How can regional value creation, sustainable business practices, and future-oriented local supply be combined effectively? The district of Saarlouis is addressing this question by developing a Digital Regional Marketplace. As part of the project “Konnekt”, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the online platform “Rendezvous Saarlouis” is being established as a digital marketing and exchange structure that increases the visibility of sustainably operating regional businesses and actively strengthens both supply and demand for regional products and services.
The aim of the Digital Regional Marketplace is to create a professional marketing and distribution structure for regionally produced goods and services – both online and, in the future, on site. This approach seeks to reduce transport distances and packaging, close regional value and material cycles, and improve local supply, particularly in rural and structurally weaker areas. The platform brings together producers, service providers, and consumers, offering a growing range of regional products from agriculture, crafts, fair trade, tourism, and energy-related services. Standardised and openly accessible data increase the reach and competitiveness of participating businesses beyond the region itself.
A key element of the marketplace’s further development is a logistics concept currently being developed to enable the online sale and physical distribution of regional products. Existing regional marketing initiatives are being analysed to identify practical and economically viable solutions, such as self-checkout markets to strengthen local supply in smaller communities. This is complemented by training opportunities on sustainability and climate action, as well as the transparent presentation of the businesses’ carbon footprints. In this way, the Digital Regional Marketplace Saarlouis demonstrates how digital solutions can support circular economy approaches, regional resilience, and quality of life at the local level.