Shaping the Future of Online Grocery Retail in Norway
The online grocery business landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by changing consumer behaviors, technological advancements, and the need for operational efficiency. As more consumers turn to online platforms for their grocery needs, companies must navigate complex supply chains, manage inventory effectively, and ensure timely deliveries to maintain customer satisfaction.
Oda is the largest online grocery retailer and fastest growing company within this sector in Norway. They offer a wide selection of fresh food, groceries and household products at competitive prices, with home delivery widely available to Norwegian customers. Their mission is to be an efficient and sustainable online grocery retailer, with comprehensive and ambitious targets linked to climate impact, food waste, and animal welfare.
The Journey to Efficiency and Sustainability
Prior to implementing RELEX, Oda relied on manual and reactive processes. They were stuck in a loop of reacting to stockouts but then dealing with spoilage due to overstocking leading to inefficiencies. As such, Oda required a system that would help them achieve greater flexibility and efficiency in their operations.
Following an internal evaluation process, Oda selected RELEX with the aim to streamline their processes implementing forecasting, replenishment, and promotions solutions. The RELEX unified supply chain and retail planning platform provided the comprehensive capabilities required to manage these functions cohesively. With this in place, Oda had a clear set of objectives for the project to:
- Increase product availability
- Optimize and automate their processes
- Reduce food waste in line with sustainability goals.
When choosing RELEX, user-friendliness was a significant factor. With extensive technical knowledge, RELEX empowered the Oda team with the ability to make necessary adjustments to the system for the benefit of their operations. Oda leveraged the Business Rules Engine, a self-service configuration tool within the RELEX platform to optimize and automate its procurement and forecasting processes. The Business Rules Engine allows companies to define, manage, and automate complex decision-making processes based on predefined rules and conditions. This system ensures that business operations are consistent, efficient, and adaptable to changing circumstances.
Automating Success with the Strategic Use of RELEX
With the implementation of RELEX and the use of Business Rules Engine, Oda had the ability to automate their processes resulting in time savings of 4-5 hours per planner daily, which allowed the team to focus on analysis which led to efficiencies in buying. This in turn contributed to their strategic goals of efficiency and sustainability through a reduction in food waste.
Oda observed a recurring issue where they would sell out of products on Mondays. In Monday morning meetings, the team would decide to order more stock due to the sellouts. However, this led to overstocking on Wednesdays, resulting in spoilage. This cycle repeated weekly, with the team reacting to immediate issues rather than addressing the underlying problem. By automating the order proposal process and reacting systematically, Oda was able to break this cycle. Instead of making ad-hoc adjustments, they implemented lasting changes that improved over time. This systematic approach led to more accurate ordering, reducing both sellouts and spoilage, and ultimately decreasing food waste.
The ability to configure RELEX has had a significant impact on Oda’s operations. This adaptability has enabled Oda to optimize safety stock logic and warehouse efficiency, leading to better procurement decisions and overall operational efficiency. Oda also developed a custom pallet optimization system to meet their specific needs, focusing on space and efficiency. This system projects the number of distribution packs for each order and switches to pallet usage if a certain threshold (e.g., 60% of the pallet) is met, optimizing the process and reducing time spent on splitting pallets.
Additionally, with RELEX, Oda gained a highly adaptable system that was much needed due to the frequent changes in their operations that varied significantly from month to month. This flexibility allows Oda to adapt quickly to changing conditions, ensuring that their operations remain efficient and effective.
“At Oda, flexibility is important because our needs change constantly due to the fast-paced nature of our business. Without a highly adaptable system, we would not have been able to keep up with the changes. RELEX has allowed us to automate all our order proposals, drastically cutting down on manual processes,” said Simon Svensson, Logistics Developer, Oda. “This automation has boosted our efficiency and significantly reduced food waste through more accurate and systematic ordering. Also, the ability to configure RELEX ourselves has been essential, enabling us to customize the system to our specific requirements without needing extensive coding knowledge.”
Oda plans to use RELEX as the main source of forecasting for the entire business by the end of 2024. This integration will further enhance Oda’s ability to make informed decisions across various departments, ensuring a unified approach to supply chain management. As Oda continues to integrate RELEX into its forecasting processes, the company is well-positioned to achieve its strategic goals and maintain its leadership in the online grocery market.