Christoph Kelzenberg built a data analytics capability at REWE Digital during a period of rapid growth. As the organization scaled, inconsistencies in reporting created confusion—even for basic metrics like customer counts. What started as a small annoyance escalated to the point where it caught CEO attention and triggered a company-wide push for harmonized reporting.[1]
Kelzenberg’s approach combined executive sponsorship with pragmatism. First, securing top-level buy-in was essential to harmonize data across departments and to turn what could have been a silo fight into a company initiative.[1]
Second, the team created a lighthouse project in a cooperative department. REWE started with the data-savvy online marketing department, demonstrated the value of standardized reporting, and then used that success as a precedent for rolling harmonization out to other domains.[1]
Third, they adopted a service-oriented engagement model. Departments often requested specific data without understanding its utility. Kelzenberg consistently shifted the conversation to the “why,” which frequently led to more relevant metrics than what was originally requested. The team helped departments understand and utilize data effectively, sometimes starting with simple tools like Excel before moving on to more sophisticated systems.[1]
This is what Kelzenberg described as “bringing data to life”: not only presenting numbers, but creating discussion and action based on data insights. One mechanism to scale this was embedding "data consultants" within departments to accelerate adoption and reduce friction.[1]
This case shows that analytics scale is largely an organizational problem. When you combine executive sponsorship, a lighthouse win, and a service-oriented engagement model, analytics becomes a driver of culture change rather than a reporting function.