Otto Group using webPDF in its in-house Recruiting Suite

Recruiting

The Otto Group is a global retail and services group with around 52,000 employees and revenue of 14.3 billion euros. With 30 major group companies, it is active in more than 30 countries across Europe, North and South America, and Asia.

Every day, numerous applicant documents are submitted through the internally developed recruiting suite. Additional documents are generated throughout the recruiting process, such as contracts and forms. All of these documents must be converted and provided securely in a standardized format.

Otto Group uses webPDF as a conversion solution​

According to Tobias Hauser (Product Manager SAP HR at Otto), webPDF handles three central tasks:

  1. Conversion of applicant documents
  2. Conversion of additional recruiting documents, including barcodes
  3. Merge of all documents into one digital application bundle

"Our recruiters especially value the ability to select exactly the documents they need for interviews, sort them, and provide them as a single PDF file. That makes printing and digital use much easier."

Initial situation before implementation​

Before webPDF was introduced, different applicant formats required multiple tools. Documents had to be downloaded and opened one by one. With webPDF, required files are now available directly as PDFs and can be viewed in the internal app without separate downloads.

The Otto Group first discovered SoftVision and webPDF at the DSAG annual congress in 2017 and then used the API for seamless integration into its own recruiting suite.

Benefits of webPDF at Otto Group​

  1. Standardized applicant documents that can be viewed with any PDF viewer.
  2. Flexible upload options for applicants, regardless of source format.
  3. On-demand merging of multiple PDFs.
  4. Barcode generation and integration into existing workflows.
  5. Improved security via temporary storage on a local webPDF server including virus scanning.

Key requirements for the solution​

A core requirement was an API for easy integration into the existing software landscape. Additional requirements included fast conversion, understandable error messages, reliable Office/Word conversion, and local hosting without cloud dependency.

Conclusion after rollout​

Otto Group rates the use of webPDF very positively: higher efficiency, stronger security, and better support for GDPR requirements in recruiting and HR processes. webPDF is now used in multiple subsidiaries.

"Implementation was very straightforward, the API is well documented, and support was consistently fast and solution-oriented."