Major Baltic Cash and Carry chain implements RELEX to automate replenishment and boost sales through better availability
AS Kaupmees & Ko, one of the largest cash and carry operators in the Baltic region, has chosen RELEX’s supply chain optimisation solution to automate its store replenishment and central warehouse purchasing.
Kaupmees has been looking for a solution to both improve the reliability of supply through better availability, and to introduce automated ordering and thus cut the amount of staff time devoted to routine replenishment. After having seen the results RELEX had gained with other reference customers, the company felt confident that using the solution to automate replenishment could lead to significant gains including increased sales.
Kaupmees and RELEX will start work together on a pilot of the system this summer. “Streamlining our replenishment is one of our core goals, and we’re anticipating that the results will be very worthwhile. RELEX had great references from Finnish and international customers who had been able to invest great amounts of warehouse and store staff time more efficiently by automating those repetitive re-ordering tasks that didn’t need their skill and experience. That convinced us to look seriously at RELEX.” Says Mart Relve, Chairman of the board at Kaupmees. “Above all we wanted a system that would increase our sales through better availability and improve profitability by saving time, money and other resources. We’re hopeful that RELEX will deliver this.”
“Kaupmees & Ko is a relatively young company with a dynamic growth record, and we can easily relate to their way of doing business.” says Mikko Kärkkäinen, RELEX’s CEO. “We are proud to present Kaupmees as the first Estonian customer, and having such a forward-thinking company as a local reference for RELEX will certainly support our plans to further expand our presence in Estonia and other Baltic countries.”
The project was started in spring 2014. The pilot phase will focus on Kaupmees’ central warehouse and one of its cash-and-carry outlets during the coming months.
Kaupmees is the biggest wholesaler in Estonia and operates 7 cash-and-carry stores and an import warehouse. As a wholesaler of both food and retail goods its customer base includes restaurants, hotels, bars and pubs, as well as department stores and retail chains. The company was established in 1992 and supplies an ever growing portfolio of retailers and foodservice businesses across the country.