bp invests in RELEX Solutions digital supply chain tech to enhance retail customer experience
bp has inked an agreement with RELEX Solutions to implement its forecasting and replenishment capabilities in its UK convenience retail business.
With over half of customers to bp’s UK retail stores now visiting on a food only basis, rather than for fuel only or food and fuel, product availability is key.
The RELEX platform leverages AI to provide forecasting and analytics to anticipate and meet fluctuations in customer demand and will support supply chain planning across bp’s 300 company owned retail sites and Wild Bean Cafes in the UK.
Jo Hayward, VP for Convenience in Europe at bp, comments: “Supply chain optimisation is critical for bp’s convenience growth ambitions. Our strategy is to offer customers on the move with quality food and coffee at our network of convenient roadside locations.”
“With the RELEX platform, we’re aiming to strike the balance between maximising availability and minimising food waste – optimising each stage of the supply chain from the warehouse to the store, so that our customers can always rely on us for what they want, when and where they want it.”
bp is investing in convenience as one of its five strategic transition growth engines, along with EV charging, hydrogen, bioenergy, and renewables and power.
Between 2023-2030, it aims for around half of its cumulative $55-65 billion transition growth engine investment to go into convenience, bioenergy and EV charging.
By 2030 bp is looking to double convenience gross margin from a 2022 base of around $1.5 billion and double strategic convenience sites – where it believes its offer is differentiated from its competitors – to more than 3,400.
This creates new challenges for the supply chain, including managing seasonality, short shelf-life products and minimising food waste. Anticipating demand and aggregating it to drive product sourcing and decision-making is critical.
Mikko Kärkkäinen, Co-founder and Group CEO, at RELEX Solutions, says: “We’re delighted to collaborate with bp to optimise their supply chain and support their goal of reducing waste – something we’re passionate about impacting with technology.”
“Our AI-based forecasting and replenishment solution provides in-depth analytics and forecasting data to help identify and manage fluctuations in product demand. It uses a wide range of datapoints, including weather forecasts, price and other commercial parameters with sales history and variations in regional preferences, to provide a bespoke demand forecasts for every product in every store.”
“This leads to the right product levels in every store increasing customer satisfaction, sales and reducing food waste.”
Following the UK roll-out, the use of the RELEX Solutions platform will potentially be expanded to more of bp’s 3,300 company owned retail sites across Europe.
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