Most retail businesses have to manage seasonal demand and sales promotions. Not having enough stock when there’s a surge, or having stock left over when the season or promotion ends; both eat into profits. RELEX’s demand forecasting helps you to meet these challenges with confidence and to generate great results.
Seasonal forecasting and supply management needs to take account of several factors including lead times, product life cycle and the length of the season. Some events, like Christmas, are fixed in the calendar. Others like Easter or the Islamic Eid holiday are not. Some seasons are weather driven – and weather forecasting gives us ever more warning of the onset of cold weather or the arrival of spring.
RELEX offers a range of forecasting models, all of which can be further adapted to meet your business’s needs and encompass factors specific to the event. Our real-time analytics give you a day-by-day, on-the-day breakdown of sales so you can respond to actual demand quickly and within the season. Our allocation optimisation allows you to shift your remaining stock to where it’s most likely to sell as the season draws to a close.
Likewise RELEX helps you manage promotions – seasonal or one-off, in-house, driven by the supplier or even by a competitor. Our allocation modules ensure you have enough stock to create displays, fill the shelves and keep enough in reserve at your warehouse to meet demand where it occurs. Where your business lacks historical data to manage an event RELEX can help you find close parallels from which you can generate meaningful forecasts and thus maximise the opportunities while minimising the risks.
Case studies
- Case Plantasjen
- Case Vianor: Replenishing seasonal products more efficiently
- Case Suomalainen Kirjakauppa: Forecasting and replenishment of seasonal products: Case Christmas
- Case Suomalainen Kirjakauppa: More efficient store operations and improved shelf availability
RELEX Whitepapers
- The Christmas Supply Chain: More ‘Ho Ho Ho’, less ‘Oh No No’
- The pitfalls of automating replenishment ordering … And how to avoid them