Chronodrive Selects RELEX to Optimize Fresh Management Across Drive Warehouse Network

French drive-through grocery pioneer cuts produce shrink in under a month with RELEX Fresh

Chronodrive, the French pioneer of drive-through grocery retail and a subsidiary of Auchan Retail France, has selected RELEX Solutions to improve fresh category management and reduce produce shrink across its drive warehouse network. Chronodrive has started to implement RELEX Store Operations to automate fresh ordering and improve availability across fresh categories.

Operating 56 drive warehouse locations, Chronodrive prepares every customer order individually in advance, making freshness and real-time availability a core operational priority. Fresh produce is a significant traffic driver for the business but also one of the most complex categories to manage, with high demand variability, short shelf lives, and tight replenishment windows.

To address these challenges, Chronodrive chose RELEX Store Operations for its ability to automate ordering and inventory management across fresh categories. RELEX generates demand forecasts that account for shelf life, seasonality, and demand variability at the SKU level, helping balance freshness, availability, and waste reduction across the assortment. By connecting forecasting directly to replenishment decisions, the retailer aims to reduce shrink while maintaining high availability across all locations.

After one month live, Chronodrive saw a significant reduction in produce shrink across drive warehouses and stronger alignment between replenishment orders and actual customer demand. Warehouse teams also gained improved operational visibility, supported by automated ordering recommendations.

“At Chronodrive, we see AI as an accelerator for our business model,” said Arnaud Boucher, Directeur des Métiers at Chronodrive. “For every operational challenge, we look for the best specialists, and RELEX has established itself as the most relevant partner to support us in managing our fresh produce. As we rapidly scale up our home delivery offering, alongside our core click-and-collect business, we need increasingly accurate forecasts to ensure the right stock levels, fresh product availability, and the service excellence our customers expect from us. By bringing this automation, AI also frees up our teams to focus on what matters most: freshness, quality, and service. It is a technology that creates value where it matters most, on the ground.”

“Seeing operational results this quickly in produce confirms the impact RELEX Store Operations can have on the most complex fresh categories,” said Mateo Beacco, General Manager RELEX Fresh at RELEX Solutions. “Chronodrive has always set the bar for fresh execution in drive retail, and we are excited to support the next chapter of that work together.”