RELEX Solutions acquires Optimity for upstream supply chain planning & optimization capabilities

RELEX Solutions, provider of unified supply chain and retail planning solutions, announced it has acquired Optimity, a supply chain planning and optimization provider. The acquisition will bolster the RELEX retail and supply chain platform with daily production planning, optimization and production scheduling capabilities which are crucial for the end-to-end consumer goods value chain.

“The consumer goods industry is incredibly dynamic and complex. Acquiring Optimity will seamlessly link downstream demand with upstream planning, so consumer goods companies can more accurately predict consumer demand, optimize production plans and schedules, adjust inventory levels, and respond quickly to market changes or unexpected disruptions,” said Mikko Kärkkäinen, co-founder and group CEO, RELEX. “This acquisition also further accelerates our vision towards an adaptive, autonomous and synchronized supply chain unifying demand and supply planning decisions in one platform to minimize all wasted cost and product. We warmly welcome the Optimity team to RELEX.”

Optimity, with global headquarters in Sweden and offices around the world, offers a broad supply chain planning and optimization solution specifically for manufacturers and distributors. Optimity enables customers to make optimal supply chain decisions from strategic levels to detailed production scheduling. Their offerings include demand planning, production planning and scheduling, supply planning, distribution planning, inventory optimization, and S&OP. With 80+ customers across the food and beverage, and complex manufacturing industries, Optimity’s experience augments RELEX’s expertise across retail and consumer goods markets.

The acquisition brings together a highly complementary offering between the two organizations, enabling RELEX to extend and deepen its production planning and supply chain optimization capabilities, such as synchronized daily production planning, optimization and scheduling in the food & beverage and manufacturing sector.

New or expanded capabilities within the RELEX unified retail and supply chain planning platform from Optimity include:

• Production planning: Create optimized production plans from up-to-date forecasts to balance operational costs and flexibility while considering production restrictions, material constraints and business priorities.
• Production scheduling: Generate and manage optimized production schedules built around constraints to reduce changeover time and bolster manufacturing efficiency. 
• Network balancing: Rectify imbalances in complex distribution networks to minimize risks, reduce costs, and boost operational efficiency.
• Distribution planning: Gain complete distribution network visibility to make smarter, proactive decisions aligned with business objectives and customer service goals.
• Purchase planning: Balance supply-side complexity with end-to-end visibility to pinpoint the most efficient and profitable way to fulfill demand plans and customer obligations.

“Our depth in some of the most complex consumer goods industries like bakery, ready-made meals, protein production and industrial manufacturing complements the vast understanding of consumer demand that RELEX has, based on their impressive expertise managing more than $700 billion of demand in grocery alone,” said Christer Liden, CEO, Optimity. “We are thrilled to join the RELEX team and further optimize the consumer goods value chain together.”