Decathlon AI-Enablement
Enable the people first, then build the assistants
das gesamte Team, von der Leitung bis zu den Analystinnen und Analysten
aus dem Workshop hervorgegangen und in Betrieb: Auswertung der eigenen Marktforschung, Kette für externe Marktrecherche
vom Einstieg über die Grundlagen und die Hands-on-Session bis zur Auswahl der Anwendungsfälle für den Start
AI rollouts in companies rarely fail on the technology. They fail because the order is wrong: a tool gets rolled out first, then everyone individually has to figure out what it might be good for. Whoever is in day-to-day work has no time for that, and after a few weeks the licence sits assigned and unused. That’s exactly where the research function stood. Access was there, interest was there too, but the shared picture was missing: where in the team’s own work AI genuinely takes something off their plate, and where it doesn’t. On top came the justified caution of a function that lives on reliability: whoever supplies numbers for decision papers can’t afford a tool that sounds convincing and is wrong. What was needed, therefore, wasn’t tool training, but a shared answer to two questions: where does it pay off for us, and how do we make sure we can rely on the result.
What was blocked
- Access to generative AI existed, but no shared occasion to actually use it
- Justified caution from a function that lives on reliability: a convincing-sounding but wrong tool wasn’t affordable
- No shared answer within the team on where AI genuinely helps and how to reliably check the result
Designing the workshop format (board, agenda, methodology, exercise), running it with the whole team, and staying on afterward to support implementation of the prioritised use cases.
How we thought about it
- 01Opening with an expectations check-in and four brainstorming questions as a shared working basis
- 02Foundations in the team’s own context: glossary of terms, legal framework, hallucinations and bias, prompt versus context engineering
- 03Hands-on session on a real question, practised in three stages: research request, structured prompting, dedicated assistant
- 04Five-step process for deriving actionable use cases, followed by prioritisation and selection for launch
The stations
01 Ask first where it really hurts
01 Ask first where it really hurts
The opening wasn’t a product pitch, it was a stocktake from the team itself: which recurring tasks eat the most time, where do bottlenecks form, what is the team actually responsible for, and what would everyone want more time for. What went up on the wall became the working basis for the rest of the day. No use case was set from the outside.
02 Foundations that explain the limits too
02 Foundations that explain the limits too
Then the foundations, but in the team’s own context rather than as a product training: what these models can do, where they get things convincingly wrong, what applies legally, and how to get usable results with roles, structure, and your own data. Hallucinations, bias, and data protection stood alongside the possibilities, given equal weight. For a function whose numbers travel into decisions, that isn’t a precaution, it’s the prerequisite.
03 Try it yourself, on the real question
03 Try it yourself, on the real question
The hands-on exercise didn’t run on sample data, it ran on a question straight out of day-to-day work: where does the German market stand right now, what are the trends, and how does the own house compare. The same task in three stages, from a simple research request through cleanly built prompting to a dedicated assistant. That makes the difference between the stages felt, not just claimed.
04 From wish to actionable use case
04 From wish to actionable use case
The collection from the opening was worked through methodically: break the task into input, steps, and output, assign each step to whether a machine could take it over, name where human judgement has to stay, and finally ask whether the existing process is even still the best one. Then sorting by impact and effort and selecting three to five cases for launch. That means the workshop doesn’t end with an idea pile, it ends with an order of operations.
05 Not left alone afterward
05 Not left alone afterward
The real difference lies in what happens after the workshop day. That’s exactly where most formats fail: the roadmap exists, day-to-day work resumes, and no one is there when the first question comes up. Voyage Digital stayed available as a point of contact, for questions, guidance, and sparring on the concrete cases. Out of that ongoing support, the prioritised use cases became built assistants step by step, including improvement rounds from the team.
What was built
The workshop ran with the full six-person team over one day, from the opening through the foundations and the hands-on session to collecting, prioritising, and selecting three to five use cases for launch. Voyage then stayed available as a point of contact for follow-up questions, guidance, and sparring on the concrete cases.
What it produced
Voices
What the collaboration says
“Anyone who wants to bring order into complex topics and take their marketing to the next level needs you on the team. You gave my team essential support in setting up a well thought through CRM strategy, building automated lifecycle journeys and establishing the right processes. Together with you we made the leap from simple newsletter sending to real, working CRM. You are extremely clear, structured and honest, you combine strategic foresight with pragmatic solutions, you think along actively and you stay reliably on top of the projects. Throughout the whole time you were a firm part of the team for us and a great sparring partner on equal footing. Thank you for your outstanding commitment!”
“Together we developed a solid CRM strategy, built a lifecycle system with automated journeys and designed and rolled out the processes that go with it. That is how our classic newsletter turned into real CRM. What makes the collaboration so valuable beyond that: alongside his pragmatic and structured way of working, we also value him enormously on a personal level. With his genuine interest in the projects and his consistently open, helpful manner he is a real asset you can rely on 100 % at any time.”
“With Andy we built and automated our entire lifecycle system, among other things. Working with him was always clear and structured, we could rely on him, and we never lost the fun on the way to the goal.”
“Over the past five years or so you have always been a constant and reliable point of contact for me across different stations and for the most varied projects. From process development and optimisation through coding and technical topics, the holistic view and consolidation of the CRM area, all the way to strategic direction and the implementation of a wide range of subject areas, I could always count on you. With your way of working you were able to give us, and me, structure and guidance. Setting up the automated post purchase strategy was, I think, our most intensive collaboration. I was able to benefit and learn an incredible amount from you, and for that I am immensely grateful. Working with you throughout was always great fun, and I really valued that we could talk about more than just work while keeping productivity high. I will definitely miss our regular exchanges.”
“Andreas is the structuring element most teams are missing. Focused, targeted execution. Maximum ownership. Ruthless prioritisation. He takes topics that look difficult and complex at first and brings them to the finish line. If need be, he takes them over himself. Anyone looking for someone who takes ownership instead of just advising is in the right place with him.”
“Andi held our delivery together. Projects, infrastructure, coordination, that was on him. Weeklies and dailies ran without me, and for me that was the real proof. I never had to ask whether the status was accurate. On the bigger calls, offers, partners, budgets, he was my counterweight, even when that was not comfortable for him. No agency speak, straight answers.”
“Andy and the team rebuilt my whole online presence from the ground up. What changed is who shows up: every qualification call I took in the first month closed. Three out of three. Anyone landing on my page now can see straight away that I'm an exclusive high ticket coach. So impressed with you lads and what you've built, this is phenomenal.”
“Andreas kept the overview in a complex project, including when things around it got chaotic. Thank you for your commitment and your overview in the shared chaos. Without him a lot would have been lost on the agency side. I very much hope we work together again.”
“In Andreas I have a professional partner who is able to think across industries and to look at my business model afresh from his perspective. That lets me steer my company toward the future with more confidence and keep challenging it.”
“Andreas stands out through an exceptional strategic understanding and the ability to consistently think from the outcome backwards. He reliably supported our CRM team in structuring processes and prioritising projects efficiently. Beyond strategy development, his strengths include leading workshops and producing concise management presentations. With his direct communication he is a valued sparring partner on equal footing.”
“Andy built the whole thing for me in like no time, and it was a banger. What amazed me most is that he got my tone of voice right straight from my instagram, I didn't even have to explain it. Changes I asked for were often live the same day. And he kept delivering even when things got messy on my side. I'm really grateful for all he's doing, it means a lot.”
“Thank you for everything you did for us. It was genuinely seen and appreciated. You worked closely with both our team and the people doing the work, helping to keep things moving and well coordinated.”
“Andy and I have exchanged regularly on product, data and strategy for years. Beyond his technical expertise, I value his entrepreneurial drive: he meets challenges with vision and openness. He sees opportunity where others fear complexity. What makes him stand out for me is that he doesn't just develop concepts, he digs rigorously into the details of digital products, as his own online shop shows. Andy never shies away from conflict and always gives a direct, honest picture. A fearless sparring partner you'd want at your side.”
“With Andreas we were able to run a highly successful AI workshop and develop a well-founded AI roadmap for our team. He did an excellent job of making the opportunities and possibilities of AI tangible – without stoking fears, but with a clear focus on real potential. Together we developed AI solutions that took our work in Customer & Market Research to a new level. Andreas supported us perfectly with his expertise, his neutral perspective and enormous solution orientation. He was a sparring partner and a reliable advisor at once – always honest, structured, pragmatic and to the point. The partnership was consistently on equal footing. What I particularly value is that it did not stay in grey theory, but created real, lasting value for our everyday work. The result has a noticeable impact on my daily work and my professional development. Thank you so much for your outstanding support!”
“Andreas and I kept overlapping over the years: me deep in the technical implementation, him in the strategy and the process above it. That fit together cleanly. He operates more strategically than most people you deal with on projects like these. Strictly speaking he is only half a service provider, at his core he builds business models.”
“My collaboration with Andreas has been with me and Decathlon since 2023. What started back then in CRM with automating customer journeys in email marketing and support in day-to-day operations has grown over the years into a genuinely strong partnership. As head of the Customer & Market Insights team it was clear to me that I wanted Andreas at my side again in 2025. He was instrumental in developing the strategy for our team and the project. His AI expertise was a huge gain: through his hands-on training and the implementation of deep-research projects he moved the team forward enormously. But what truly sets Andreas apart for me goes far beyond the technical side: over the years the purely business relationship has grown into a real, trusting foundation – and a friendship. Andreas is both a sparring partner and a coach to me. He knows how to motivate me again and again, to see things from a new angle and to push my own projects forward boldly. What I value enormously: he is never too proud for anything. He acts lightning-fast, helps me sort topics correctly and shares his wealth of experience completely without fuss. For me Andreas brings exactly that rare mix of deep expertise, real hands-on mentality and human class that you wish for in a partner. Thank you for the great support over all these years!”
Conversation, not pitch
Understand first, then decide. We take time for an initial conversation, without sales pressure, without obligation.
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