PENNY International
REFERENCES

Overcoming national differences by means of a transparent approach and agile methodologies

“tarent was not just a service provider but a partner who was genuinely there for us and had our back.”
Dorothee Thielmann, Head of Customer Insights & Digital Division, PENNY International

About PENNY International

PENNY has been a popular and successful retail brand in both Germany and other European countries for more than 25 years. In 2021, the group achieved total sales of EUR 5.6 billion. Customers in Italy, Austria, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Hungary value the country-specific product range that caters for every taste. This is supplemented by offers that change on weekly basis. Each and every day, approximately 1,600 modern stores showcase top-quality fresh produce that is – wherever possible – locally sourced.

 

In the Czech Republic, PENNY is the leading discount chain with 399 stores. Its network also includes more than 404 stores in Italy and 305 branches in Austria. In Romania and Hungary, meanwhile, the brand operates 301 and 227 stores respectively. PENNY International is constantly expanding its network by opening in new locations and modernizing its existing stores. Great importance is attached to ensuring that eco-friendly and sustainable principles are followed in the design of its stores.

Situation

In the summer of 2016, PENNY International decided to develop an app for its customers in Italy, Austria, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. The plan was that, one year later, the website – in terms of the design concept and user experience – as well as the underlying content management system (CMS) and IT architecture would also be updated for some of those countries. In this case study, however, we are focusing on the development of the app.

 

The objective was to ensure that the app would provide customers with an overview of products and offers available in all markets, along with information on the latest campaigns, promotions, and handouts. The main aim here was to make their shopping experience easier. The app also needed to include a feature for creating a personalized shopping list, and a store finder, enabling users to see relevant details for their local store. And, because people always appreciate a personal approach, holders of customer cards would also need to be provided with personalized coupons and content-differentiated push notifications.

 

As well as the technical requirements, we were particularly excited about the international scope of the project, in which a large number of stakeholders from Germany and five other countries would participate. The project also involved a number of review and decision-making committees, language and cultural differences, the development of special country-specific features, and mixed development teams including members from a variety of locations.

Our solution

Right from the outset, we worked on the project in a very agile way. This enabled us to correctly prioritize the most important features and map out the latest highly dynamic content elements at all times. We were motivated by the collaborative way of working set out in the Kanban framework. By taking this approach, we were able to consistently take account of all of our client’s wishes. In addition, project stakeholders were aware at all times of the status of each aspect, whether they were located in Italy, Austria, Romania, the Czech Republic, or Hungary.

 

When selecting the technology to be used for the Android and iOS apps, we opted for a native development approach based on Java and Swift. This meant we could efficiently adapt the applications to the two operating systems and make full use of available system features.

 

Since different campaigns and offers would apply in different countries, we also wanted to ensure that the content management systems (CMSs) could be controlled separately for each country. This would ensure that the app could be configured and managed in a customized way.

 

As well as the many stakeholders from Germany and the five countries, we also cooperated with RIAG Digital – the digital division of REWE International AG. Our colleagues from that division supplied us with the development interface (the API) for all of the data involved. Over time, we were able to supplement this API with information on offers, flyers, branch locations, opening hours, user accounts, and so on.

 

We are delighted that the app has enabled PENNY International to deepen its relationship with its customers further and expand its sales and marketing activities in Italy, Austria, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.

Key facts

  • Native Android and iOS app in the five countries (Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania)
  • Country-specific CMS for customized campaigns
  • International cooperation across five countries plus Germany and four tarent locations (Bonn, Cologne, Berlin, and Bucharest)
  • Methodical cooperation based on Kanban and Scrum techniques
  • Open, transparent, and honest communication across national borders

Technologies

  • AngularJS
  • Firebase (Google Mobile Platform)
  • Google Cloud
  • Java
  • Kubernetes
  • Microservices
  • Redis
  • Spring Boot
  • Swift

Methodologies

  • Agile project management
  • Multiple agile development teams for the mobile, website, and CMS aspects
  • Involvement of a wide range of stakeholders (members of five country teams, RIAG Digital, and freelancers)
  • Use of Kanban in a cross-border, international collaborative project
  • Deployment of Scrum in tarent’s internal teams
STATEMENTS

About the project

Dorothee Thielmann
Customer Insights & Digital Division
PENNY International

When tarent took charge of our project, we were pleased that we were entrusting it to a professional, responsible, and trustworthy team. Over the course of four years, we have built and continuously developed our app and website in cooperation with tarent. Thanks to tarent’s outstanding and methodical approach, based on agile principles, all of the stakeholders and in particular the country teams were constantly kept in the loop and were able to provide their feedback in a targeted and timely way. As a result, everyone benefited from rapid and straightforward communication. tarent was not just a service provider but a partner who was genuinely there for us and had our back.

Jasmine Aharon
Product and Project Manager
tarent solutions GmbH

Because of the range of stakeholders involved, all with different requirements and priorities, the project was an interesting challenge. Over time, the project taught us how to work in an even more agile way. It was a learning process that allowed us to develop our skills in fulfilling all of the requirements involved within the specified deadlines. We were working with a multicultural team spread across a number of locations, and the processes involved, in which we learned how best to work with each other, also helped us during the Covid crisis. The client’s trust in us and our frank, constructive communication with one another contributed enormously to the positive results achieved throughout the project period. We are very grateful for this, as all the experience we’ve gained has made us even stronger when handling multinational projects.

Technology and experience

tarent in figures

26

years of experience

4

office locations

300 +

IT professionals

50

digitization experts

15

partners

27

parallel development projects


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