It's Thursday afternoon, 2.45 pm. Maria Enders opens the oven door with routine movements and takes out the hot baking tray. On it: 18 rolls, golden brown and crispy. Just as they should be. Fits practically anywhere: thanks to its space-saving design with disappearing door, the bakehouse does not take up much space. "We want to offer our customers something," says the REWE employee proudly. Together with three other colleagues, she takes care of the supply of freshly baked goods at Tußmannstraße in Düsseldorf. "But all employees could actually operate the oven," explains Marco Menne, Area Manager Baked Goods in the REWE West region. Since artificial intelligence (AI) has found its way into the bake-off station, fluctuating quality is no longer an issue and operation is child's play.

"Assisted baking" is the name of the solution, in which AI-supported software uses a camera to recognise what is currently being placed in the oven. Clear and always in view: An overview of the baked goods groups hangs in the baking room. The system identifies around 100 items, each of which it has learnt in 300 to 400 baking processes. Thanks to the AI, "wild" mixes, such as combining croissants and bread rolls, are a thing of the past. Put simply, the oven knows what it is supposed to bake and automatically selects the right programme. If a tray is not loaded evenly, the oven sounds an alarm and refuses to bake until the load conforms to the baking programme. Incorrect temperatures or baking times are therefore a thing of the past.

Revenue up, markdowns down

The effects are clearly noticeable and measurable. The baking processes are almost 100 per cent error-free. The quality of bread, rolls etc. is consistently high. Markdowns have fallen, while bake-off revenue and earnings have risen. And: "Baking is done more often and for longer throughout the day," says Thomas Weidhaas, Sales Coordinator Service and Senior Category Buyer Catering, citing another advantage of the system's ease of use.

Around 600 REWE stores with 1,500 baking cabinets are currently connected. The data is managed centrally by REWE digital. Thanks to the network, Marco Menne and his colleagues can call up the store-specific data, such as the baking programmes used, baking frequency and baking results, at any time via image.

"For us, it's clearly about quality control of the baked goods, not about controlling our employees," emphasises Thomas Weidhaas, who already has other benefits of the technology in mind. The next step will be to digitise the baking plan.