METRO.digital Vietnam culture and ways of working

Who are we?

METRO.digital stands as METRO’s tech product-led powerhouse; with longstanding global wholesale experience, METRO.digital develops worldwide customized tech solutions and products for all METRO countries. Located in Germany, Romania, and Vietnam, the METRO.digital teams comprised of over 900 dedicated colleagues representing 49 nationalities, are working continuously on one goal: digitalizing the wholesale industry.  

METRO.digital is a name deeply rooted in the legacy of METRO, a global leader in wholesale and food trade that operates globally in 21 countries and has more than 90.000 employees.

We leverage METRO’s long history and expertise in B2B to build a more sustainable market ecosystem by placing the client’s needs in the organization’s center.

What is our culture?

In a highly interdisciplinary and international company like METRO.digital, knowledge exchange and learning from each other is of utmost importance for us to collaborate in an effective and efficient way. Therefore, we have established and frequently run multiple formats (Townhall, brown bags, All-hands, communities, and more), to not only share information, but also foster discussions by giving any employee the opportunity to participate actively.

 “Next to technology and know-how, passion is the most important piece of the puzzle in an IT company. It drives the relentless pursuit of excellence and plays a key role in keeping the focus on solving complex challenges. Looking to the left and to the right or even taking the simple, pragmatic path contributes – together with all the other values – on a common objective: Being able to offer the customer high-quality added value. “- Tobias Wolfram (M.companion)

“I am very glad that I did this internship! It is still open what profession I want to take after school. Before the internship I was interested in psychology, and I learned now that there are so many jobs where it can be helpful to have knowledge in psychology. In METRO.digital for instance you need to understand the customer and you have to think like them. It also might be helpful during interactions within your team, to see things and problems from the perspective of colleagues.”- Annabell Moeser

Teamwork is our unwritten value; it represents who we are and how we solve our challenges. Regardless of the location, professional background, and skills, we all work together to achieve the same goals, and we do it with ownership, pragmatism, respect, and, most of all, passion. Team is the STAR in METRO.digital and we all live by it.

How do we work?

METRO.digital must cover a lot of contexts; therefore, we need a structure that enables us to find the best mix between stable teams and a flexible organization. Thus, we use the idea of a matrix organization. It allows us to distinguish between people management-related tasks and the work done in a product team. Leadership is shared in these contexts, making it easier for us to act as an organization.

We act as a united team with a sole purpose: to solve customers’ problems and satisfy them with our solutions. We will continue to run organizational experiments to find the best solution for our business because change is the only constant.

We sometimes see that the fear of failure keeps teams in a routine and blocks their true potential. In a safe environment, the team is encouraged to experiment and see failure as an opportunity to improve, make evidence-based decisions, and find pragmatic solutions.

Product coaching helps everyone apply product thinking to their work, getting more effective in realizing business value sooner via better collaboration, faster learning, and more creativity.

The benefits of product thinking help us to have a meaningful impact and become more effective at work. 

Product thinking also enables more psychologically empowered teams thanks to the leadership styles heavily promoted by product thinking, compared to “command and control”-style leaders that tell people what to do. Self-organized teams applying product thinking are more satisfied than teams following a defined plan, as they are empowered to make decisions that maximize value to both the users and the business. 

And what drives satisfaction? Individual and team motivation. Which, according to Daniel H. Pink´s theory, is led by autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Three elements are directly connected to product thinking and in our METRO.digital values (ownership, pragmatism, respect, and passion). Everything is connected!

Join us at the Web Summit 2023 and find more about us directly from our colleagues!