Outletcity Metzingen and Tradebyte – First of it’s kind to launch a marketplace

One major challenge when introducing a marketplace offering is how to integrate the new business model into an existing wholesale business. It all begins with the selection of the appropriate legal model – who owns the products? Dependencies must also be taken into account, from existing IT infrastructure to customer relationships and any other processes the business operates. In particular, third-party product data must meet the structural requirements of the marketplace, ensuring they contribute positively to customer experience.

At Tradebyte, we offer a comprehensive range of enabling packages to help retail partners such as Outletcity Metzingen build their marketplace. Our services and support go far beyond the purely technical, covering everything needed for a successful launch.

Working together, we defined a scalable setup, enabling the marketplace operator to partner with an existing customer pool of over 700 brands from day one, along with a standardised connection process for new luxury and premium brands.

What’s so special about our collaborative approach is that it does not end at the launch. This is when it truly begins, as we design for rapid, scalable growth.  In addition to our technical and software-based solutions, we also offer a wide selection of managed services to support premium and luxury brands with their integration into platforms. Technical solutions are provided through our core TB.One product, along with our dedicated vendor portal. Depending on the needs of the marketplace, or those of its partners, we can support a variety of different integration models, from self-service to an almost fully Managed Account Service.

Ultimately, the optimal setup for Outletcity Metzingen was a result of a combination of highly professional preparation and a thorough analysis of the different options for marketplace business models. We started with a workshop to closely examine Outletcity Metzingen’s data classifications, technical setup and business processes. We also took a deep look at the existing structure of the business and adjusted where necessary, balancing best practices alongside the established success of the company and the specific needs of the channel.  Throughout the technical initiation and the pilot integration phase, the Tradebyte project team remained in close contact with the Outletcity managers and brands, resulting in significant learnings on all sides.

Outletcity Metzingen was able to take its first pilot partners live within a very short period of time. As a result, they were perfectly positioned for the official launch and ready to connect with further partners, particularly those in the premium and luxury categories. Outletcity can now successfully scale its marketplace business quickly and easily. Furthermore, any future roadmap can be defined based on the specific goals of the channel. In the case of OCM, the roadmap largely focuses on a collaborative approach, working with Tradebyte to identify suitable partners to add to their network. OCM also relies on Tradebyte to support marketing decisions, provide expert advice on topics including industry trends and ongoing support to execute their strategy.