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RELEX Solutions

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Overview

RELEX Solutions is a leading provider of advanced optimization software for retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies. Their unified supply chain and retail planning platform leverages AI and machine learning to streamline operations across the entire value chain. Key solutions offered by RELEX include:

  1. Demand Planning: Utilizes machine learning-based forecasting for accurate demand prediction, especially for items with short shelf life or weather-driven demand.
  2. Supply Chain Planning: Optimizes operations through centralized demand forecasting and data management, reducing siloed planning and improving inventory control.
  3. Merchandising: Enhances sales and margins through optimized assortment and promotion planning.
  4. Operations: Streamlines store operations, including workforce planning, to boost efficiency and customer service. RELEX s technology stands out for its:
  • AI and Machine Learning: State-of-the-art algorithms automate and optimize planning tasks with transparent, configurable outputs.
  • Digital Twin Modeling: Comprehensive approach to supply chain planning and business functions.
  • Cloud-Native Living Retail Platform: Ensures scalability, speed, and data security with easy integration through configuration. The company s customer-centric approach is evident in its 100% success rate on implementations and customer referenceability. RELEX focuses exclusively on the consumer goods value chain, translating industry expertise into their unified platform. RELEX has gained recognition for its sustainability initiatives, particularly in reducing food waste. Their solutions help customers save almost 20 million pounds of food waste annually, earning them the Best Sustainability Initiative award. The platform is designed for quick implementation and adoption, leveraging best practices from hundreds of clients to ensure rapid impact on operational efficiency. Its flexibility allows businesses to easily adapt the solution to their specific needs and processes. Overall, RELEX Solutions is renowned for its innovative, AI-driven approach to supply chain and retail planning, offering a comprehensive and adaptable platform that drives efficiency, profitability, and sustainability for its clients.

Leadership Team

RELEX Solutions boasts a diverse and experienced leadership team driving the company s strategic direction and operational excellence: Founders and Executive Officers:

  • Mikko Kärkkäinen: Co-founder and Group CEO, recognized as a 2023 Pro to Know by Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
  • Johanna Småros: Co-founder and Chief Sustainability Officer.
  • Michael Falck: Co-founder. Senior Leadership:
  • Tuomo Pesonen: COO, overseeing Professional Services, Customer Success, and SaaS Service Delivery.
  • Ville Hämäläinen: CTO, leading the company s technological vision.
  • Tommi Ylinen: Chief Product Officer
  • Johan Haataja: CFO
  • Frank Lord: Chief Revenue Officer Regional and Functional Leaders:
  • Stefano Scandelli: General Manager Manufacturing & SVP Retail EMEA & APAC
  • Carlos Victoria: SVP Sales, Latin America
  • Keith Adams: SVP Sales, North America
  • Ron Fleischer: SVP Operations, Americas Other Key Roles:
  • Tiia Rapeli: Chief People Officer
  • Mette Krogh: Chief Marketing Officer
  • Anni Tuulos: SVP, Strategy and Corporate Development
  • Madhav Durbha: Group VP, CPG & Manufacturing
  • Svante Göthe: Head of Sustainability This leadership team collaboratively enhances retail planning solutions, optimizes supply chain processes, and fosters innovation while prioritizing customer satisfaction and sustainable practices. Their diverse expertise spans technology, retail, supply chain management, and sustainability, positioning RELEX as a leader in the industry.

History

RELEX Solutions, founded in 2005 in Helsinki, Finland, has a rich history of innovation and growth in the retail and supply chain optimization sector. The company was established by three logistics science researchers from Helsinki University of Technology: Mikko Kärkkäinen, Johanna Småros, and Michael Falck. Key Milestones:

  • 2005: RELEX Solutions founded
  • 2008: Launch of first integrated retail and supply chain planning system
  • 2012: International expansion begins
  • 2015: €20 million investment from Summit Partners, facilitating North American expansion
  • 2016: Acquisition of Galleria-RTS
  • 2018: Acquisition of Forecast Solutions The company s early focus on developing advanced supply chain optimization software quickly gained traction in the Finnish retail market, leading to expansion across Nordic countries. RELEX s international growth accelerated in 2012 with the opening of offices in Europe and Asia. A pivotal moment came in 2015 with a €20 million investment from Summit Partners, enabling RELEX to establish a North American presence and expand its global customer base. This period saw rapid growth, with the company doubling its customer base and revenue in just one year. RELEX has consistently adapted to market dynamics and customer needs, investing heavily in R&D to incorporate the latest advancements in supply chain technology, data analytics, and machine learning. This commitment to innovation has been crucial in delivering tangible results for customers worldwide. Despite challenges in keeping pace with rapidly evolving technology and fierce competition, RELEX has achieved significant success. The company s focus on superior customer service, innovative features, and user-friendly interfaces has been key to its growth. Today, RELEX Solutions is a global company with over 1800 employees across 21 countries, serving more than 250 customers in over 20 nations. Its client base includes leading retailers such as Tesco, Metro, and SPAR. The company has raised over $816 million in funding and was valued at $5.7 billion in its 2022 Series D funding round. RELEX continues to innovate, focusing on unified retail planning solutions that leverage core data processing, machine learning, and AI capabilities to improve forecasting, replenishment, localized assortments, and workforce planning for its global clientele.

Products & Solutions

RELEX Solutions offers a comprehensive and unified platform for supply chain and retail planning, leveraging advanced technologies such as AI, machine learning, and digital twin modeling. The key products and solutions provided by RELEX include:

Unified Supply Chain and Retail Planning Platform

RELEX's centralized system integrates various functions, providing a unified source of data and visibility. This platform supports demand forecasting, merchandise planning, supply chain optimization, and operational execution, enabling seamless collaboration across the entire value chain.

Demand Planning

Utilizing machine-learning algorithms, RELEX's demand planning solution provides precise forecasting, helping to manage inventory levels accurately, prevent stockouts and overstocks, and ensure high product availability.

Supply Chain Planning

The platform optimizes supply chain operations by integrating forecasting, replenishment, and inventory management. This helps reduce excess stock, spoilage, and operational costs while improving efficiency and responsiveness to market changes.

Merchandising

RELEX enhances merchandising decisions through optimized assortment planning, space planning, and promotion planning. Tools for planogramming and managing various product assortments benefit retailers across different sectors.

Operations

The platform optimizes operational processes, including workforce planning and capacity management, ensuring efficient management in both omnichannel and brick-and-mortar environments.

Forecasting and Replenishment

Advanced AI and machine learning-driven solutions help reduce food waste and other types of inventory waste while ensuring product availability.

Assortment, Space, and Workforce Optimization

Revolutionary solutions for optimizing product assortments, store space, and workforce allocation, including tools for managing complex omnichannel operations and improving supply chain visibility.

Industry-Specific Solutions

RELEX provides tailored solutions for various retail sectors, including convenience stores, DIY retailers, grocery retailers, health and beauty retailers, home furnishing retailers, general merchandise and discount retailers, specialty retailers, and electronics retailers.

Sustainability and Efficiency

A key focus of RELEX is increasing resiliency and efficiency in the consumer goods value chain while promoting sustainable practices. The platform helps reduce waste, operational costs, and environmental footprint, with notable achievements in preventing food waste and reducing CO2 emissions.

Core Technology

RELEX Solutions' core technology centers around a unified, AI-driven platform designed to optimize supply chain and retail operations. Key aspects include:

AI and Machine Learning

Since 2005, RELEX has incorporated machine learning to drive analytics, forecasting, and optimization processes. The platform uses advanced AI algorithms and machine learning models to enhance forecasting accuracy, optimize inventory management, and streamline supply chain operations.

Unified Platform

The RELEX platform integrates data across the entire supply chain and retail operations, providing a single source of truth. This unified approach aligns demand planning, merchandising, supply chain, and operations planning, facilitating seamless communication and data sharing.

Data Management and Integration

Built to manage massive data sets efficiently, the platform uses technologies such as in-memory computing, in-database processing, and partnerships with data management leaders like Snowflake and Confluent Kafka. This ensures quick data processing and analysis while maintaining data security, privacy, and integrity.

Scalable Architecture

RELEX's platform features a flexible and scalable architecture, allowing it to grow with the business needs of its customers. It supports complex, multi-tier supply chains and enables easy software upgrades with minimal IT involvement.

Automation and Optimization

The platform automates various processes, including demand forecasting, inventory replenishment, and workforce optimization. This automation helps reduce waste, minimize spoilage, and improve overall efficiency and profitability.

Environmental Impact

A significant aspect of RELEX's technology is its focus on reducing waste and promoting sustainable practices. By optimizing supply chain operations, RELEX helps its customers cut food waste and reduce their environmental footprint.

Technical Stack

RELEX's technology stack includes a mix of languages and tools such as Java, Scala, Kotlin, Ruby on Rails, TypeScript, and React. They also utilize big data technologies, cloud services like Azure and GCP, and specialized tools like Kafka and Snowflake.

Industry Peers

RELEX Solutions operates in the retail and consumer goods industry, focusing on supply chain and retail planning. Here are some of its key industry peers and competitors:

Supply Chain and Retail Planning Companies

  1. ToolsGroup: Develops supply chain planning and optimization software, offering services such as demand forecasting and operations planning.
  2. Crisp: Provides a collaborative commerce platform with services in data integration and business intelligence for retail and consumer goods sectors.
  3. Afresh: Specializes in optimizing fresh food supply chains within the grocery retail sector using AI-powered solutions.
  4. TotalCtrl: Focuses on inventory management and food waste reduction within the hospitality sector.
  5. Nextail: Operates a cloud-based software platform using analytics and optimization algorithms to improve inventory allocation and store operations.
  6. Vekia: Offers predictive analytics and demand forecasting services powered by machine learning to optimize stock levels and automate inventory management.
  7. o9 Solutions: Develops an AI-powered business planning platform featuring graph-based enterprise modeling and big data analytics.

Other Notable Competitors

  • Antuit.ai: An execution-oriented Big Data Analytics firm enabling enterprise clients to unlock business value through analytics.
  • Alloy: Provides actionable demand and inventory insights for consumer brands by integrating point-of-sale, inventory, and supply chain data.
  • HIVERY: Specializes in hyper-local retail assortment strategy simulation and optimization analytics using machine learning.
  • Blacksmith Applications: Offers digital solutions and data-driven insights for food, beverage, and consumer goods companies.
  • Fountain9: Focuses on predictive inventory planning using artificial intelligence.

Financial and Operational Comparison

As of 2022, RELEX Solutions reported:

  • Estimated annual revenue: $390.8 million
  • Number of employees: 1,952
  • Valuation: $5.7 billion These companies compete with RELEX Solutions in various aspects of supply chain management, retail planning, and analytics, each offering unique solutions tailored to different segments of the retail and consumer goods industry.

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