After the Rippers family in Grevenbroich in the Rhineland had been the target twice in previous years, this time the SEK (Supermarket Operations Command) rolled up to Kay Dreysse in Siegerland. Team-building and good for thinking outside the box: the market day. Photos: Achim Bachhausen While it was almost routine for Aurel Bukmajer and his team from REWE digital's specialist retail domain, Claus Deichsel and his team were celebrating a premiere. "When Aurel announced this year's event, we spontaneously joined in," reports the Head of Merchandise Management Processes at REWE. This year, the focus was on interdisciplinary collaboration in a mixed team.

Both teams, divided between the two stores in Wilnsdorf and Rudersdorf, demonstrated maximum flexibility: although each employee was trained for a specific task and target function, many things were to change on day X. The absence of individual colleagues due to illness made it necessary to switch jobs at short notice. As a result, the temporary store manager suddenly found himself working at the checkout, or instead of mopro care, it was a case of restocking the shelves and flipping goods... Highly motivated: the central employees on market day at REWE Dreysse in Wilnsdorf.

Owner Kay Dreysse was able to comment on the situation in a relaxed manner. "They are all committed and thirsty for knowledge. You can tell they're keen. Some things take a little longer because of course they lack routine. But they all know what they're doing. The market day is great for getting a holistic picture of the individual processes and talking to each other as equals," said the REWE retailer, praising the enthusiastic helpers. And how did they experience the market day? one asked around.

Philip Sauermann Philip Sauermann, Head of Instore Applications / ERP (currently Springer): "My job is to replenish, prioritise and present goods in an appealing way. In view of the enormous depth of the product range, multiple placement and changing product packaging, this is a time-consuming challenge. What I particularly enjoy about this task is the dialogue with customers that automatically arises in front of the shelves and provides valuable insights into individual shopping habits. The market day is a very special experience for me, thanks to the excellent support from the market team during preparation and realisation. It's inspiring to see how everyone gives their all and supports each other. Simply fantastic."

Susan Petersen Anke-Susan Petersen, Business Owner responsible for developing the store hotline and the "Orange" knowledge database in the store. (currently colo clearance, previously in fruit and vegetables): "I've already had a taster day in the store a few times, but this day of independently taking on a role in the fruit & vegetables department and other supporting activities in the store was - unlike for my colleagues from REWE digital - new to me. I was pleasantly surprised by the very friendly and understanding customers and that everything can run much more smoothly here than in a big city like Cologne. Thanks to the assignment, I have gained a much better understanding of the processes involved in providing goods in the store and was able to experience how important the employees' experience is despite all the system support."

Marinella Roßbach-Hönig Marinella Roßbach-Hönig, Director Assistant (currently store manager): "This is the third store day for me overall, this time I was allowed to take over the store management. My tasks included staff deployment planning. Thanks to the store day, we currently have luxury staffing, which is of course different on normal days. Even the induction was great, the interaction between left and right hand worked well. I believe that working with the Wilnsdorf market team has strengthened interpersonal relationships and the employees feel valued. I take my hat off to their performance. My impression is that the market day has brought REWE digital and the specialist area even closer together. I found it very charming that the management assistants also took part. I think everyone from the head office should organise a market day. For me, one thing is certain: to be continued!"

Frank Schmode Frank Schmode, Product Owner Market Products, Promotions Listing, Prices (currently colo clearing team): "I was actually planned for the mopro department, but now I'm clearing goods in the dry goods department because there's more to do at the moment. Of course, working on the shelf is very different to my usual work, where I have to deal with processing master and assortment data. The biggest challenge is finding the right items on the shelf. You have to pay attention to a lot of little things to avoid multiple trips."

Juliane Planker Juliane Planker, C-level assistant (currently beverage shelf): "My normal work is very office-based. Now it's nice to get to know new products, for example - a good change. It's great to see everything we sell. The hands-on experience gives you a completely different feel for the processes or even if something doesn't work as it should. This creates awareness and respect for the work in the market. I think everyone should do a market day once a year. You get an insight into a different world."

Claus Deichsel: "It was my first time working at a market like this, and I also collected money. Once I gave the wrong change in favour of the customer. Fortunately, she was honest and immediately pointed out my mistake. You really have to concentrate when dealing with cash. In contrast, card payments are definitely the best form of payment for our cashiers. My team really enjoyed it and I've only heard positive feedback across the board. Also for the enormous trust that Kay Dreysse has placed in us. At our next divisional meeting, we will also have a serious discussion about our experiences, which will then be incorporated into our work. After all, it is our job to keep improving the applications for our colleagues in the markets."

Aurel Bukmajer: "The market day was cool, my employees and I were able to have lots of conversations with our colleagues from REWE-Markt Dreysse. They were initially sceptical about the unknown visitor and a little suspicious, along the lines of: What do they want from us? Or: We can't leave them alone in our store. But the high level of motivation and seriousness of the guest workers ultimately won them over. The market day offers the opportunity to experience your own applications live and discover potential for optimisation, for example for the MHD processes. You can clearly feel the subtleties in the processes, because it makes a big difference whether you're walking along or whether you're travelling alone on a wheelchair. It's a bit like switching from the passenger seat to the driver's seat. In the end, everyone was exhausted but happy. For next year's event, we want to try and find a store that is big enough for both teams to work there at the same time. That was also one of our employees' wishes. The team-building effect should not be underestimated and is a huge boost for us." Many insights gained: Aurel Bukmajer, Claus Deichsel and Kay Dreysse (from left).

Divided into three shifts, a good 50 employees from the specialist domain of stationary retail (REWE digital/Aurel Bukmajer) and from the merchandise management processes area (full-range national/Claus Deichsel) took over two REWE stores belonging to the Dreysse family in Siegerland for a day - after prior familiarisation. The change of perspective from the developer of an application to its user once again proved to be extremely instructive.
This was the third time this year that the colleagues from the specialist domain of stationary retail had taken over a REWE store. For the first time, they supported the full-range merchandise management processes team.