REWE Group and SAP Taulia – An Award Winning Success Story!

REWE Group is one of Europe’s leading retail and tourism cooperatives, headquartered in Cologne, Germany, with operations spanning multiple countries and a large, complex supplier network. In 2019, REWE set out to build a world-class supply chain finance program that would optimize working capital, strengthen supplier relationships, and align with the company’s long-term sustainability commitments. Heike, Senior Manager in the financial department responsible for trade finance and supply chain finance, and Lukas, from the working capital strategy and projects team, share how the partnership with SAP Taulia made it possible.

Before: Challenges and opportunities

In 2019, REWE Group faced challenges common to large retail organizations with complex supply chains: manual invoice processing, limited cash flow visibility, and fragmented supplier relationships that made it difficult to optimize working capital at scale. REWE wanted to implement a reverse factoring program with a Multifunder structure using a bank-independent platform, enabling flexibility across both Supply Chain Finance and Dynamic Discounting. The selection process was extensive, with eight market-leading fintechs evaluated through a detailed tender process. REWE’s goal was to find not just a technology provider, but a long-term, stable partner capable of growing with the program.

Why SAP Taulia

SAP Taulia met REWE’s technical requirements in full and stood out in personal meetings for its competence and customer focus. Several decisive factors tipped the decision: the flexibility to combine Supply Chain Finance and Dynamic Discounting within a single program, the elimination of KYC processes for supplier onboarding, and the fact that two of REWE’s competitors already operated SCF programs with SAP Taulia, meaning many of REWE’s suppliers would already be familiar with the solution and onboarding could be accelerated. SAP Taulia’s Multifunder capability, drawing on REWE’s own banking portfolio, gave the program the financial agility REWE required.

After: Value-driven results

The program went live in September 2022 and quickly enrolled a large number of suppliers, supported by SAP Taulia’s marketing, supplier analysis, and onboarding assistance. Suppliers benefit from the ability to request early invoice payments at attractive interest rates without affecting their own credit lines, with a simple, transparent experience that shows all relevant invoice data at a glance. In 2024, REWE and SAP Taulia incorporated ESG incentives into the program, linking early payment terms to sustainability performance and making REWE one of the first retailers to integrate ESG criteria into its supply chain finance program at this scale. The program has since received two industry awards, reflecting the strength of the collaboration and the innovation it has produced. With plans to expand to all REWE Group suppliers and explore further rollouts across other group units, the program continues to grow.