Enabling Fresh Produce Transformation to Improve Freshness and Reduce Waste
Coles needed fresh produce on shelf when customers wanted it, across one of Australia's most complex supply chains. Manual store ordering held on-shelf availability below 70%, leaving roughly 5% of sales and EBIT unrealised. Mulberry led a circa $100 million programme that embedded Relex Solutions' AI-driven demand forecasting into Coles' technology environment and operations. The result is a centralised replenishment model that delivers better availability, fresher produce and less waste, which Coles' store and supply chain teams now run themselves, independently of Mulberry.
CLIENT BACKGROUND
Coles is one of Australia’s leading retailers, with over 1,800 retail outlets nationally. It employs more than 115,000 team members and works with more than 8,000 suppliers, serving millions of customers each week. Fresh produce is central to that offer, and it is also one of Coles' most complex supply chains.
Matching fresh produce supply to customer demand, every day
Coles is always looking to deliver great value, fresh, top quality fruit and vegetables to their customers while working smarter to make it easier for their store and supply chain teams. The challenge is to match customer demand to a dynamic and ever changing agricultural supply chain, whilst taking into account variables such as weather events, seasonality, social events, promotions and customers habits and preferences.
Before the programme, under manual store ordering, on-shelf availability sat below 70%, leaving roughly 5% of sales and EBIT unrealised. Centralising replenishment was where the largest gains were available.
How Mulberry embedded AI forecasting into Coles' operations
Mulberry led the programme that brought in Relex Solutions' AI-driven demand forecasting and retail optimisation platform. It was embedded into fresh produce supply chain, one of Coles' most complex supply chains. Our role covered three areas:
• Programme leadership: running the circa $100 million programme of work through to completion.
• Enterprise integration: integrating the Relex platform into Coles' complex enterprise technology environment.
• Change management: preparing Coles' store and supply chain teams to operate the new centralised model.
From the outset, the programme was designed for Coles' own teams to run the model, not to depend on Mulberry to keep it running.
A replenishment model Coles' teams now run independently
The $100 million programme replaced manual store ordering with a centralised, AI-driven replenishment model. Customers got better on-shelf availability and fresher produce. Coles reduced waste. Store teams and suppliers started working with simpler, faster processes.
Coles' store and supply chain teams now operate the model day to day and manage the Relex relationship directly, independently of Mulberry.
"Fresh produce presents many unique challenges compared to other parts of the grocery business: shorter shelf life, seasonality, price elasticity, along with the diverse and complex growing seasons and regions we are challenged with in Australia. Using the RELEX solution to centralise the control of the replenishment model allows Coles to provide increased efficiency in one of our most complex supply chains and improve the customer experience through more targeted ranges, improved availability, fresher products, and simpler processes for our team members and our suppliers."
Kevin Gunn, Executive General Manager, Central Operations and Transformation, Coles.
Source: Relex Solutions press release, “Coles partners with RELEX Solutions to reduce food waste.”
