There is no "best" search: dm and the path to the right solution
dm-drogerie markt GmbH + Co. KG
About the Client
- Founded 1973 by Prof. Götz W. Werner
- Over 3,800 stores in 13 European countries
- 66,000 employees, 43,000 in Germany
- Largest drugstore chain in Germany
- ~18,000 products in online shop
- 18 million monthly visitors
Technologies Used
The Initial Situation
The growth potential in online retail was already evident in the 2019/20 fiscal year, with a doubling of revenue compared to the previous year. Given the positive development, the product search on dm.de was to be optimized. dm previously used an integrated search solution as part of a monolithic software architecture. This setup covers the most common use cases but can only be customized to a certain extent.
The Challenge
dm and Tudock share the conviction of customer-centric action. The goal was to find the best possible search for dm together, delivering added value for customers. This required an objective evaluation basis that would enable the company to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives.
The Solution
First, the interdisciplinary team designed the project basis using the requirements formulated by dm and the jointly defined use cases. In the first step, Tudock made a preliminary selection of search solutions based on the evaluation matrix. Tudock coordinated the setup of Proof of Concepts (PoCs) and accompanied the exchange between dm and the shortlisted providers.
The Result
At the end of the decision process, the choice fell on a headless search solution. In this architecture, dm no longer needs to handle hosting, installation, maintenance, and backup (SaaS). Instead, the team can focus on technical topics, optimize the search, and customize it for their own use cases. This makes dm more agile, faster, and reduces dependencies.