Docdata N.V. Case

DOCDATA N.V. has been listed on Euronext Amsterdam since 1997. The company consists of 2 separate entities: The Internet Service Company Docdata (Docdata) that “offers a complete e-commerce service portfolio to clients, enabling them to be successful on the Internet” and The Technology Company IAI industrial systems (IAI) being the “high-tech engineering company specialized in developing and building systems for very accurate and high-speed processing of all kinds of products and materials”. According to the management, the “passion, commitment and striving towards the finest quality are the important ingredients that enable the company to improve and excel”.

The Internet service division is the main driver of profits for the company, accounting for 89% of the Docdata N.V.’s sales and employing 1,266 people. The divestment of the media replication division in 2011 marked the end of transformation to concentrate fully on the e-commerce fulfilment segment. Since then it has become one of the Top 3 Internet service companies in Europe, delivering end-to-end solutions in the following lines of business: B2C fulfilment, returns logistics, e-commerce, online payments (see Appendix 1). Docdata has a tailored offer targeting 5 different business models: General resellers, Omnisellers, Brands, Deal Resellers and Specialized Resellers. Each of them has different characteristics, requirements and challenges, for which the best solution must be provided. Docdata promises excellent quality, reliability and confidence even during the peak times, as the online channels play a crucial role in their customers’ success. Its operations are spread strategically across Europe – they are present in the Netherlands, the UK, France, Belgium, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Italy and Spain. The first three markets are most important – account for XX% of sales (see Figure 2).

For years, it cooperated closely with Zalando, Europe’s biggest online retail store. However, this relationship has been gradually diminishing due to Zalando’s insourcing strategy (80% of their fulfilment was conducted in-house as from H2 2013) and accusations of harsh working conditions in the Großbeeren warehouse operated by Docdata. Moreover, three of their large