At the end of January, we held our AI & Automation Summit in Cologne. Colleagues gathered in the intimate setting of the Residenz cinema to delve deep into the world of artificial intelligence. This was much more than just a discussion about a trend: It broached how we can firmly integrate AI into our DNA and expand our skills in order to actively and innovatively shape the future of e-commerce.
The paradigm shift in e-commerce
Our CEO, Gerald Schönbucher, and our CTO, Fabian Kothe, opened the day with a clear analysis of the current industry situation: We are in the midst of a paradigm shift. In a marketplace environment with millions of products and thousands of sellers, AI is no longer an optional extra, but the only way to efficiently manage this level of complexity. The goal is clear: We want to fundamentally transform the way customers find products and how sellers scale their businesses. It’s about transforming from manual processes to intelligent automation and creating a platform that works individually for every customer and seller.
The foundation: Data and ecosystem
One focal point of the morning was the infrastructure that makes these innovations possible in the first place. This was accompanied by a detailed walk-through of our AI ecosystem by our Team Lead Product Operations & Growth, Sebastian, while Richard (Head of Data and Analytics) demonstrated how we use our data platform securely and efficiently. There was also a practical presentation of how various roles can make use of the data:
- The Strategist: Uses Tableau for verified dashboards and strategic decisions.
- The Operator: Receives real-time answers to operational questions through Secoda AI and BigQuery.
- The Automator: Utilises workflows on the automation platform n8n to replace manual processes with intelligent automation.
From theory to application
Senior Product Manager Felix, shared his insights from 1,000 hours of prompting. This involved not only simple text commands, but complex techniques such as “chain of thought” and “agentic prompting”. The latter describes AI agents that not only respond to tasks, but also plan independently, use tools and reflect on their results.
In addition to dealing with AI in the form of large language models, the topic of automation was also covered extensively. Our Senior Project Manager Direct Sales, Joshua, gave us an introduction to the n8n automation platform and insights into the future of AI and automation. These insights were reinforced by a demonstration of AI agents in n8n by Senior Data Engineer Felipe.
Backend Engineer Daniel and Senior Engineering Manager Mitch explored the technical limits of applied AI engineering. They addressed the “economic bottleneck” and noted that AI code is generated in milliseconds, while human review takes minutes. Their solution includes test-driven development (TDD) and smart context management, in which AI agents are onboarded like new team members – including structured README files and clearly defined rules.
AI in practice: Our use cases for B2B and B2C
The sessions on the applications in B2B and B2C showed how this theory translates into real growth.
- B2B growth: Here, Daniel and Felix told us how AI tools can help our sellers with various issues such as internationalisation and price optimisation.
- B2C innovations: Our Head of Product, Jochen, and Product Manager, Svenja, demonstrated various AI applications that can optimise our marketplace and product pages, enabling a personalised customer experience.
Empowerment: Everyone can be an “AI superhero”
Finally, Franziska, our Head of HR, presented our “Empowerment Toolkit”. KEC not only provides the technological infrastructure, but also enables all employees to continuously develop their AI skills through training courses, presentations of use cases from within the company and Ask Me Anything sessions. The aim is to empower every employee to become an “AI superhero” in their own area of work.
The AI & Automation Summit was more than just an overview of the current situation. It was a clear commitment to a future in which technology does not replace humans, but instead gives them “superpowers” for their daily work. The day provided a clear vision and outlined the tools needed to shape the digital commerce of tomorrow.
The AI Summit highlighted that AI has long been shaping our everyday working lives. The exchange of information about specific use cases that already make buying and selling at Kaufland easier today was particularly valuable. Participants gained a clear understanding of how AI can accelerate innovation and which tools we provide for this purpose. – Felix, Senior Product Manager
