REWE Group's Christoph Eltze: digitisation in food retail space is about more than just technology

Last week, Christoph Eltze, Chief Digital Technology Officer at REWE Group, took to the stage at TRANSFORM in Berlin to share lessons learned from his company's digital transformation efforts.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: "Ten years ago, no one would have thought that we, as a bricks and mortar retail company with a history of almost 100 years, would one day be an industry pioneer in terms of digitalisation. Nevertheless, we have successfully mastered the leap into digitisation and transformed our company."

Eltze's five key takeaways from this journey:

Digital transformation needs focus and perseverance.

"Our world is digital and networked, shaped by challenges such as inflation and climate change. Despite these stress tests, digitisation must not become a marginal issue. After all, in the food retail space of tomorrow, only the retailer who has mastered digital and technology better than others will be successful. Conclusion: stay on the ball!"

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

"To be clear: a pilot project is not enough. We have invested very broadly in digitisation in recent years. Developing your own apps or a strong AI strategy were just as crucial as effective teamwork and listening to the needs of customers. Only when everything fits together do you really get the horsepower on the road."

Digital transformation is ineffective in the silo

"And every day the groundhog greets: If you want to get ahead, you have to overcome silos. But how does this succeed in concrete terms? One example: our "Analytics Factory". Here, departments from analytics and IT work cross-functionally on use cases. The result: products with high business value."

Projects need courage for new perspectives

"Never change a running system? I see it differently. I would rather say: redefine the playing field. Because food retailing is changing faster than ever before. Accordingly, we must see opportunities and take calculated risks. For us, this means investing in new technologies and partnerships, such as commercetools, Trigo or HatchTech Incubation Technology. We are digitising our markets with future technologies. And they are founding their own new business models, such as paymenttools, fulfillmenttools or Loql - B2B lokale Lebensmittel."

You need a stable foundation

"Our credo: The cash register must run stably. The integration of stability and innovation is crucial. The two belong together and ideally inspire each other."

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Digital transformation will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards. which will open for entries in March, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.