Relay Global supply chain innovation supported by Slimstock

Relay Global, founded in 1976, stands out in the decorating and building materials industry. As a trusted supplier offering top-quality products and exceptional service to the decorating, hardware, homeware, and gardening markets, Relay Global continues to expand both its product range and global presence.

In the fast-paced building materials sector, any availability issues can lead to expensive delays in customers’ projects. For Relay Global the business challenges were crystal clear: guarantee top-notch product quality and outstanding availability. To achieve these goals, the business decided it was time to replace its existing tools and manual processes with a best-of-breed supply chain planning solution.

In search of the ideal partner

This supply chain transformation project was intricately tied to Relay Global’s aim of boosting visibility and enhancing control over its end-to-end supply chain. For the construction wholesaler, improving order fulfillment and avoiding lost sales were crucial objectives.

Choosing both the right technology and supplier was, therefore, essential to ensure a successful transformation. Relay Global’s procurement team sought an experienced partner that would not only empower their inventory processes with an advanced planning solution, but also share the same passion for delivering a world-class service.

Slimstock: The perfect solution

To guarantee the success of its transformation project, Relay Global opted for Slimstock’s supply chain planning solution, Slim4. The decision to partner with Slimstock was influenced by its platform’s powerful AI-enabled forecasting capabilities, as well as its user-friendly, configurable interface, factors that were crucial to support the company’s continued growth.

Slim4 offered a perfect fit for Relay Global’s objectives, addressing key objectives, delivering:

• Reduced working capital tied up in stock
• Improved availability
• The optimal balance of inventory taking into account seasonal demand fluctuations

Successful implementation

The adoption and implementation process has left the Relay Global team optimistic about the potential for improvement.

Leonard Hamilton, Managing Director at Relay Global, notes, “We were impressed with Slimstock’s expert consultants’ knowledge and their meticulous implementation process. It was refreshing to work with a team that showed genuine interest and effort throughout every stage of the implementation project.”

“Slimstock’s consultants took the time to ensure that our team understood every detail of the system, exceeding all our expectations,” adds Leonard.

With only a few months of working with the platform, Relay Global has already seen process improvements. Leonard continues, “We can already see an increase in visibility. With this, we are better positioned to anticipate seasonal swings in demand and ensure that we invest in the right products throughout the year.”

The Managing Director at Relay Global goes on to highlight how the Slim4 platform facilitates more effective collaboration between the supply chain and the management team. “By providing the entire business with an intuitive KPI dashboard, we have far more constructive meetings both with management teams and with other departments across the business.”