Unified supply chain and retail planning solutions provider, RELEX Solutions, has acquired supply chain planning and optimisation provider, Optimity, to bolster its retail and supply chain platform with daily production planning, optimisation and production scheduling capabilities.
Optimity CEO and newly appointed RELEX vice president of APAC for consumer goods and production, Christer Lidehn explained the benefits of the acquisition deal.
“Optimity is a solution that was created by engineers for engineers. So, while many of our competitors spent 80% on marketing and 20% on product development, Optimity has spent 20% on marketing and 80% on product development over the years,” he said.
“This has led to where we are today, which is a complete end-to-end planning solution that covers all aspects of the supply chain. When it comes to production planning and scheduling, we have the most complete and competent supply chain planning application in the market today.
“We knew we needed a partner that could take this application to a broader market and accelerate our growth. RELEX is the perfect complement. We are both Nordic companies, share the same people and cultural values, and have the same outlook and a great focus on solving customers’ problems. Delivering value to our customers has always been our primary focus.
“Two engineering companies are now coming together, which will give our team our solution and our customers the end-to-end solutions they are looking for across the consumer goods value chain.”
RELEX expects to grow its customer base significantly over the next 12 months. “The most important priority is continuing to deliver solid projects with the expected return,” Lidehn said.
Optimity customers will realise benefits across three key pillars:
- Size – RELEX is a large software business with a bigger brand, which creates a solid sense of security for customers. “There are occasions when the supply chain managers/directors have to defend the selection/use of Optimity due to our size. Many times, boards and CEOs have never heard of Optimity, which can make them a bit nervous.”
- People – RELEX is a global brand that makes it easier to attract more people. “We expect to grow the customer base, and with that, more supply chain professionals will use Optimity, so it will be easier to recruit people with Optimity know-how. It also means there are more significant opportunities for existing users to move to new areas and seek new opportunities in the supply chain space. We will have a more extensive support network regarding people and geographical reach.”
- Technology – RELEX is an engineering-first company with best-in-class technology. “Our customers will draw from that. In particular, the ML business logic used in forecasting, promotions and product introductions will be essential.”
“Most companies are still running most of their supply chain planning on spreadsheets or a mix of ERP and spreadsheets. There are islands of areas within the supply chain planning where solid tools are used, but most businesses still need reliable end-to-end supply chain planning solutions,” Lidehn said.
“There are still many low-hanging fruits to pick for supply chain teams once they have the right foundation. The maturity of buyers/users is getting better every year, and with that, more sophisticated solutions are being requested. It is about getting that solid base solution implemented. The returns are significant.”