German DIY firm OBI digitises its supply chain with help of TradeBeyond platform

OBI, Germany's top DIY brand and a major player in home and garden retail across Europe, has selected TradeBeyond's multi-enterprise platform for an extensive supply chain digitalisation project, which will help its Asian sourcing arm.

The CBX Suite from TradeBeyond is being installed to help OBI optimise its supply chain end-to-end, covering everything from supplier management to its sourcing, quality, order management, and production processes for their own sourcing organisation called OBI Group Sourcing (OGS) in Asia.

TradeBeyond will replace OGS’s manual systems with efficient, interoperable cloud-based solutions based on real-time data, allowing the company to bring products to market faster and more cost effectively. The project starts this quarter and runs throughout 2024.

The decision to partner with TradeBeyond comes at a crucial time, as OBI seeks to modernise its operations and maintain its competitive edge in a rapidly evolving market, while moving beyond analogue systems that create inefficiencies and data re-entry challenges that have bedevilled it in the past.  

OBI’s adoption of TradeBeyond comes as tightening ESG regulations across Europe, including the new German Supply Chain Act (LkSG) and the European Union’s impending Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, come into being.

These necessitate higher standards and more rigorous data collection from retailers than ever before.

The legal requirements align with OBI’s commitment to social responsibility anyway, which is why the company has made the environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda an integral part of its future strategy.

The new technology will aid compliance, as well as enhancing transparency and efficiency.  

“We recognised early that manual supply chain processes were inefficient and no longer up to the task of ensuring the sustainable products that our customers expect,” said Thorsten Bauer, Managing Director and Vice President Asia from OGS.

“We were impressed by TradeBeyond’s deep understanding of the complexities of global sourcing, and by the company’s strong presence in Asia.”

“Our partnership with TradeBeyond demonstrates our commitment to a more efficient, responsible supply chain, and to our customers. We’re proud that as we continue to scale, we’ll be able to ensure we do so sustainably.”

According to Tim Chiu, Senior Vice President at TradeBeyond, says: “Retailers across the globe, and especially across Europe, are increasingly realising that outdated, legacy supply chain processes fall short in monitoring compliance and in managing the mounting complexities created by new global supply chain due diligence laws.”

“By choosing to partner with TradeBeyond, OBI has reinforced its commitment to sourcing to the highest standards of responsibility, while staying at the forefront of supply chain innovation. It’s a privilege to be working with such a respected, forward-looking retail institution.”  

OBI has more than 640 stores across Europe. Alongside its home market in Germany, it is also represented in a further nine European countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czechia and Hungary.

The company is part of the Tengelmann Group.