METRO Pakistan is part of METRO Group's sales division METRO Cash & Carry, the international leader in self-service wholesale: customer-focused, international and innovative. The concept is oriented towards helping customers to successfully run their own businesses.
The company operates more than 700 stores in 29 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa and has a workforce of over 100,000 employees with approximately 31 billion Euro sales in 2011.
METRO has stimulated a pattern of sustainable economic growth in Pakistan for the past 5 years by playing a crucial role in providing international market access and managerial know how to the local work force. It has familiarised the local market with sales and procurement networks, thus helping in expanding business opportunities and amplifying competitive pressures on the local firms resulting in the improvement of technical efficiency in the local market.
METRO opened its first cash & carry wholesale center in Pakistan in 2007 & expanded to 5 wholesale centers in a short span of 18 months.
After announcing the plans to merge in June 2011, METRO Cash & Carry Pakistan (Private) Limited ("MCCP") and Makro-Habib Pakistan Limited ("MHPL"), the shareholders of the two wholesale companies have successfully combined their businesses in Pakistan. The merger is now complete with the approval of the Pakistani anti-trust & corporate authority, regulatory and other approvals and the sanction of the Court. The merged entity to signify the spirit of partnership will now be known as METRO - Habib Cash & Carry (Pvt) Limited and together will operate its 9 wholesale centers in 4 major cities.
METRO has so far invested over 100 million euros in its stores as well as in the supply chain infrastructure hence adding a fair share in strengthening the local trade and industry. We serve around more than 0.5 million professional customers in Pakistan as a whole.
Efficiency through advanced Supply Chain Management:
As METRO establishes its wholesale business, it also builds up supply chains in emerging markets. Efficient supply chain management generates economic growth, as on one end, local farmers and producers get direct access to the market while on the other end, traditional traders, which still represent the majorities in many markets, get stable supply of high quality goods.
A modern distribution infrastructure links local producers directly to the local market and leads to greater efficiency especially in the food supply chain. This in turn contributes to improving the quality of produce and reducing food wastage. Farmers achieve a better income, while consumers benefit from better product availability and quality, lower prices as well as greater transparency in the supply chain. Domestic consumption in fuelled and inflation on food price is safeguarded, allowing the country to enjoy stability in food supplies in the long run.
METRO aims at adding value to the product, starting at the source, ie the farm base, and further along every stage of the supply chain. The result is that output and quality of fresh produce improves significantly, food wastage is minimised and ultimately, all members of the supply chain enjoy a better income and food prices come down.
Scarcity of temperature controlled transportation and warehousing facilities also create an impact on availability and quality issues of product. METRO realised the issue at a very early stages and designed specific training programs for its suppliers to manage a cold chain system and maintain the quality and freshness of product as per international standards. We conduct regular trainings to familiarise our suppliers with the new techniques in the market which eventually also help them in their business development and help us in maintaining and keeping the bar high.
We have a fast and efficient supply chain system. Keeping in view the supply chain infrastructure, it takes on average 7 days that stock is delivered. But METRO took some initiatives to ensure fast, quality and complete stock availability at stores eg Fruits and Vegetables Collection Centre which is serving store needs within 25-30 hrs with fresh and quality stock, Pulses Processing Platform to ensure consistent and quality suppliers, Cross Docking Operations in North and South Region to support suppliers and stores with fast and complete deliveries eliminating intermediaries and associated concerns.
After investing a number of years in this business in Pakistan, we feel that establishing direct supply sources is a big challenge. But, we want to directly interact with producers and our teams are more and more working together with local farmers & suppliers. Farmer & supplier trainings, upgrading their skill set and better product handling techniques are the areas of our core focus. We strongly believe that developing a sustainable supplier chain is what will bring stability to business & economy and we are driven to achieve that goal.
Helping our customers thrive in the modern market METRO is providing not just products to its professional customers (restaurants, cafes, small traders or offices), but also solutions to make the businesses of theses SMEs more successful. With customised support and know-how transfer, we help them thrive in an increasingly competitive market environment.
With modern retail on the rise, small traders in emerging markets are facing increasing pressure as consumer demand for better quality and wider variety of goods as a result of growing affluence. The traders Support & Partnership program guide these stores in revamping their business to better meet their customer needs and improve their competitiveness while fully respecting the independence of the shop owners involved.
For customers in HoReCa sector, METRO constantly invests in trainings, events and individual consultation to help them improve the overall standard of HoReCa.
Win-win relationship with domestic farmers & producers METRO reaches out to local farmers and producers by providing them with customised training programs to address gaps in knowledge and technical skills thus helping to grow the business of this small and medium enterprise in both local and international markets.
METRO bridges the gap between local producers and the market by establishing a modern supply chain including collection and distribution centres for agricultural products. Production can be better aligned with market demands and increased distribution efficiency for local products achieved.
Ensuring sufficient and quality food for the growing global population will be key to maintain social stability and economic growth, the New Vision of Agriculture, led by the World Economic Forum (WEF), unites governments, organisations and companies around the globe to achieve food security by striving for a common goal; to increase agricultural production by 20%, wile decreasing emissions by 20% and reducing rural poverty by 20% every decade.
Investing in Human Capital With 9 outlets in Pakistan METRO is entertaining a big market of human resource with a head count of 2300 employees locally hired. We pay special attention towards their training and development conducted on regular basis. We would proudly like to add that employees from METRO Pakistan are also working on good positions in METRO Group ie Germany, Singapore & Kazakhstan, while they are also invited to conduct international trainings and project handling in different countries with METRO presence where their skills are acknowledged and appreciated. So METRO is significantly raising productivity & transfer of foreign skills and technology and therefore contributing to the long-term economic as well as human resource upgrading & development of host country.
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