WHSmith Travel, a leading UK-based travel retailer, will partner with RELEX Solutions, provider of unified supply chain and retail planning solutions, to automate its forecasting and replenishment. The RELEX solution will service WHSmith’s InMotion stores in airports, train stations, and motorway service locations in the UK and internationally, driving improved availability, increased margin, and reduced inventory levels.
WHSmith selected RELEX to replace spreadsheet-driven manual processes, reduce operational risk, and provide automated inventory forecasting and replenishment to ensure the right products are in the right locations at the right time. With RELEX, the retailer can process data from hundreds of demand drivers, including passenger numbers, to drive greater forecast accuracy and generate those forecasts faster than ever. Additionally, RELEX’s Business Rules Engine enables WHSmith to customize the solution to its own unique needs and automate the management of the many nuances of stock movements across travel locations.
“The expansion of InMotion is a major investment and strategic initiative for WHSmith, and we are delighted to partner with RELEX to underpin the rapid growth of this business,” said Peter Swan, COO at WHSmith. “Given the volatility of consumer demand, it is vital that we use modern technologies that can help us to automate and accurately balance supply and demand. We have been working with RELEX for several years and completely trust their ability to deliver benefits at speed.”
“We have always enjoyed a strong relationship with WHSmith and have worked together successfully in the past to quickly deliver tangible business benefits for other parts of their business,” said Jason Berry, VP of Sales UK at RELEX. “The growth of the InMotion consumer electronics brand has been exciting to witness, and I am thrilled with the expansion of our partnership to cover this rapidly growing business.”
