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Editorial Advisory Board

  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
  • James Butler, Ph.D., Hamamatsu
  • Natalie Fardian-Melamed, Ph.D., Columbia University
  • Justin Sigley, Ph.D., AmeriCOM
  • Professor Birgit Stiller, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and Leibniz University of Hannover
  • Professor Stephen Sweeney, University of Glasgow
  • Mohan Wang, Ph.D., University of Oxford
  • Professor Xuchen Wang, Harbin Engineering University
  • Professor Stefan Witte, Delft University of Technology

Blain’s Farm & Fleet to Transform Supply Chain Operations with RELEX

Retailer to improve inventory metrics and improve store execution with a unified platform

Blain’s Farm & Fleet, the most trusted name in Midwestern retail, has selected RELEX Solutions, a leading provider of unified supply chain and retail planning technology, to improve its forecasting, allocation, and replenishment operations. Blain’s will boost efficiency and enhance customer experience across its distribution center and 45 stores with RELEX. This initiative will bring together delivery, advisory, and industry experience from Logic, part of Accenture, with the RELEX AI-driven technology.

Founded in 1955, Blain’s Farm & Fleet serves generations of loyal customers with a wide range of products that includes clothing, food and beverage, home improvement, and more. With more than 100,000 active SKUs and a growing demand for agility, the company needed to automate manual processes, replace custom systems, and enable data-driven decision making.

Like all retailers, Blain’s must continuously balance price competitiveness with exceptional availability and customer experience. As the specialty discount retailer continues to expand and adapt to evolving consumer expectations, it saw the need to unify and optimize its supply chain and in-store planning.

Upgrading to the RELEX unified platform will eliminate supply chain silos, enabling end-to-end visibility and collaboration for Blain’s. It will also unify forecasting, allocation, and replenishment, enabling more accurate planning, efficient product movement, and smarter daily decisions.

“We are excited to work with RELEX Solutions to modernize our supply chain and space planning processes,” said Dennis Carrie, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain at Blain’s Farm & Fleet. “Their unified platform and AI-driven capabilities will help us reduce complexity, improve inventory metrics and deliver measurable value to our business. This is a long-term investment in innovation and operational excellence.”

"As businesses strive for greater resilience, transparency, and efficiency, real-time data and AI have emerged as vital tools for optimizing logistics and inventory management," said Nick Reinbold, who leads the Americas region at Logic, part of Accenture. “Together with RELEX, we are helping Blain’s Farm & Fleet to bolster its operational capabilities, improve customer experiences, and build a solid foundation for long-term profitability and success."

Jason Aubin, VP at RELEX Solutions, added, “Blain’s Farm & Fleet is a trusted leader in retail and we are proud to support their transformation. With the RELEX unified platform, Blain’s will gain the tools to increase efficiency, reduce manual effort and elevate the customer experience through smarter planning and execution.”

About Blain’s Farm & Fleet

Founded in 1955, Blain’s Farm & Fleet is a specialty retailer with 45 locations throughout Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan. They serve customers across the United States via their website and mobile app. This Modern General Store remains steadfast in its commitment to offering customers high-quality products, competitive prices, and reliable service. Visit www.farmandfleet.com or download the Blain’s Farm & Fleet mobile app.

In addition to high-quality products with the Blain’s Farm & Fleet brand name, they carry top-rated brands, including:

Clothing: Ariat, Carhartt, Dickies, Under Armour, Columbia, Levi's, Wrangler, Kuhl, WorkNSport

Footwear: Skechers, Puma, Keen, Ariat, Asics, New Balance, CAT, Carhartt, Hey Dude, Sorel, TimberlandPro, Crocs

Tools & Hardware: DeWalt, Milwaukee, Stanley, Craftsman, Hobart

Paint & Supplies: Benjamin Moore, Valspar, MinWax, Rustoleum, Graco, Purdy

Automotive: Pennzoil, Valvoline, Mobil 1, Mystik, Fram, Prestone, Sea Foam, Meguiar’s

Tire & Auto Repair Service: Michelin, Goodyear, Cooper

Sporting Goods: Realtree, Scent Blocker, Yeti, Coleman, Rapala, Plano, St. Croix, Browning, Winchester

Home & Housewares: KitchenAid, Cuisinart, Keurig, T-Fal, Lodge, Calphalon, Ty

Pet Department: Purina, Blue Buffalo, Hill's Science Diet, Iams, Canidae, Taste of the Wild, Kong, Greenies, Diamond, Eukanuba

Agriculture: King Kutter, Nutrena, Behrens, Guardian, Manna Pro, Ware, Weaver Leather, Agrimaster

Lawn & Garden: Scotts, Miracle-Gro, RoundUp, Fiskars, Weber, Char-Broil, Estate

Outdoor Power Equipment: Troy-Bilt, Cub Cadet, Briggs & Stratton

Electrical & Plumbing: Reliance, GE, Southwire, Whirlpool, Klein, Superior, JMF, BestAir

About RELEX Solutions

RELEX Solutions delivers a unified supply chain planning platform for retailers and manufacturers, enabled by proven AI technology. We help companies optimize demand forecasting, replenishment, merchandising, pricing and promotions, supply chain operations, and production planning across the end-to-end value chain. Brands like ADUSA, AutoZone, Coles, Circle K, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, Ford South America, M&S Food, PetSmart, Rituals, The Home Depot, Systemair and Vita Coco trust RELEX to increase product availability, boost sales, deliver actionable insights, improve sustainability, and drive profitable growth. Learn more at: https://www.relexsolutions.com/customers/.

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