September 13th, 2022
Lidl, an international grocery retailer based in Germany, has been working with RELEX’s solution for forecasting and replenishment in several countries to boost transparency and flexibility throughout their supply chain. This partnership allows Lidl to meet their goals of higher availability, lower inventory levels, and reduced out-of-stocks.
Since 2018, Lidl has worked with the RELEX software for forecasting and automatic replenishment. Germany and several other countries are using the replenishment solution at present. Working with RELEX gives Lidl more transparency over their supply chain, thereby enabling the retailer to react quickly and flexibly to changes – even if they are unexpected. This was especially valuable at the beginning of the pandemic.
RELEX supports Lidl specifically by automatically taking into consideration the multitude of factors that influence demand in its forecasts, at both a store level and throughout the entire supply chain. At the same time, due to its fast adaptability, the RELEX solution allows for establishing standardized processes with maximum flexibility.
In May 2018, the pilot phase of the project started in Germany with the product group of frozen products. The main goal was to reduce manual ordering processes, thereby gaining time for other in-store activities while maintaining the already good product availability. In 2019, the project was expanded to roll out the remaining assortments in Germany and Finland and also to implement the system in twelve other countries.
“RELEX’s advanced technology gives us better control over our supply chain by providing more visibility,” says Michael Hahn, who is responsible for supply chain management software systems at Schwarz IT. “The flexibility of the system allows us to quickly react to changes. In the last two years in particular, this has given us genuine added value.”
“Customer satisfaction is our top priority, which we ensure through reliable availability of products and other initiatives. RELEX Solutions’ software has supported us in making the processes in our stores more efficient,” says Tarek Schmid, Senior Director Sales at Lidl International.
“We are proud to partner with Lidl and to work with yet another globally successful company,” says Michael Hoffmann, RELEX Vice President Field Operations DACH [Germany, Austria, Switzerland].
Stefano Scandelli, Senior Vice President EMEA and APAC at RELEX, says, “We look forward to working together to make Lidl’s international supply chain more transparent and responsive so that Lidl can react quickly to any potential change and always offer its customers the right products in the right quantity.”