Client Overview:
REWE Group is one of Europe’s leading trade and tourism groups, founded almost a century ago. Our client, REWE Digital, operates as a subsidiary of REWE Group with a mission to shape the digital future of retail by developing innovative technologies and services to enhance shopping and working experience.
REWE Digital faced a challenge with multiple internal projects employing different development approaches, leading to an unmanageable overall system. To tackle this, the client decided to create a Design System for their developers, aiming to standardise the coding process and streamline development.
The Challenge:
After a successful initial interview with the client in 2022, we fully integrated into REWE Digital’s workflow process. We began developing the Design System, a web application hosted in the cloud, which we named UNIFY. Our task was to create a system with pre-coded reusable components, such as CTA buttons, design options, etc., for developers to use in any REWE Digital project. Imagine creating design/frontend projects with lego blocks instead of reinventing the wheel every time.
We aspired to make UNIFY a force that orchestrates a seamless user experience (UX) across all facets of REWE: for customers (B2C), employees (B2E), and business partners (B2B). We envisioned a complete design system that would empower all stakeholders to interact with REWE consistently, intuitively, and in a brand-specific manner.
Key technical decisions were made in collaboration with the client’s lead architect. Once approved, our system went live, enabling the company’s development teams to utilise it for ongoing projects. Developers can easily utilize the UNIFY system by simply selecting, copying, and pasting components. We implemented localisation options for English and German languages from the start and continuously added new features to the system. We also provide consulting services to the client’s developers, helping them implement new features into their projects.
While maintaining a core design foundation, UNIFY allows customisation to cater to the specific needs of B2C, B2B, and B2E users. Customers experience brand differentiation, employees benefit from streamlined workflows, and business partners enjoy a clear and efficient interaction model. UNIFY platform is an ongoing project with no clear end, as we’re always adding new functionalities and maintaining the system.
Services Provided:
- Enhancing the design-to-development workflow, making it stress-free and efficient.
- Creating a Figma UI-Kit with more than 80 reusable components to help designers and developers work more efficiently and consistently
- Developing two robust UNIFY UI libraries for Angular and Vue and creating a demo project to showcase their components and functionalities.
- Preparing manuals for onboarding new developers to use UNIFY.
- Consulting services for REWE Digital’s developers.
- Post-launch support.
Results & Impact:
Since we integrated the UNIFY Design System into REWE Digital’s workflow, it has been actively used in all new projects. We’ve significantly cut down the time needed to create new products, leading to substantial cost savings for the company. Moreover, the feedback loop for developers has become much faster. This has enabled REWE Digital to speed up project development, enhance scalability, and improve maintainability.
Furthermore, when team members depart from the company, there is no significant disruption to project continuity. The use of a comprehensive style guide and thorough documentation ensures that knowledge is preserved. New team members can be efficiently brought on board to continue previous work seamlessly.
Key Takeaways:
UNIFY transformed REWE Digital’s fragmented development landscape into a unified, scalable system. By introducing a cloud-based design system with reusable components and shared standards, development teams significantly reduced time-to-market, improved consistency across B2C, B2B, and B2E platforms, and ensured a seamless, brand-aligned user experience.
The system also strengthened long-term sustainability. With clear documentation, onboarding manuals, and ongoing consulting support, knowledge is preserved even as teams change. This enables faster onboarding, smoother project continuity, and a future-proof foundation that supports continuous growth and innovation.
