REWE Group optimizes liquidity and builds resilience with SAP Taulia

During a session at EuroFinance 2026, REWE Group’s Matthias Cork explained how the retail and tourism leader is using SAP Taulia’s solutions to incentivize ESG across its supply chain – as well as harnessing data and AI to boost resilience and improve decision making.

REWE Group is a cooperative retail and tourism group operating across food retail, convenience, DIY and tourism. The group employs around 380,000 people around the world. In 2025, the company’s total external revenue reached €100.4 billion.

At this year’s EuroFinance conference, Matthias Cork, Managing Director of REWE’s in-house bank and Director of Supply Chain Finance Solution, took part in an enlightening session, ‘Predictive Treasury: REWE Group on Optimizing Liquidity and Cash Management in an AI Era’.

During the session, Cork explained how the group is harnessing SAP Taulia’s Payables Finance solutions to incentivize ESG across its supply chain, as well as harnessing data and AI to improve resilience.

Evolution of an SCF program

Cork’s role sits at the intersection of working capital and treasury: as well as leading the group’s supply chain finance (SCF) team, he also manages REWE International Finance (RIF), the group’s financing company and in-house bank in the Netherlands.

He notes that for a company as large and diverse as REWE, it’s essential to have a single, reliable view of liquidity across the group. But back in 2019, REWE’s traditional approach to cash and liquidity was too static. While the company had the ability to improve the payment terms offered to suppliers, it was clear that suppliers needed flexible access to liquidity.

To meet REWE’s needs while giving suppliers the flexibility they needed, the company opted to introduce a supply chain finance program. SAP Taulia was selected in 2020, with the resulting program implemented in 2021.

Initially, growth was slow – not least due to the challenges involved in complying with REWE’s central regulator, which effectively acts as a paying agent for various REWE Group entities.

SAP Taulia’s processes also needed to comply with the central regulator’s expectations – and that meant developing a strategy that would secure buy-in from REWE’s stakeholders.

“We needed to define a process that would support REWE’s procurement and central regulator teams, but also make their lives as easy as possible,” notes Konstantin Kleemann, Senior Customer Success Manager at SAP Taulia. This was achieved through initiatives such as procurement training, a ‘one stop shop’ supplier website, and a strict process for onboarding and contacting suppliers.

Resilience and flexibility

The resulting program uses a multi-funder structure, with REWE Group selecting funding banks from its network. Selected banks then finance approved invoices through a bank-independent platform. This reduces concentration on a single bank and creates optionality if a provider changes its appetite.

As a result of the program, REWE has been able to improve its payment profile, with suppliers able to choose early payment at a competitive price. Payment terms have therefore become a structured liquidity solution, rather than a buyer-versus-supplier negotiation.

The program also creates better visibility over supplier participation, funding and working capital.

Since its introduction, the program has demonstrated strong supplier uptake and volume growth. By September 2025, more than 100 suppliers were active on the program, with volumes growing by 135% year-on-year. Meanwhile, uptake of early payments has reached over 60% eligible spend.

ESG-linked pricing

In 2024, the program introduced ESG-linked pricing, which ties the program to ESG criteria. SAP Taulia played an active role in supporting this, helping to create group-wide awareness with buy-in from procurement and senior levels of the organization.

“Programs can stall or remain niche if buy-in is not created early, and if the overall strategy is not communicated correctly,” says Kleemann. “When it comes to working capital solutions, it’s vital to have procurement aligned and following the same path.”

Despite a shift in the ESG narrative, REWE is stepping up its efforts to pursue its sustainability goals. The SCF program supports the company’s ESG goals, with suppliers benefiting from access to competitive rates.

In short, suppliers share a valid EcoVadis scorecard, which is then used to determine the pricing level for early payments. The stronger the supplier’s performance, the smaller the financing margin. Suppliers can also improve pricing through a commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Today, the award-winning program is promoted to suppliers primarily as an ESG initiative that gives suppliers the opportunity to receive early payment while supporting sustainability goals. The program enables suppliers to save as much as 100bps on their early payments.

Liquidity management and AI

More broadly, REWE has been working to optimize its liquidity management processes, including through the use of AI.

As Cork explains, the role of RIF – REWE’s in-house bank – is to bring together liquidity surpluses and funding requirements, while offering services such as payments, internal clearing, loans and deposits, and cash pooling.

While euro cash concentration is already highly automated, the company’s cross-border and foreign currency pooling is being expanded through the use of zero or target balancing structures. The structure is supported by SAP, cash concentration systems from REWE’s banks, and in-house accounts.

Notably, this is being supported by AI, which is being deployed not as a pooling mechanism but to analyze payment patterns, improve forecasts and inform decisions.

The firm is also embracing the concept of ‘predictive treasury’ – a practice which involves having access to pertinent information before a decision needs to be made, rather than using it to explain variances later on.

Strengthening resilience

Finally, a major focus is on improving the group’s resilience against the threat of disruption. The tourism sector is particularly exposed to the impact of geopolitical developments and sudden shocks, which can rapidly affect demand, destinations, travel flows and cash requirements.

To strengthen its resilience, REWE has also centralized more liquidity and expanded cash pooling across entities and currencies. In addition, the group’s efforts to diversify funding sources and support supplier liquidity through SCF have resulted in greater resilience. AI also has a role to play in supporting scenario testing and the earlier identification of emerging situations.

But as Cork observes, resilience still depends on having sound structures, liquidity options and disciplined judgement. And while data and technology capabilities are becoming increasingly important, “judgement and communication remain essential because financial responsibility cannot be delegated to an algorithm.”