BP has invested in supply chain and retail planning solution provider Relex Solutions, in a move that will enhance its retail customer experience.
Utilising the platform’s AI-based technology, the firm will provide the analytics needed to both predict and meet fluctuations in customer demand.
The technology is anticipated to help maximise product availability and minimise food waste across BP’s 300 company-owned retail sites and Wild Bean Cafes in the UK.
The new digital solution also support the company’s aim to double its convenience gross margins by 2030.
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Figures from BP show that more than half of customers visit its c-stores on a food-only mission, rather than for fuel-only or food and fuel.
“Supply chain optimisation is critical for convenience growth ambitions,” said BP vice president for convenience in Europe, Jo Hayward.
“Our strategy is to offer customers on the move with quality food and coffee at our network of convenient roadside locations.
“With the Relex platform, we’re aiming to strike the balance between maximising availability and minimising food waste – optimising each stage of the supply chain from the warehouse to the store, so that our customers can always rely on us for what they want, when and where they want it.”
Earlier this year, BP demonstrated its commitment to growing its convenience retail business in the UK with a series of new senior hires, including poaching Sainsbury’s Joanne Hall as its new retail operations director, and Lidl’s Clare Farrant as vice president of marketing for mobility and convenience.
