British food manufacturer will replace legacy planning tool with supply chain control tower using automated AI-driven demand, promotions, and supply chain planning solution.
British food manufacturer Samworth Brothers, renowned for producing chilled and ambient food products for millions across the UK, is embarking on a strategic transformation by joining forces with industry leaders RELEX Solutions, Atheon, and Logic. This collaboration aims to introduce AI-driven solutions that will streamline and enhance Samworth Brothers’ demand, promotions, and supply chain planning processes.
With a legacy spanning generations, Samworth Brothers is a family-run business that operates across 19 modern food manufacturing sites, employing over 12,500 people working in business. The company boasts an impressive portfolio of 300 SKUs and an annual turnover of £1.3 billion. This strategic project marks a significant milestone in Samworth Brothers’ commitment to operational excellence and innovation, and sustainability, aimed at reducing food waste, automating supply chain operations, and minimising manual labour.
“RELEX has a proven track record in the food manufacturing industry, improving availability, reducing waste, and optimising inventories. This aligns perfectly with our sustainability goals, and we are excited to embark on this journey with RELEX,” said Rob Muir, Group Digital Director at Samworth Brothers. “And together with Logic and Atheon, we are realising our vision to be the best food company in the UK by delivering solutions that will increase our sales and revenue while minimising spoilage.”
To achieve its objectives, Samworth Brothers will work closely with partners Atheon and Logic to establish a “supply chain control tower.” This will bolster supply chain accuracy, reduce stockouts, and minimise waste by implementing unified metrics and standardized KPIs across the organization. This unified approach, built on a single source of truth, will empower decision-makers to focus on strategic initiatives rather than grappling with data accuracy challenges.
“Atheon is thrilled to expand our partnership with Samworth Brothers and collaborate with Logic to enhance RELEX with precise demand intelligence via the Snowflake Data Marketplace,” said Guy Cuthbert, founder and CEO of Atheon Analytics. “Samworth Brothers has demonstrated exceptional availability optimisation and waste reduction capabilities, and this initiative underscores their commitment to innovation and excellence.”
This partnership combines Logic’s strategic consultancy and technology acumen, the RELEX advanced forecasting and planning capabilities, and Atheon’s analytical expertise, all bolstered by the Snowflake Retail Data Cloud. Atheon’s ability to deliver accurate demand intelligence to the RELEX forecasting solution via the Snowflake Data Marketplace will play a pivotal role in improving predictive accuracy. Additionally, Logic’s consultants will provide data strategy and change management leadership to ensure that Samworth’s people, processes and technologies are all aligned to take maximum advantage of the next-generation capabilities of the Snowflake, Atheon and RELEX solutions.
“Logic is uniquely positioned to assist Samworth Brothers in their quest for modernised analytics infrastructure, waste reduction, and enhanced profitability, “said Bill Szlaius, CEO of Logic.” Our extensive experience in the UK and European grocery retail sector positions us to support Samworth Brothers in aligning their operations with retail best practices.”
Through this collaboration, Samworth Brothers will benefit from enhanced precision through RELEX in demand forecasting, leading to optimised inventory levels and mitigated stockout and overstock risks. Additionally, the advanced analytics and forecasting capabilities will enable efficient production alignment with demand fluctuations.
RELEX promotional planning capabilities will provide Samworth Brothers with a tool to assess the impact of promotions, ensuring optimal inventory management during promotional periods. Furthermore, the RELEX supply planning capabilities will identify and address potential supply chain constraints, ultimately enhancing operational efficiency.
“At RELEX, we understand the critical importance of fresh food and food manufacturing in our mission. Our advanced capabilities, particularly in customer-level location forecasting, exemplify our commitment to precision and efficiency in catering to the unique needs of every customer,” said Mikko Kärkkäinen, CEO and co-founder of RELEX Solutions. “We are confident that our collaboration with Samworth Brothers alongside Logic and Atheon will automate and streamline their operations, delivering significant value to their business.”