Paul Swartz, Divisional Executive of Argility, said that the arrangement entered into with Relex will reduce spoilage and drive down the requirement for personnel performing low-value tasks. "Too much stock is still wasted as it goes through supply chains, while repetitive manual labour in any context is error prone, costly and difficult to manage," he said.
The partnership is a strategic move for Argility as it broadens the company's market offerings to include solutions for supply chain management and optimisation with store replenishment; inventory management; demand forecasting; actionable analytics and reporting.
Argility's new solution set leverages big data analytics and is offered as a software as a service (SaaS) configuration with a flexible, adjustable user interface.
The Relex Group's CEO, Mikko Kärkkäinen, said that rapidly expanding South African companies are eager for solutions that improve performance. "These businesses are looking to new technologies to help them manage growth and the resultant pressure that puts on their supply chains. We have a solution that will grow with them and enable them to compete on a global stage."
The power of actionable insight is apparent in the benefits that Argility customers can now experience, said Swartz. "Physical labour time is reduced, as is in-store replenishment ordering, while up to a 30% drop in inventory can be expected together with maintained or increased service levels."
But what he says is most significant is the ability to curb waste, a particularly appealing proposition in the FMCG environment. "Using such results converts into a 25% average reduction in spoilage; at the same time product availability can be expected to be up by several percentage points, contributing to improved sales performance."
Follow-on savings that result from improved efficiency include reductions in the need for - and associated costs of - express deliveries and an overall reduction in the total cost of transport, goods handling, and inventory. That's because more goods reach the consumer, rather than progressing through the supply chain only to spoil and be discarded.
Swartz added that Argility's new solution is most suitable for complex, multi-tier environments with a considerable risk of spoilage or obsolescence. "This solution revolutionises demand forecasting and replenishment. It is flexible, rapid to implement and, thanks to the SaaS configuration, risk-free. South African retailers are going to love it."
For further information, go to www.argility.com.
