Professional Competence Development: Startup Knowledge Hero Enables Lidl Employees to Learn Digitally

The Stuttgart-based startup Knowledge Hero offers tailored learning solutions for skill development and employee training in supermarkets and other organizations as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Among others, the team has convinced the Schwarz Group, which includes major chains like Kaufland and Lidl. In an interview with Ambivation, CEO Florian Sailer provides exclusive insights into the partnership.

Florian, are professional development and competence building still topics that tend to be underestimated and neglected in the busy day-to-day operations of companies?

Not necessarily! Large companies have long recognized that learning needs to be a continuous process, and employees must not be left to manage it on their own, especially when it comes to digital learning. However, in small and medium-sized enterprises, the situation often differs due to limited resources. The fact is: if you want empowered and motivated employees, you must provide the appropriate tools and refine your profile in this direction. A smart solution alone is not enough. The human element remains central.

But you are more focused on large customers?

Yes, our product is aimed at enterprise customers, particularly in the supermarket sector. The topics of competence development and further training are typically situated within the HR department and are, of course, conducted digitally. We have two products: easyTRAINING, which allows us to support a wide range of companies, and easyPLU, specifically designed for supermarket customers.

With easyTRAINING, we focus on certifying employees across different countries. easyPLU, on the other hand, is aimed at helping supermarket employees learn PLU (Price Look-Up) numbers. These are the numbers they need to enter at the checkout when you buy fresh produce, like apples. If employees don’t know these numbers, it leads to delays, inventory issues, and other problems, which can result in additional costs. We support teams with terminals and also on their own mobile devices.

You are already working with the Schwarz Group, which includes Lidl and Kaufland. Can you tell us a bit more about this collaboration?

Sure, the Schwarz Group has about 13,900 stores and 575,000 employees across 32 countries. Of course, a corporation like this has other departments, but our software addresses 90 percent of Lidl’s employees. Since such a wide range of people with different backgrounds and educational levels work in the stores, it was especially important for us to make our solution intuitive and accessible—naturally, also for older employees.

How does it work in practice?

Memorizing PLU numbers isn’t particularly enjoyable in itself. It’s not enough to just tell employees, “You’ll start at the checkout in three weeks, now go learn these numbers.” We asked ourselves how we could make the whole process fun and engaging. That’s why, for example, we offer the option to learn the numbers through a memory game or by having employees compete against each other. Additionally, it was important to us that everyone on the team could choose the language they want to use in the app. So, for instance, our solution can be set to Turkish or Spanish in Germany. And, of course, users can access the learning solution anytime—not just when they’re on-site at the supermarket.

 

How did you convince the Schwarz Group of your solution?

Founders often hope to identify a problem that doesn’t yet have a great solution and then enter the market with their own solution. In our case, it’s not that large companies like Lidl couldn’t develop such software themselves. They have plenty of employees and resources. However, due to their complex structures, corporations can’t always be both fast and innovative at the same time. An important card we were able to play was that developing and implementing with Knowledge Hero could be done in just one year, instead of, say, three years.

Before Knowledge Hero, I ran an agency and had already been in contact with Lidl in that context. During conversations, it became clear that learning the PLU numbers was a huge pain point for supermarket chains. We had no idea before just how big of an impact it could have if this process was faster and easier. So, we created a prototype, visualized the concept, and deepened our collaboration. A key factor was having the relevant department within the company as a strong advocate.

What were the biggest challenges for you?

In such a large project, many departments naturally want to have a say—HR, IT, and even the board of directors are involved in the decision-making process. This means you have to convince many people step by step, playing your most important cards: speed, innovation, and reliability.

As a startup, you have to be persistent. But for us, the patience paid off. We already have 200,000 users within the Schwarz Group, and by the end of the summer, we will be present in 32 different countries.

What do you say to critics who claim that people in supermarkets will be replaced by automation and AI?

The investment costs and annual fees for, for example, self-checkout systems are extremely high, so they certainly won’t fully replace employees in many countries any time soon. Additionally, these systems create new problems and even amplify some old ones.

As for AI, I personally see it as a useful companion because people will always need to know and learn things. That’s where we come in.

Contact

Website: knowledgehero.de

LinkedIn: Florian Sailer