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Case Franprix
Improving Operational Efficiency through AI-Driven Forecasting and Replenishment A leading convenience store retailer, Franprix has some 900 store locations throughout France, mainly around the Paris area. While the majority of these locations are franchised, about one third are centrally owned and operated.
The Challenge: Decentralised Ordering Led to Operational Inefficiency
to move straight on to using the latest technology available, which gives us a clear competitive edge.”
Franprix’s replenishment process was decentralised and time-consuming, with store associates placing replenishment orders manually. A lack of optimisation led to unnecessary stock-outs, waste, or over-stock. This decentralised ordering model also led to delivery peaks on their typically high-volume weekends, causing capacity issues in both stores and the distribution center. Store personnel struggled to replenish shelves and deliver customer service at the same time, while excess stock often spilled out of crowded back rooms onto sales floors.
Preparing for a technological step-change, Franprix developed a cohesive change management plan that ensured employees developed trust in the new tool and processes. During the roll-out phase, the company assigned up to ten “on-the-ground” employees to travel continuously to Franprix stores and speak with store managers. Mostly former store managers themselves, these change management facilitators were able to understand and speak directly to store personnel’s concerns and wishes—a key part of any change management project that is too often bypassed.
Realising their business could no longer be supported by their existing processes, Franprix sought a supply chain solution that could: • Automate previously manual store ordering, including for challenging fresh products • Optimise forecasting and replenishment to increase availability and reduce food waste • Increase operational efficiency by leveling out the flow of goods into stores so that store personnel could focus on clients and added-value services
Change Management Was Key to Rapid Transformation Embarking on an ambitious supply chain transformation initiative, Franprix evaluated RELEX through a fresh replenishment pilot in three stores and, after strong results, chose RELEX to provide their 270 centrally managed stores with AIdriven forecasting and replenishment. They were compelled by the ability to optimise forecasting and replenishment for short shelf-life products like fresh bread to increase availability and reduce food waste. “We were a bit late in automating forecasting and replenishment compared to our main French competitors,” admitted Franprix’s Head of Operational Excellence Arthur Caron. “However, this allowed us
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Franprix also assigned more than ten central employees to respond to store personnel during roll-out, checking store-level sales and other data in RELEX to quickly answer staff questions and adjust system parameters as needed. Much of the success of their RELEX implementation can be attributed to the investment they made in bringing store personnel on board. It took time, but it was worth it.
Results
Results at a Glance • 67% decrease in stockouts • EUR 1.7M (USD 2.2M) reduction in inventory value • 30% decrease in product spoilage • 2 pp margin improvement Due to their thoughtful change management campaign, Franprix has seen remarkable improvements from the adoption of RELEX. The solution’s AI-driven demand forecasts have improved replenishment accuracy by automatically capturing store-SKU-level sales patterns impacted by weekday variation, seasonality, market trends, and even local weather forecasts. The ability to leverage machine learning algorithms