Celebrating 20 years of revolutionised procurement
What do Harry Potter, DJ Ötzi and Mercateo all have in common? Their success stories all began in 2000! For 20 years, Mercateo has been revolutionising procurement in B2B. It’s time to take a look back at the days when the Mercateo shop still had its zebra look, bootcut jeans were in fashion, and our office furnishings were, well, pragmatic!
How it all began …
In 1999, five McKinsey staffers decided to shake up the confusing procurement market for business customers in Germany. Their aim was to launch a digital marketplace in order to revolutionise the market by making purchasing more efficient for companies. The platform that would achieve this – www.mercateo.com – finally went live in 2000. Twenty years later, Mercateo now employs almost 600 people across Europe and operates in 14 countries.
One of its founders, Sebastian Wieser, has been a mainstay of Mercateo ever since the birth of this brilliant idea. Together with his colleagues, Sebastian has preserved the unique Mercateo spirit – the constant drive for process optimisation and digital networking in the world of business – for 20 years. Additional factors which are almost as important at Mercateo include the ‘we’ feeling, mutual respect, humour, curiosity and open ears.
How we exported our success story -
From Munich, Leipzig and Köthen to across Europe
ERP was invented in Germany, so this is clearly the right place to grow B2B platforms! Since 2000, we’ve revolutionised B2B procurement and digitalised purchasing from Munich, Leipzig and Köthen. And since 2017, we’ve been creating genuine added value for suppliers, buyers and partners through the B2B network Unite. We’re convinced that collaboration boosts economic output, which is why we’ve made the diversity in B2B procurement easy to manage.
Since 4 January 2019, Mercateo has been represented in Switzerland by its national subsidiary Mercateo Schweiz GmbH. Some of our Swiss customers already had direct access to the B2B procurement platform back in 2016. Our dedicated team is now conquering the Swiss market from the beautiful town of Herrliberg in the canton of Zurich. We now have more than four million items on offer at www.mercateo.ch, and this figure is rising all the time.
On 23 December 2011, Mercateo’s Polish procurement platform went live. What a great Christmas gift! The country manager was thrilled to take this reputable company to Krakow, a time-honoured centre of trade. Mercateo Poland soon gained loyal clients and started to expand. Our small but highly driven team is distinguished by an atmosphere of mutual respect and support. We all enjoy working in an international environment and look forward to continuing to expand.
What words best describe the team behind Mercateo España? Initiative, diversity, and loads of positive energy! Mercateo entered the Spanish market in 2017. Since then, the Spanish subsidiary has grown year after year, and the feedback from the market has been more than positive. We’ve been invited to many events as innovation leaders in the sector and have grown a community of Mercateo users and followers whom we regularly interact with in several real-world and digital initiatives.
Mercateo France was one of the first countries to open a subsidiary alongside the Netherlands and Austria. When Mercateo France was opened in Paris back in 2012, there was just one single country manager, whose main job was to generate awareness of Mercateo while managing day-to-day business. A few years later, we’re really proud to say that our senior staff are still here, and that we’ve expanded into a brilliant team full of ideas and drive.
Mercateo Nederland BV covers the Benelux market from its premises in Maastricht. Its history goes back to 2012, when the Netherlands office was founded. Today, our goals are to keep expanding our partnerships, increase sustainability, and pursue international cooperation. We look back on eight years of successful business as a result of outstanding collaboration between Supplier Management, Customer Management, Marketing and Customer Services – and, last but not least, by enabling a loyal customer–supplier relationship. We look forward to meeting you!
Mercateo Nederland BV covers the Benelux market from its premises in Maastricht. Its history goes back to 2012, when the Netherlands office was founded. Today, our goals are to keep expanding our partnerships, increase sustainability, and pursue international cooperation. We look back on eight years of successful business as a result of outstanding collaboration between Supplier Management, Customer Management, Marketing and Customer Services – and, last but not least, by enabling a loyal customer–supplier relationship. We look forward to meeting you!
The history of Mercateo in Italy begins in 2011 when the www.mercateo.it platform was launched for the Italian market. In the following years, a constant partnership work set the stage for a solid customer and supplier base, which led to the opening of a local branch in Bologna in 2018. In Italy we actively work to develop brand awareness by participating in important procurement events, meeting companies and promoting the enormous innovation introduced by Mercateo in the B2B purchasing sector. To support our country manager there is a team of motivated young experts who continue the Mercateo dream in Italy with a lot of passion and new ideas!
Mercateo Austria is now an 11-year success story. It all began with our online presence in 2009. Rapidly increasing demand led to the establishment of the national subsidiary in 2012, back then as a one-man-show. Since then, turnover has grown continuously, as has the number of employees: there are now seven of us. Our world may be changing all the time, but our drive, dedication and determination to revolutionise the world of indirect procurement remain the same.
As the youngest team of the Mercateo family, established in 2018, we keep EU values alive even after Brexit. Our foundations were laid by Caroline Klehr who worked from Germany to plant the seeds of our success. Our strategic focus has been on industrial manufacturing and the development of a thought leadership positioning. We introduced Hawaiian 'dial out days' and have won University awards for the development of our student support programme. Attracting and retaining talent is key for us.
As the youngest team of the Mercateo family, established in 2018, we keep EU values alive even after Brexit. Our foundations were laid by Caroline Klehr who worked from Germany to plant the seeds of our success. Our strategic focus has been on industrial manufacturing and the development of a thought leadership positioning. We introduced Hawaiian 'dial out days' and have won University awards for the development of our student support programme. Attracting and retaining talent is key for us.
Three countries and one country manager. The year 2011 was exciting for Andrej - within the first few months Mercateo went online in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and Hungary followed the year later. This was a mammoth task as he was solely responsible for the development and success of all three countries. After the three platforms went live and the national subsidiaries were founded, things got going quickly and the team grew. Since 2014 the team has been working out of the Slovakian town Šamorín near the Hungarian border. Since Šamorín used to belong to Hungary, many Hungarians still live in this border area. This makes it much easier for us to serve the three countries from one location.
Three countries and one country manager. The year 2011 was exciting for Andrej - within the first few months Mercateo went online in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and Hungary followed the year later. This was a mammoth task as he was solely responsible for the development and success of all three countries. After the three platforms went live and the national subsidiaries were founded, things got going quickly and the team grew. Since 2014 the team has been working out of the Slovakian town Šamorín near the Hungarian border. Since Šamorín used to belong to Hungary, many Hungarians still live in this border area. This makes it much easier for us to serve the three countries from one location.
Three countries and one country manager. The year 2011 was exciting for Andrej - within the first few months Mercateo went online in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and Hungary followed the year later. This was a mammoth task as he was solely responsible for the development and success of all three countries. After the three platforms went live and the national subsidiaries were founded, things got going quickly and the team grew. Since 2014 the team has been working out of the Slovakian town Šamorín near the Hungarian border. Since Šamorín used to belong to Hungary, many Hungarians still live in this border area. This makes it much easier for us to serve the three countries from one location.
Mercateo meets our needs with a very diversified catalogue, and also by reducing the number of suppliers in the single creditor model. Bombardier plans to make more use of Mercateo and implement it in other services.
Our collaboration with Mercateo is always very positive. They always analyse each problem thoroughly and then pinpoint the solution. That’s exactly what I expect from experts like Mercateo.
We have a close, long-standing professional relationship with Mercateo. Thanks to our highly transparent business cooperation, both parties are encouraged to increase their customer portfolio and make shared work processes more efficient.
Mathijs van der Meer, Inside Account Manager, E-Procurement, Conrad Electronic Benelux BV
Mercateo is a digital shop window offering a wide range of ‘C’ items and saving time and resources in a procurement world that’s increasingly moving towards digitisation.
Hager Group, Emilio Pizzioli, Country Sourcing Manager Italy
Our company has benefited from Mercateo for many years now. The platform is easy to use and straightforward, and has a huge range. It’s easy to find everything we need.
Agility Magyarország Kft, Krisztián Bielik, IT Manager CEES
Since implementation, we’ve saved time and money with every order.
Melecs EWS GmbH: Andreas Pinzker, Vice-President of Strategic Procurement
The Mercateo interface is so intuitive that basically any employee can use it to place orders.
BSH Hausgeräte GmbH Österreich: Jérôme Jarry, Head of Accounting/Credit Management/Purchase
We’ve worked with Mercateo from the outset to implement this aspect of our business and have grown together as a result – in terms of our tasks and internationally.
André Lückert, Head of Relationship & Master Data Management at innogy
I don’t think we had a particular edge, just the right partner. Mercateo has plenty of experience and the system runs smoothly, especially compared to other processes.
Mareike Wüste, Senior Procurement Project Leader of the Scout24 Group
Mercateo is a professional trading partner. We’ve had a good, trusting business relationship with them throughout our product portfolio for many years.
Hans-Peter Ripper, Head of Marketing SDA, Microsoft Deutschland GmbH
Being a global corporation, we set great store by honesty, professionalism, reliability, and the continuity of our partners. In Mercateo, we’ve found a platform that combines all these qualities.
JJörg Brünig, Senior Director Channel Germany, Fujitsu Technology Solutions GmbH
The people behind Mercateo
Heike Kleine: From supplier manager to key account manager
In 2004, Heike Kleine was the first supplier manager at Mercateo in Köthen. “When RWE invited us to work with them at the E-Procure & Supply trade show in 2006, we teamed up on a project in which we tried to figure out what large customers wanted to buy, and how both sides could benefit,” Heike recalls. At that time, there was no sales department like the one we have now. We started in 2007 with our first key account, namely RWE, where procurement was managed by Karl Czech. Karl was keen on collaborating with Mercateo and was soon on first-name terms with Heike, which was unprecedented for him. The enduring partnership between RWE and us attracted the attention of other major customers. “We owe the imaginative, interactive work and the development of our first few products, such as punch-out, view management and exclusive catalogues, to the creative execution of ideas, comparing what customers wanted to what was feasible, and learning from our mistakes,” says Heike. By doing so, she laid the foundations for today’s sales department. Heike now heads our Global Key Account Management. Heike Kleine and Mercateo board member Bernd Schönwälder in conversation with the former head of purchasing at RWE, Karl Czech.
Benjamin Storm: From strategic buyer to international partner manager
Even before Benjamin Storm started working for Mercateo in 2015, he trusted Mercateo. As a strategic buyer at Lehmann&Voss, he’d already implemented Mercateo as a purchasing solution. “We were using the full spectrum: exclusive catalogues with a single creditor and self-billing,” says Benjamin. “Within a very short time we purchasing a lot.” Benjamin was assisted by Marco West from the SME sales team: “This was a guy who really understood Mercateo. He was able to explain brilliantly what Mercateo was all about – he was someone we could put in front of the camera!” During a three-part webinar series in January 2015, Benjamin proved popular not only with viewers but also the board. “We need guys like you! We’d like you to work for us,” declared Mercateo board member Sebastian Wieser. Benjamin resigned and joined Mercateo as its first partner manager. A short time later he negotiated a partnership with SAP Ariba. Since July 2017, SAP Ariba has been using the new B2B network Mercateo Unite as its infrastructure for the Ariba Spot Buy solution in Europe.
Oliver Endert: From undergraduate to top expert
Oliver Endert applied to Mercateo in 2004 when he was looking for a company where he could complete his undergraduate dissertation. After an interview with Peter Ledermann, where they talked about football as well as accounting topics, Oliver got the job. Although his mother would have preferred him to finish his dissertation, 2004 was the time when the accountants in Munich left the company, Mercateo Services was established, and the accounting giant PwC was too big for the newly relaunced Mercateo in Köthen. Peter said to Oliver: “Forget your dissertation, we’ve got the annual accounts to do!” “I’ve never done that before,” Olli replied. “Me neither!” retorted Peter. As luck would have it, Oliver’s grandmother was an experienced accountant, and she stepped in to help her grandson. “With her expertise and various textbooks, we managed to get through three sets of annual accounts by ourselves,” he says. Oliver is now our top expert on European tax law. In the end, he completed his undergraduate dissertation a year later on a topic relevant to Mercateo. What’s more, he received top marks for it – to the delight of his mother and his grandma!
In a radio interview Oliver Endert reports how he found happiness at Mercateo in Köthen, both professionally and privately.
Stephanie Polley: From office manager to relocation manager
Stephanie Polley (first from the left) with some of the other long-serving Mercateos. More than 90 of our 600 employees have been at Mercateo for at least the last ten years.
„I still remember my father sceptically asking me in 2004 whether I was sure about applying to work for an internet firm that had only been around for half a year as if it was yesterday.” During the interview, Peter explained her new job to her: “We need someone to run the office, put some structure into it, and welcome visitors,” he said. She began her duties in October 2004. “I set up the office management system, dealt with job applicants, drew down funding, looked after trainees and HR, and handled payroll accounting.”
At the end of 2004, Peter had another task for her: “The office will soon be bursting at the seams. We need new premises in Köthen.” On the very next street, Stephanie found the building at Museumsgasse 4–5 – and “the management loved it!” There was a bowling alley on the ground floor, and the two upper storeys were to be converted into Mercateo’s new offices. Stefanie supervised the refit. “I thought it was brilliant that Peter trusted me so much and had given me this job. Mind you, I often couldn’t sleep at night with everything racing around in my head,” says Stefanie. “That time was exhausting, although I must say it was also very exciting. I met a lot of people and found out about the building industry, and wow! – I was in my mid-twenties and already in charge of my first construction project! And every October, I ask my father whether he’s still so sceptical!”
Stefanie Wildgrube: At Mercateo, you come to work as a person
“The position of supplier manager was my first job after graduating in 2007. Four years later, I decided to take on a new professional challenge in order to get a taste of working for other companies and develop my career. Although I learned new things everywhere, I never experienced a comparable corporate culture again. At Mercateo, you don’t just come to work as an employee, but as a person – something which can often involve a few challenges! In principle, however, it’s precisely these employees who give Mercateo a face and make me feel that I’m not just doing my job, but that I’m actually part of something. This ‘something’ could just as easily mean an exuberant summer party, a successful project or team event. This ‘human touch’ was probably the main reason for me to return to Mercateo.”
Through thick and thin: Stefanie Wildgrube (right) with her colleague Claudia Hildebrandt at the Cross De Luxe event in 2017
