Biyoute Trading Co., Ltd. Expands with RELEX to Unify Merchandising and Supply Chain Planning

Leading Northeast China retailer expands use of the RELEX platform with space and assortment planning to improve category performance, merchandising, and store execution

Biyoute Trading Co., Ltd. (Biyoute), one of Northeast China's largest supermarket chains, is expanding its use of RELEX Solutions with space and assortment planning capabilities across its network of 116 stores. Building on the successful deployment of forecasting and replenishment in 2025, Biyoute will now connect merchandising and supply chain planning on a single platform to improve category management, optimize store layouts, and strengthen store execution. RELEX partner Beijing Times Distribution Consulting (TDCC) will support the implementation.

Operating 116 stores across 33 regions and generating more than 10 billion yuan in annual sales, Biyoute has grown rapidly. As the business grew, it needed a more scalable approach to manage increasing assortment complexity, changing customer demand, and peak trading periods such as the Chinese New Year.

Before implementing RELEX, Biyoute relied on manual planning processes, making it difficult to balance product availability, inventory levels, and labor across its growing store network. The successful rollout of the RELEX Forecasting & Replenishment solution delivered immediate improvements in key performance indicators.

Building on that success, Biyoute is now addressing its next merchandising planning challenge: assortment and space optimization. As its product portfolio continues to expand across different regions, the retailer faces increasing complexity in managing localized assortments, reducing slow-moving inventory, and maximizing shelf space efficiency. It needed a structured, data-driven approach to analyze performance, make informed assortment decisions, and continuously track results.

Biyoute also sought to improve its space planning processes, including keeping planograms up to date and ensuring shelf space aligns with both assortment changes and supply chain operations.

To meet these challenges, Biyoute chose to further invest in the RELEX AI-native platform for Assortment and Space Planning, creating a connected planning environment where merchandising and supply chain decisions work together.

RELEX assortment planning will help Biyoute refine its product offering, improve product commonality across regions, use AI-driven analysis to reduce long-tail SKUs, streamline new and discontinued product transitions, and establish a more structured approach to category performance management. Space planning will introduce automated, data-driven planograms tailored to individual stores and synchronized with product lifecycle and supply chain plans. Running on the unified, AI-native RELEX platform, these capabilities will help Biyoute run stores more consistently while building a foundation for its next phase of growth and setting a benchmark for intelligent retail supply chains in China.

"The successful RELEX implementation demonstrated fast time to value and gave us confidence to expand into additional capabilities," said Meng Fanzhong, Chairman, Biyoute Commercial Group. "By connecting merchandising and supply chain planning, we can respond faster to changing customer demand, improve operational efficiency, and continue building a more customer-focused retail business."

"We're pleased to continue supporting Biyoute on the next phase of its transformation," said Tao Li, Chairman, TDCC. "Building on the success of the first phase, we'll work closely with both teams to help deliver a smooth implementation and long-term value."

"Biyoute's willingness to boldly explore and rigorously execute AI and digital intelligence is truly admirable. We're honored to stand alongside such an outstanding Chinese retailer," said Elaine Jiang, General Manager - China, RELEX Solutions. "Technology alone doesn't create value - it only becomes valuable when tightly integrated with the business and embedded in the core work of retail, in the daily decisions around merchandise, inventory, and store operations. Building successful use cases and confidence for the growth of Chinese retail is something we want to achieve together with Biyoute."