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Customer & challenge
METRO faced the challenge of making non-SAP data centrally and efficiently available for analytics and new data-driven applications. The goal was a data lake on Google Cloud as a central single source of truth. With Xtract Universal including a CDC component, near-real-time, incremental integration was achieved with minimal impact on source systems—creating a reliable foundation for high data quality, AI applications, and informed decision-making.
Headquartered in Düsseldorf, METRO is one of the world’s largest B2B wholesale companies, serving around 15 million customers in 34 countries from the hotel, restaurant, and catering (HoReCa) sector as well as independent retailers. Customers can purchase goods either in one of the large wholesale stores nearby or via delivery – all digitally supported and interconnected. At the same time, METRO MARKETS has been established as an international online marketplace for the needs of professional customers and has been growing and expanding continuously since 2019.
METRO faced the challenge of a highly heterogeneous system landscape: operational and financial data were stored in different systems – SAP FI and BW data were separated from store and head office information. This separation made end-to-end analysis and use of corporate data difficult, especially in light of modern requirements such as big data and advanced data analytics.
To address this, METRO introduced Google Cloud as a central platform. At the core of the solution is a modern data lake that centrally consolidates data from SAP and non-SAP systems. Using BigQuery and additional analytics tools, this data can be evaluated efficiently. The goal is not only to enhance traditional BI applications, but also to consistently reconcile operational data – for example from stores – with financial data. This improves data quality and creates a reliable basis for business decisions. At the same time, the cloud-native architecture lays the foundation for innovation: it enables METRO to use machine learning, automated reporting, and intelligent recommendations.
After setting up the data lake, the next challenge arose: how can SAP data be efficiently and consistently integrated into this central data lake?
“To find the right extraction tool for integrating SAP data sources, we identified three promising vendors as part of a market analysis and then evaluated their solutions in detail,” explains Brigitte Pasch, Accounting Solutions at METRO Digital GmbH. “Our focus was on extraction performance, ease of use, and ultimately the cost structure.”
“As an extraction tool, Xtract Universal is indispensable for ensuring that SAP data reaches the data lake and can be linked there with non-SAP data. It operates reliably and stably in the background and ensures that we can access a robust, high-quality data foundation at any time. This technical foundation is essential for making data-based decisions quickly, securely, and confidently. Without this reliability, our data-driven strategy would hardly be feasible."
Solution with Xtract Universal
METRO decided on Xtract Universal with the CDC (Change Data Capture) component. This enables high-performance and reliable real-time transfer of SAP data changes – without full replication, but through incremental loading. Only new or changed records are transferred, reducing system load and ensuring efficient data integration into downstream systems.
Performance was the decisive criterion in the selection process, as Brigitte Pasch reports:
“Since we are gradually connecting all countries in which METRO operates, we expect a correspondingly high daily data volume. It was therefore crucial for us to ensure that ongoing daily operations would not be affected by data extractions that in some cases run almost in real time. Xtract Universal clearly impressed us with its performance.”
As part of extensive Operational Acceptance Tests (OAT), METRO evaluated whether the extractions were technically robust and performant and how heavily the source systems were impacted during data transfer. After four weeks, the interface had successfully passed all tests. METRO initially started loading the data lake with two countries – Germany and France – and was able to load more than 10 TB of data into the data lake within just three days. Currently, around 40 GB are extracted daily, in some cases at 15-minute intervals, as data users expect and require near real-time availability.
For the initial knowledge transfer at METRO regarding use of the interface, Theobald Software provided customized remote training sessions lasting one to two hours.
Outlook
UiPath plans to extend its use of Xtract Core with incremental extraction and scheduling capabilities to further enhance automation.
“We see Theobald Software not just as a technology provider, but as a strategic partner on our journey toward the next generation of process automation. We would recommend Theobald Software anytime – not only for the technology but also for the collaborative partnership,” says Miller.
Conclusion: A Strong Partner for Strong Results
With Xtract Core, SAP integration has gone from a constraint to a competitive advantage for UiPath. The partnership with Theobald Software has simplified, accelerated, and strengthened UiPath’s SAP connectivity — building the foundation for advanced, data-driven process optimization.