A Frontline Standard at Global Scale: Metro's Operational Transformation
How Metro standardized frontline execution workflow across 13 countries with WorkJam
Introduction
At Metro, store teams run the operation: picking and packing wholesale orders, serving restaurateurs and independent traders on the floor, and rotating fresh categories across 600+ stores in 21 countries. But as Metro reshaped those stores into multi-channel fulfillment engines, execution lagged ambition.
Tasks lived on pen and paper, instructions traveled by verbal handoff, and the same process ran differently store to store and country to country. Metro wanted one frontline standard, executed the same way in every market with reduced manager interventions throughout the workflow.
WorkJam became the platform to make that vision real.
The Challenge: Driving Consistent Execution Across 13 Countries
Metro’s IT landscape reflected the company’s scale: a mix of in-house and external systems supporting different parts of the operation. As Metro expanded its multi-channel fulfillment (MFC) strategy, the challenge became clear: standardising operational processes across 13 countries while keeping execution simple for store teams.
On the frontline, the gaps were visible.
Daily work such as Ultra-Fresh forms, store maintenance, and recurring checklists remained heavily paper-based. Critical communications from head office were delivered through a patchwork of emails and disconnected channels. Processes were interpreted differently from store to store and market to market.
Without a unified way to execute and track work on the frontline, head office lacked visibility into task completion, accountability, and operational consistency.
Store managers were spending considerable amounts of time managing tasks and priorities, making sure things were done at the right time. All this in addition to providing reporting on task completion.
Metro evaluated whether to continue expanding its in-house tools for task management or partner with a platform purpose-built for frontline execution. The decision ultimately came down to speed, scalability, and long-term flexibility. A proven platform could be deployed faster while integrating into Metro’s broader technology ecosystem. Capabilities like communications, Knowledge Center, and workforce data integrations also created opportunities to simplify and standardise frontline execution beyond task management alone.
WorkJam became the operational layer connecting these workflows, giving Metro a scalable foundation to support its evolving operating model while working alongside existing systems and processes. Beyond that, the execution layer opened new possibilities, previously unexplored revenue opportunities and new ways to innovate.
“With WorkJam, we finally brought all of our frontline operations into one place. What used to live across paper checklists, emails, and verbal handoffs is now digital, connected, and much easier for teams to manage day to day.” Ligia Paraschivescu, Supply Chain and Store Operations, Metro
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“By centralising every task within WorkJam, we’ve finally achieved harmonisation at scale. We now have a unified operational standard that translates across every country and every market we serve.”
The Solution: A phased rollout, country by country
Metro deployed WorkJam in three connected phases, starting with task management as the foundation, scaling across markets, and then expanding into communications and knowledge as adoption matured.
“WorkJam turned the complexity of our store transformation into a reality. It gave our teams the tools to move beyond silos, embrace multi-tasking, and master the flexible schedules required for the modern frontline.” Ligia Paraschivescu, Supply Chain and Store Operations, Metro
Phase 1: Building the Foundation with Task Management
Metro replaced pen-and-paper processes with structured digital task workflows in the WorkJam app, including Ultra-Fresh forms, store maintenance routines, and daily and weekly checklists.
Tasks were organised, prioritised, and assigned based on employee profiles and shift data from Metro’s workforce management system, helping ensure the right tasks reached the right people at the right time.
The rollout began with pilots in two countries: one across all store departments and another across two departments, allowing Metro to validate the approach before expanding further.
Phase 2: Scaling Across Markets
Building on the pilots success, WorkJam was rolled out across 13 countries.
Adoption was driven through strong engagement with country-level operational leaders. And the work with Task Connect, connecting IoT sensors to tasks and automating work flows became an innovative use case at Metro.
“It’s been a great partnership in delivering our vision for workforce efficiency.” Ligia Paraschivescu, Metro AG
As WorkJam expanded, Metro was able to further standardise task execution across markets while also identifying operational gaps and inconsistencies that had previously gone unseen between stores and countries.
Phase 3: Expanding Beyond Tasks
As adoption grew, Metro expanded its partnership with WorkJam into the Communications and Knowledge Center modules. Markets increasingly looked to the platform for more than task execution, while head office consolidated operational communications into a more centralised channel to reduce noise across disconnected systems.
Phase 4: Future Integrations
The previous phases of work with Task Connect have laid the foundation for further connection of systems, supporting the company’s vision of integrating more in-house applications into the WorkJam experience so frontline teams can access and action work from multiple systems in one place.
The Impact: From paper-based processes to a digital, harmonised frontline
WorkJam helped Metro move frontline operations out of paper, verbal communication, and disconnected tools into a more consistent and structured way of working across markets.
“What’s powerful about WorkJam is the small efficiencies it creates every day. Saving even a few seconds here and there might not sound like much, but across thousands of frontline employees and stores globally, it adds up fast.” Ligia Paraschivescu, Supply Chain and Store Operations, Metro
By digitising manual processes and standardising execution across stores, Metro created a more connected frontline experience for managers and employees alike.
Today, Metro operates with greater operational consistency, visibility, and accountability across its multi-fulfillment network, creating a stronger foundation for continued global scale.
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