Dive Brief:

• Casey’s General Stores has partnered with retail planning company Relex to create a unified space planning and supply chain solution for the convenience retailer’s more than 2,400 stores, according to a Friday press release.
• The technology will help Casey’s make more accurate and efficient planograms and optimize its supply chain to make sure the needed amount of fresh ingredients and other items are available at the right times.
• Relex says its solutions aim to “reduce the volume of manual work and improve order accuracy on a store-by-store basis.”

Dive Insight:

With labor pressures still weighing on the c-store space, the Relex platform aims to help Casey’s make better use of its employees’ time, automating certain tasks and making others easier. For instance, its planogram and retail floor planning programs can make it easier for workers to know where items are located and speed up restocking

“As the organization continues to grow, our central space planning team requires more efficient processes to manage everything from a more regionalized assortment, seasonal inventory to fresh product,” said Jim Hamilton, senior space planning manager at Casey’s. “Relex provides our planners a valuable ‘single source of truth’ to work from.”

The platform can also help with promotional planning, freshness optimization, forecasting and more. For instance, the software can automate replenishment of certain items using AI, while also potentially reducing food waste by not over-ordering perishable items. 

“Fresh products are a key component of our business, but we didn't have a system in place to balance freshness and availability,” says Doug Means, senior vice president of supply chain at Casey’s. 

Casey’s is not the only convenience store chain that works with Finland-based Relex. Companies like Kwik Trip, Sheetz, Kum & Go and Circle K have all made use of the software. In Circle K’s case, Relex said it was able to surpass three target goals – a 10% reduction in tobacco inventory and 2% increases in assortment loyalty and availability.  

Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s is the third-largest c-store chain in the U.S. with locations across 16 states. In the past several months, the company has also partnered with an in-store testing firm and named a new chief information officer.