Based in Chicago, ReaderLink is the largest full-service book distributor in North America. It services America's top big-box retailers, warehouse clubs, and grocery chains. Its products range from the newest bestsellers to evergreen products like children’s books and reach 99% of the US population every week. Shipping 300 million books annually, ReaderLink holds a significant market presence in the distribution of printed trade books.
Success Story
ReaderLink
Demand Planning, Fulfillment
ReaderLink achieves a 30% increase in new product forecasting accuracy with Blue Yonder
The company
The business challenge
Forecasting new products is always a risky proposition, especially when a distributor is launching up to 50 to 100 new items every week. ReaderLink was encountering stockouts and lost sales in some stores, coupled with overstocks and product returns in others. It needed to create more accurate, customized new-product forecasts at massive scale.
The solution
ReaderLink implemented Blue Yonder Demand and Fulfillment Planning to enhance forecast accuracy, utilizing advanced algorithms and an attribute-based model. This has resulted in improved forecast accuracy for new product introductions by up to 30% for some retailers and segments.
"America’s largest retailers rely on us to create dynamic, high-selling assortments and consistently introduce new titles—as many as 50 to 100 new products weekly. Getting the forecast wrong means stockouts, overstocks, dissatisfied shoppers and costly returns. Blue Yonder enables an attribute-based forecasting process that has improved our accuracy for new product introductions by up to 30% for some retailers and segments. By leveraging Blue Yonder to digitize forecasting, our analysis and planning processes have become much more dynamic."
–Kyle Marx, Executive Vice President, Supply Chain Planning and Enterprise Analytics, ReaderLink.
ReaderLink navigates demand dynamics with advanced forecasting solutions
Operating at the forefront of the North American book distribution industry, ReaderLink encountered a significant challenge with its new product forecasting, which directly impacted profitability. With a distribution network that introduces up to 100 new titles weekly, precise stock allocation was critical. Stock discrepancies led to both stockouts and overstocks, negatively influencing its bottom line.
In response to these challenges, ReaderLink sought the expertise of Blue Yonder, already a trusted partner for its space planning solutions across 100,000 retail locations and its attribute-based model. With the integration of Blue Yonder Demand and Fulfillment, the company leveraged powerful forecasting algorithms. This approach, centered around attribute-based forecasting models, enables a deeper understanding of demand dynamics.
Customization and precision at scale
ReaderLink's enhanced ability to customize assortments for its massive retailer network resulted in significantly reduced errors in forecasts. With a data-driven approach, the company transitioned from general to highly specific forecasting models, utilizing real-world sales data and product attributes.
Achieving better results consistently
By accurately forecasting demand, ReaderLink minimizes excess stock and reverse logistics, which were previously eroding profit margins. Blue Yonder's solution aligns inventory with customer demand, fostering satisfied retailers, customers, and a steadier financial outlook. This has resulted in improved forecast accuracy for new product introductions by up to 30% for some retailers and segments.
ReaderLink's journey with Blue Yonder's innovative solution exemplifies a successful leap from traditional forecasting to a precision-driven model, setting a new benchmark for efficiency and profitability in the book distribution landscape.
Related success stories
Hachette UK Distribution provides leading-edge fulfilment and warehousing services to over 30 book publishers across the UK. It chose to replace its two legacy distribution centers with a purpose-built, automated super site where it deployed Blue Yonder WMS, using the expert services of Blue Yonder partner ModernLogic. Hatchette saw a 30% increase in volumes at its new site and the WMS now handles around 140,000 SKUs, about 80 million items a year.
During the pandemic, the situation changed every few days as new protective measures were taken by governments. These fluctuations had unprecedented effects on customer demand as well as on the supply chain, and the entire fashion retail industry was heavily impacted. But leveraging Blue Yonder’s lifecycle pricing capabilities bonprix achieved the flexibility and reactiveness retailers needed, especially during times of crisis. Was able to quickly respond to changes in the market, stock and incoming orders, lifecycle pricing analyzes data to propose the prices that fully matched bonprix’s expectations and business objectives.
Philippines based direct selling company faced challenges in distribution planning It adopted Blue Yonder Demand & Fulfillment and reduced safety stock inventory by 26% and boosted product availability to 99.3%
Learn how ODP Corporation has transformed its B2B and ecommerce operations with Blue Yonder
