How dm saved up to 75% of the cost of developing EFTPOS connections

The Customer

Across Europe, dm-drogerie markt employs over 61,000 people in over 3,600 stores. Currently operating in 13 European countries, dm achieved a turnover of €5.5 billion in the first half of the 2018/19 financial year.

dmTech, a wholly owned subsidiary of dm, is responsible for all of the technical solutions employed within the dm.de online shop, for customer and employee apps used within the Group and for the IT applications used in dm retail outlets, distribution centres and at the company’s headquarters.

The Challenge

dmTech is regularly faced with the challenge of connecting new models of payment terminal to its in-house POS systems throughout dm’s entire distribution area. Depending on the model and protocol involved, integrating new models of payment terminal can be a very expensive undertaking, due to the need to develop bespoke software interfaces. Particularly in countries that have only been added to dm’s distribution territory in the past few years and where the number of dm outlets is still relatively low, the development costs per installation are very high. dmTech was therefore on the look-out for a solution that would ensure that the procedures being carried out at present undergo further optimisation.

The Solution

After screening potential third-party solutions, dmTech got in touch with treibauf and it quickly became clear that Pepper offered the ideal solution. And this wasn’t just down to the fact that this universal interface between POS and terminal minimises the overall cost of developing new EFTPOS connections, but it was also the in-depth know-how, the short lines of communication and the rapid, easily accessible and flexible support from treibauf that made dmTech so enthusiastic. Thanks to the beneficial collaboration between the two companies, the installation of the solution in the individual dm retail outlets within dm’s distribution territory was completed ahead of time.

The Outcome

According to Franziska Dettmar, an in-house consultant for POS systems at dmTech, the added value to the company that this solution represents can be attributed to the fact that «Pepper is enabling the company to reduce the cost of developing the EFTPOS connection by up to 75%. And in the countries that only recently became part of dm’s distribution area in particular, the collaboration between our company and treibauf is paying for itself.»