Why This Matters to Distributors: Investments in AI-driven forecasting and automated replenishment are becoming critical for distributors managing fresh and perishable inventory, where small improvements in accuracy can reduce spoilage, lower labor costs, and improve service levels.
Gordon Food Service Stores will deploy new forecasting and replenishment technology across its U.S. network as it looks to improve inventory accuracy and reduce waste in fresh food categories.
The company, a retail arm of Gordon Food Service, said Thursday it has selected RELEX Solutions to replace legacy demand planning and fulfillment tools across more than 185 locations.
Gordon Food Service is one of the largest foodservice distributors in North America, supplying food and related products to restaurants, healthcare providers, schools, and other institutional customers. The privately held, family-operated company, based in Wyoming, Michigan, operates a broadline distribution network across the U.S. and Canada, alongside its Gordon Food Service Stores, which serve both businesses and consumers with bulk foods, fresh products, and grocery items.
The RELEX platform is expected to support daily and intraday forecasting, automate replenishment decisions and provide near real-time visibility into inventory at both the store and distribution center level. The system will also help manage approximately 4,500 SKUs, with a focus on improving performance in perishable categories.
Company officials said the upgrade is intended to reduce reliance on manual processes, improve on-hand accuracy and enable faster adjustments when supply conditions change.
“Fresh forecasting and daily decision-making are critical in our business,” said Mark Fisher, director of supply chain at Gordon Food Service Store, in a statement.
RELEX said its platform consolidates forecasting and replenishment into a single system, replacing multiple tools and improving visibility into inventory performance. The company cited Gordon Food Service Stores’ growth and its mix of high-volume fresh products as key drivers behind the implementation.
RetSci, a retail analytics firm, will support the rollout. Chief Operating Officer Bill Zacher said the focus will be on improving planning accuracy and operational efficiency as the business scales.
The deployment reflects broader investment across foodservice and wholesale distribution in data-driven planning and automation, particularly in fresh categories where forecasting errors can quickly translate into spoilage, excess inventory, or lost sales.
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