Christoph Matschke: Rewe International’s Roadmap to IT-Business Synergy

Christoph Matschke, Board Member of Rewe International AG, provides insight into the importance of looking at IT through a business lens, strategies for successful IT-business collaboration, and ways to tackle the IT labor shortage. He also speaks about the organization’s new and exciting IT modernization project, sPORT.  

In the recent 90minutes IT Insights session, you spoke about “How Much IT Is Too Much IT?”. Do you see many companies struggling to find a balance between not having enough automation and too much IT?

At first sight, the answer is no. Investments are increasing. Both business and IT departments seem to be aligned here. There are probably cases where too little automation is an issue. For example, we are adopting our IT to the needs and specifics of our organization, not the other way around. As for too much IT, I haven’t seen this yet. What I do see sometimes is a lack of resources. 

What do you think is needed to build an IT strategy that is fully aligned with the business goals?

First of all, you need a strong business strategy, which is developed together with all relevant parties right from the start. Of course, both business and IT must understand each other’s needs. IT must not be a mere service provider but a proactive partner of the business by being able to talk to them on the same level. On the other hand, some managers must not use IT like drunks using streetlamps – not looking for light but for something to hold on to. They must work together to find the best solutions and not just quick fixes for day-to-day problems. 

Tell us more about the recently launched sPORT project. How will it change the IT landscape at REWE Group?

sPORT stands for “strategic development of processes, organization, and technology”. It is a project that will significantly change our IT and business processes. In the past, our IT always focused on providing the best services on a small budget. This created some development and innovation backlog. The processes are not ideally supported and thus the business is limited in its operations. sPORT will be responsible for steering the modernization over the next few years and ensuring its success.  

Of course, technological modernization is key. But this transformation of our IT gives us the opportunity to also fully rethink our process landscape, which will have a significant impact on the organization. As a consequence, our project team will gather processes, and assess and reshape them into state-of-the-art end-to-end processes with which business and IT will be able to harmonize and standardize the historically diverse landscape of our IT systems. Naturally, we will also roll out variants across our countries and business lines.  

How did the IT team collaborate with the business side on this project to make sure both sides are aligned and working on the same goal? Are there any steps you could name that are crucial for effective collaboration?

It is simple – You have to prepare all relevant parties, get both IT and business ready and make sure there is collaboration. It is crucial that there is an understanding of each other’s roles so you can talk on the same level. Also, you must win the hearts of all participants for this project – not only top management. Finally, you must make sure that both sides are equally represented. For this reason, the sPORT program has two heads, a “power couple” you could say – one person for IT@sPORT and one person for Business@sPORT. 

What do you hope sPORT will achieve for REWE Group three years and five years from now?

The IT department in Austria is responsible for 12 organizations in nine countries all over Europe. Those organizations operate supermarkets with BILLA, IKI in Lithuania, discount stores with PENNY International, and also BIPA as a drugstore – so there are a lot of stakeholders. It is our aim in this project to create unique and optimal processes for the entire organization. It is not about merely changing applications, but changing the organization as well as developing and using standards for the whole group. To sum it up, in three to five years we will have achieved this: 

• IT is an acknowledged technology competence center 
• Business and IT work together on the same level, jointly improve the processes and develop the most effective tools  
• We focus on standardized systems for all our organizations – as much as possible and of course only when it makes sense 
• We will have gained speed and efficiency in our business approach and will have a system of constant process optimization. 

We do not merely hope to achieve these goals, but we know that we will get there. 

What are the biggest challenges you’ve encountered with sPORT and how do you plan to solve them?

Of course, it is a huge challenge to change central IT applications as well as the process design of an organization. You need commitment, transparency, participation, and centralized decisions at the same time. To illustrate the importance of transparency, our way of standardizing means that people can voice their special wishes, but most often they will not be fulfilled according to the original intention. At the same time, it is crucial that our first solutions address the needs of the organization. Consequently, we will have to communicate in a very transparent way by involving and informing the people. 

How has REWE Group built resilience against ongoing retail and supply chain disruptions over the last three years? What was the role of the tech team in building up these capabilities?

We operate in a very competitive environment where you have to be resilient at all times. In this way, we deal with these disruptions well. We have an amazing tech team who are there for their line tasks in developing and running the IT systems. They have also shown incredible dedication and work ethic during these times of stress and disruptions. 

Many industries have been hit with an IT labor shortage. How does REWE Group attract and retain the right IT talent?

We have taken all measures here that you can think of. For example, we have installed a task force which is completely focused on getting the best people for our IT department. Of course, with supply being low and demand being high in the job market, you have to offer more attractive salaries among other benefits like flexible working hours. We have also clarified the roles and development paths within IT to offer perspective. Lastly, we emphasize the following whenever possible – our colleagues have the chance to be part of creating the new IT system for REWE Handel International which will be the basis for thousands of people in the coming decades. This is one of the biggest projects in Austria and an amazing challenge for motivated people who want to show their excellence and be part of an exciting new development. 

*The answers have been edited for length and clarity.