Swedish flower company Blomstergruppen has selected RELEX supply chain solutions to automate its replenishment process and support its purchasing team. The implementation is part of Blomstergruppen’s efforts to increase supply chain visibility and manage rapid growth.
The flower company, with 250 employees and a turnover of around €50M p.a. operates the flower sections of around 300 supermarkets under the Stockholm-based brands Rydells and S-Blommor. The group also owns and manages five flower shops and runs a horticulture operation to supply stock.
The chain will use RELEX’s solution to unite the supply chain operations of the two brands, Rydells and S-Blommor, who merged to create Blomstergruppen in 2017. Another priority is to reduce waste and improve inventory turnover, a huge challenge for businesses working with short shelf life items. RELEX has worked with supermarkets and garden chains across Europe and North America and achieved impressive results in both areas.
Blomstergruppen also wants to cut the time devoted to repetitive tasks in its purchasing and supply chain operations, which are currently largely run manually with some support from its ERP system. By introducing RELEX, it hopes to automate most routine operations so that its purchasing and supply chain teams can focus on areas where their experience and expertise can add value.
We needed a system that will grow with us as we expand, and control our entire supply chain, so we can monitor our efforts to become more efficient and increase our revenue.
“I’ve worked with RELEX before and know from experience what they can achieve,” says Lars Fins, Blomstergruppen Group CEO. “We needed a system that will grow with us as we expand, and control our entire supply chain, so we can monitor our efforts to become more efficient and increase our revenue. RELEX made a compelling case and is a great fit for us.”
Helena Berglund, Project Manager for the Blomstergruppen project at RELEX, is confident of producing great results. “Over the last decade we’ve learned a lot about managing some of the toughest categories in retail,” says Berglund.
“When managing short shelf life items, every industry and business has its own challenges. However, the same basic principles still apply – you need to know when, where and what the demand is to ensure spoilage is minimized while maximizing availability. Blomstergruppen offers us the kind of challenge we love.”
“RELEX builds great retail planning solutions for its customers but we also build excellent relationships,” says Mikael Wiklund, RELEX Sales Manager for Sweden. “Time and again we win new business on the strength of what our existing customers tell our prospects – that they’d partner with RELEX again without hesitation. Blomstergruppen is a great example of that.”
About Blomstergruppen
Blomstergruppen delivers shop-in-shop flower concepts to grocery stores through the well-known brands Rydells and S-Blommor. The company is based in Stockholm, where it also operates five florist retail stores under the brand Blomsterpassagen as well as a flower farming facility.