REWE Group develops a competence center for agriculture in Germany
Away from the narrow boundaries of industry solutions, it bundles the expertise of retail and agriculture for fresh impetus, innovative approaches and new ways of working together. With the aim of developing projects together with partners from German agriculture that are groundbreaking for the transformation of sustainable agriculture.
In an interview, Hans-Jürgen Moog, REWE Group Board Member for Goods / Purchasing, and Emilie Bourgoin, Group Director Public Affairs, talk more about this unique and groundbreaking concept in German food retailing.
What is behind the competence center and how does it work?
Hans-Jürgen Moog: With REWE and PENNY in particular, we are an important part of agricultural supply chains and are at the interface between agriculture, with our suppliers, and consumers, our customers. With more than 50 million customer contacts per week in Germany alone, we act like a seismograph of consumer wishes and know the needs of consumers very well.
Emilie Bourgoin: On the other hand, the almost 100-year cooperative history of the REWE Group in Germany shapes the way we conduct relationships. We have always had strong regional roots and therefore also have strong and sustainable relationships with farmers. We know their needs and worries as well as the limits of the system. Therefore, it only makes sense to bundle and network this competence and to leverage new paths from the diversity of our networks.
With the founding of our competence center, we are raising the dialogue to a new and groundbreaking level. We bundle our expertise and combine it with the know-how of strong partners. It's about exchange without bans on thinking and networking at eye level.
We bring together farmers, agricultural experts from science, practitioners, people from the processing industry and the REWE Group and actively promote new ideas. To this end, we are creating a strong triangle consisting of a staff unit that coordinates an expert advisory board. In order to ensure that this remains closely linked to the operational trading business, we create an internal control group that secures the interfaces.
Hans-Jürgen Moog: The Advisory Board serves as a technical source of inspiration, develops ideas, but also evaluates projects for feasibility. In addition to the expert advisory board, the steering committee, an internal decision-making body, will take over the strategic coordination of all projects. In this way, it is possible to bundle agricultural competencies even more effectively within the REWE Group and to develop effective and innovative best practices.
The long-term goal is to work with partners from agriculture to develop specific projects that provide impetus for sustainable German agriculture. We want to go from simple ideas to actual products in our markets, which serve the transformation to modern agriculture - in close cooperation with the producers.
"Future Commission Agriculture", "Central Coordination Trade-Agriculture", "Dialogue Network for Sustainable Agriculture" - there are already several platforms that aim to transform agriculture. Why is the REWE Group now establishing another platform with the “Competence Center for Agriculture”?
Hans-Jürgen Moog: We are a cooperative and our DNA has strong regional roots. This also gives rise to our claim to offer individual and fair solutions for every farmer. This is where we can contribute with our agricultural expertise that has grown over the years. But only where we are direct buyers of agricultural products - this is possible and effective without intermediate stages. So we want to expand direct relationships and transparency and also discuss topics away from the big industry groups - but above all, implement them in concrete terms.
Emilie Bourgoin: Antitrust law, strong competition, but also traditional, unshakeable opinions and prejudices limit us in the large industry meetings. With the competence center we are creating our own forum in which we can discuss without bans on thinking and which can therefore have a pioneering effect on the transformation of agriculture. This is unique in the German - if not even European - food trade.
Hans-Jürgen Moog: And it strengthens our role as a sustainable, innovative and locally rooted local supplier. Our independent merchants and our markets are present at more than 3,700 locations throughout Germany and thus maintain direct, partnership-based connections to local agriculture. What many do not know is that farmers can only supply us in one market. Our REWE local partnership alone is groundbreaking in the industry.
In addition, there are already numerous projects by REWE and PENNY at the regional level, which are being implemented together with the agricultural sector: for example the "Country Market Concept" in Hesse, the "Certified Quality Bavaria" and the "PENNY future builder". But the many regional meat programs such as the "Strohwohl Schwein" in North Rhine-Westphalia also contribute to our agricultural know-how. We bundle all this as a foundation in the competence center and continue to expand our pioneering role.
What are the next steps?
Emilie Bourgoin: The competence center is now being consistently launched: Our agricultural department will approach suitable members for the expert advisory board. At the same time, the internal steering committee is formed from merchants and employees of the REWE Group. Then the content work begins.
Hans-Jürgen Moog: The topics range from the discussion of agricultural production costs and corresponding payment models to the development of new types of contract models. Our aim is to be a reliable and competent partner for agriculture. In short: talk to each other instead of about each other.
Finally, the implementation of the first concrete projects can be started. The combination of a sense of tradition with a start-up mentality is our recipe for success. It secures joint innovations.
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