Bunzl Catering Supplies reports supply chain planning improvements with RELEX Solutions tech
Bunzl Catering Supplies, a UK distributor of catering consumables, food packaging and hygiene products, says it has realised significant benefits since deploying forecasting and replenishment capabilities from RELEX Solutions, supporting supply chain planning, demand planning, and cross-functional collaboration across its operations.
It reports improvements right across its supply chain operations, exceeding initial expectations.
Overall, it has improved product availability significantly which was the biggest goal at the outset of the project. Bunzl also saw a corresponding decrease in inventory value and was also able to reduce manual workloads by automating a number of key processes.
“Whilst Bunzl Catering Supplies has historically delivered extremely high levels of product availability to its customers, we felt that our existing forecasting process could be improved,” says Daryl Rhodes, Supply Chain Manager at Bunzl Catering Supplies.
“Our old forecasting model was based on a short three-month history whereas today, we can provide a sophisticated and informed forecast capturing sales and demand factors. This includes seasonality which is vital when working in an industry like hospitality, where having products available for our customers at peak times is so important.”
“Prior to RELEX, taking account of seasonality was an extremely time consuming and complex process. RELEX also gives us a holistic view of the entire stock position across the business which has enabled us to make more effective use of our existing inventory.”
“The supply chain function at Bunzl Catering Supplies is now empowered to own the process and have visibility of the consolidated forecast and supply plans, enabling us to manage and review key KPIs in a centralised manner and drive on-going improvements.”
Utilising AI and machine learning has automated a lot of previously manual tasks and added a layer of intelligence to the forecasting process, leading to more precise forecasts and optimised inventory across distribution centres.
Additionally, configurable exception-based management capabilities has proven invaluable in highlighting deviations for planners to act upon.
"We are proud to have supported Bunzl Catering Supplies to deliver these impressive results,” says Stefano Scandelli, SVP EMEA and APAC, RELEX Solutions.
“In an era where distributors face increasing complexities and market demands, optimising inventory using AI and ML leads to more accurate forecasts and improved availability, meeting customer needs efficiently while maintaining a competitive edge."
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