RELEX Solutions, the supply chain software company headquartered in Finland, has acquired Galleria, a UK-based provider of category planning, automation and optimisation to the retail industry.
Galleria works with retailers and manufacturers including East of England Coop, Coop Denmark, Morrisons, and Unilever, also Safeway and Woolworths in the Australian market.
In September 2015, RELEX accepted a €20M minority investment from global growth equity firm Summit Partners to boost its global expansion ahead of a key push into the North American market.
Mikko Karkkainen, Relex
Mikko Kärkkäinen, Group CEO, RELEX Solutions stressed the combined geographical and technological reach of the two organisations as a key part of the acquisition: “We are delighted to announce that Galleria is joining RELEX Solutions. There is a great synergy between the two solutions. Like RELEX, Galleria is dedicated to helping its clients achieve increased sales, enhanced margins, reduced inventory, cut waste and improved on-shelf availability.”
“We also share the same core values and ethos, such as putting our customers at the centre of everything we do. This means that, on top of being a strong technological and geographical addition to our wider vision of an integrated retail planning solution, culturally, both companies are a very good fit.”
The first supply chain solution provider to offer retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers the power of in-memory computing, RELEX latterly announced its aim to become a global leader in integrated retail and supply chain planning. The acquisition of Galleria’s best-of-breed cluster, assortment and space optimisation solution is a strong step in that direction. Combined, they offer an integrated retail planning platform, with state-of-the-art technology, to manage and optimise the inventory from supplier-level up to the point of sale, from automated replenishment to planograms.
Kärkkäinen added: “I am very excited at the opportunity we now have to bring together all aspects of retail planning through the continuous analysis of real-time data, from the shop floor all the way back up through the supply chain. By combining store assortment, space allocation and continuous information on planned fixtures and presentations for each product in store, retailers will have a much better understanding of the demand and increased forecast accuracy. With this increased level of insight, we can now help drive huge additional value to our customers.”
Ian Duncan-Lewis, CEO, Galleria, said: “We are thrilled to become part of the RELEX group and to play a critical role in developing an integrated retail planning platform. RELEX’s founders have an unprecedented clarity of thought in how retailers’ existing supply chain and planning processes can be improved through the latest generation of innovative technology.”
