Anyone who has been on our social media channels and the Kaufland online marketplaces or has found out about career opportunities with us will have certainly stumbled across various phrases related to our business: Kaufland e-commerce, Kaufland Global Marketplace, Kaufland online marketplaces. What is the story behind them and how are the terms related? Here, we shed some light on the matter and explain who we are, what we do and what our brands stand for.
Kaufland e-commerce: Who we are as an employer
Kaufland e-commerce (KEC for short) – this refers to us as a company and employer. We are an independent tech company within Schwarz Digits, responsible for operating and developing Kaufland’s international online marketplaces. Our company consists of over 850 talented individuals from more than 65 nations who work together in interdisciplinary teams.
At KEC, we not only continue to develop Kaufland’s online marketplaces, but also work closely with our colleagues in Kaufland’s brick-and-mortar business on projects such as the Kaufland app and the Kaufland Card, combining online selling and brick-and-mortar business to create a seamless shopping experience.
Kaufland Global Marketplace: Our B2B brand for sellers, manufacturers, brands and partners
Kaufland Global Marketplace (KGM for short) is our B2B brand, which is aimed directly at online sellers, manufacturers, brands and partners. KGM is the comprehensive all-in-one solution that makes it possible to sell on all of our international Kaufland marketplaces with just one registration and potentially reach up to 139 million online customers. It forms the basis of the online marketplaces and offers sellers sales support services.
More than 13,000 online sellers are already offering their products with KGM in over 6,400 categories on the international Kaufland online marketplaces.
Kaufland online marketplaces: Our product for end customers
The Kaufland marketplaces are not just another brand, but the product itself – the international marketplaces where our customers shop. These marketplaces are at the heart of our daily work at KEC and offer millions of monthly customers an outstanding shopping experience.
The infographic shows the relationships between our brands and product: KEC as an employer in the middle, KGM as an all-in-one solution for sellers and the online marketplaces as a product for end customers.
Two perspectives, one team
The difference is particularly clear when we travel to trade fairs and events:
- At recruiting fairs, we represent KEC as an employer. The aim here is to attract new talent to our team.
- At B2B fairs and trade shows, our sales colleagues represent the KGM brand. This is where we address potential sellers, brands, manufacturers or partners.
First picture: our employees at a careers fair, scouting for new talent for KEC. Second picture: our employees at a trade fair, recruiting new partners for KGM.
This division is also reflected in external communication: On LinkedIn, our employees list Kaufland e-commerce as an employer, but can also mention that they are working on KGM projects. The KEC accounts on social media (LinkedIn & Instagram), as well as our blog and website, provide information about KEC as an employer with articles about corporate culture, events, our employees, and much more. The KGM social media pages (LinkedIn & Facebook) and the KGM website, on the other hand, are aimed at the B2B target group with content for online sellers, e-commerce service providers and agencies.
The best of both worlds
This clear brand division enables us to act as an attractive employer and optimally address our B2B customers. All of our over 850 colleagues work for Kaufland e-commerce, regardless of whether they are involved in the development of marketplaces, KGM services, or other exciting projects.
We have a dynamic company culture marked by flat hierarchies, a strong team spirit, and an open culture based on learning and making mistakes. Flexibility is our biggest success factor—whether in our processes, in everyday work, or at our place of work. Our colleagues can work in our offices in Cologne, Darmstadt, Düsseldorf, Berlin, or remotely within Germany.