and safety.
We take various measures to ensure a uniform level of product quality and safety. To ensure that our own-brand products meet the needs and requirements of our customers, we continuously enhance, for instance, our range of own-brand products together with professional chefs. Furthermore, we collaborate with selected suppliers to offer safe, compliant and high-quality own-brand products. All METRO own-brand suppliers must be certified in accordance with one of the internationally recognised standards, for example GFSI or ISO, or pass the METRO Food Safety and Quality Audit based on our METRO Assessment Solution (MAS) checklist. In addition, all relevant quality and legal requirements are set out in detailed product specifications.
The quality assurance process for our own-brand products, including the development and approval of specifications, is handled by means of a tailored METRO IT tool (MQuality). The IT tool helps us optimise our processes and appropriately monitor the implementation of the quality system. To this end, the employees of the Quality Assurance department also receive regular training via special communication channels on current issues related to product quality and safety.
For the avoidance of product safety and quality risks, we work with renowned laboratories and certification authorities to review and evaluate our own-brand products as well as to ensure improvements on an ongoing basis.
The own brand sales share is one of the core key figures that METRO uses to measure and verify the implementation status of the sCore strategy. It shows the share of own brand sales in total sales (based on the merchandise management system) excluding the segment Others.
1 They include the METRO/MAKRO companies and the FSD companies, except the Günther group.
