Our Story
SEAK was founded in 1997 by Andreas Knüpfer — with a vision to build a powerful workforce management system capable of standing up to the demands of any industry. Patrick Rogalski joined as a co-founder and partner in the same year. What began as a pure time-tracking solution quickly evolved into a comprehensive platform: access control, attendance dashboards, and — from 1999 onwards — the first shift scheduling module for industrial use.
2001 marked a pivotal turning point. Through a joint customer project, we were introduced to business consultant Michael Hanfstängl — and with him, the very specific challenges of the retail sector, for which no holistic solution existed at the time. That meeting gave rise to a new vision: the best workforce management software for retail. In 2002, SEAK Software GmbH was established alongside the first shift scheduling solution purpose-built for retail. 2003 saw Michael join as the third partner — and that same year, automated shift scheduling went live.
In the years that followed, the SEAK ecosystem took shape step by step: 2005 brought the Employee Service Portal — our first web-based solution; 2006 introduced footfall data integration into demand planning; and 2008 saw the launch of Employee Self-Service. By 2011, SEAK was live across 12 countries in 5 languages throughout Europe. In 2013, the SEAK CLOUD SERVICE® launched — today the standard deployment for all new customers.
2021 brought the next major leap with SEAK 3.0: SEAK TEAMS, a mobile-first platform that brings employees, managers, and store locations together in a single, unified interface. In 2022, Dr. Kristina Knüpfer — daughter of Andreas Knüpfer — officially joined the company, taking on responsibility for Business Development. This was followed by mobile shift scheduling, a fully automated digital sick-note (eAU) workflow, ISO 27001 certification of the SEAK Cloud Service® in 2024, and in 2025, SEAK's first step into AI with the SEAK AI engine for demand planning. That same year, SEAK became part of YUVENDA — a network of specialized software providers serving retail, hospitality, and consumer-facing service industries.
Today, SEAK stands for end-to-end, mobile-first, AI-powered workforce management — built on decades of retail expertise and a clear conviction: software, consulting, and support must work as one, so that data translates into real decisions.
Our Milestones at a Glance
Vision & Mission
Our Vision is to deliver the best software, consulting, and support for workforce management in retail — driving greater productivity, compliance, and employee satisfaction.
Our Mission: To turn data into real decisions, integrate all relevant systems, and actively engage every employee.
Values That Guide Us
At SEAK, our work is grounded in clear principles. These values shape how we build, how we support our customers, and how we work together — and have done for nearly three decades.
Innovation
Continuous innovation is in our DNA. From our first workforce management system in 1997, through mobile shift scheduling, to AI-powered demand planning — we constantly evolve our solutions to ensure they remain relevant for retail, today and tomorrow.
Consistent Quality
Quality is the foundation of our sustainable growth. We invest in software, consulting, and support that perform reliably in real-world retail operations — day after day, across every location, through every peak demand.
Collaborative Partnership
We provide expert support, deliver with reliability, and are valued for the way we work alongside our customers. For us, Workforce Management is more than software — it's a long-term partnership built on trust and mutual respect.
Uncompromising Focus on Trade
We don't build for everyone — we build exclusively for retail. That focus is precisely why our solutions genuinely address the specific needs of fashion retailers, sports chains, bakeries, and lifestyle brands.
Our Culture & Way of Working
At SEAK, we believe in short decision-making cycles, individual initiative, and strong collaboration — both internally and with our clients. We achieve results through smart planning, not long hours.
This creates a work environment where everyone can contribute their ideas, grow professionally, and move forward together as a team.
Social Responsibility
Responsibility is part of who we are: We operate sustainably using FSC®-certified paper, LED lighting, and our energy-efficient building in Reinbek.
We also give back — through our "Donate Instead of Cards" initiative supporting Tafel Bergedorf, Tafel Reinbek, and Häusliche Kinderkrankenpflege Hamburg, as well as participating in the HSH Nordbank Run for "Kinder helfen Kindern."
The People Behind SEAK
More than 500 customers already trust SEAK
Looking Ahead
SEAK continues to grow. We are systematically expanding our solutions for retail — from AI-powered demand planning and mobile store platforms to public APIs that enable seamless integration into our customers' existing system landscapes.
Our goal: to extend our market leadership in retail workforce management — step by step, through continuous innovation, sustainable growth, and a strong team behind us.
We are part of YUVENDA
SEAK is part of the YUVENDA Group — a network of specialized software companies working together to deliver a comprehensive platform for retail and hospitality. Within this group, SEAK is the dedicated workforce management specialist. The other member companies bring deep expertise in POS systems, merchandise management, cash cycle, and store auditing — covering everything that needs to work in concert on a daily basis in retail operations, all under one roof.
Group membership accelerates our product development in tangible ways: shared technology standards, collective market knowledge, and faster responses to regulatory change. This speeds up what defines us — the continuous advancement of our workforce management platform, built specifically for retail.
For our customers, this means seamless coverage end to end. Where SEAK's capabilities end, a sister brand picks up. Workforce management on the people side, POS and merchandise management on the sales side, cash cycle and auditing in-store — all from a single group, with data flows designed to work together. The result is integrated architecture built for coherence, not a patchwork of disconnected point solutions.
Group membership doesn't change who we are. SEAK remains an independently operating workforce management specialist for retail — with its own product roadmap, its own consulting and support team, and the same uncompromising industry focus that has defined us since 1997. What it adds is the depth that comes from collaborating with the right partners under one roof.
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