RELEX Boosts Global Expansion with Investment from Summit Partners

Global growth-equity firm backs Europe’s fastest growing supply chain solutions provider ahead of its North American launch

HELSINKI, FINLAND — RELEX Solutions, provider of in-memory-based supply chain software, has accepted a €20 million minority investment from global growth equity firm Summit Partners. The investment will support the technology company’s continued international expansion and a key push into the North American market later this year. RELEX’s founders, Mikko Kärkkäinen, Johanna Småros and Michael Falck, will continue in their senior management roles and remain majority owners of the company.

RELEX’s game-changing technology helps retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers automate and optimize their supply chains, cut spoilage, reduce inventory and boost on-shelf availability. Leveraging the power of in-memory computing, the system delivers large volumes of data over 100 times faster than traditional alternatives, giving its predictive demand forecasting and actionable analytics even more immediacy and impact. With easy implementation and demonstrated rapid return on investment, RELEX has already won over many of Europe’s largest retailers.

U.S. and Europe-based Summit Partners has extensive experience supporting the international growth of disruptive enterprise software companies. This is Summit’s first investment in a Finnish company and the first equity investment RELEX has accepted. RELEX has expanded organically since 2005 and now operates in 17 countries across Europe and Africa.

“We look for businesses with the potential to become global leaders in their sectors,” says Summit Partners London-based Managing Director Han Sikkens, who has joined the RELEX Board of Directors. “RELEX offers outstanding proprietary technology and impressive results; it’s quick to implement, generates a rapid ROI to its customers and is steered by a talented management team whose values and growth strategy we fully support.”

“We interviewed a broad cross-section of RELEX’s customers and were impressed by the exceptionally positive feedback about their staff, management of implementation projects and long-term commitment to their customers’ success,” added Steffan Peyer, a Summit Vice President who has also joined the RELEX Board along with Summit Vice President Antony Clavel.

“Putting the customer first, offering a transparent, honest partnership, and remaining R&D driven so our customers will always get cutting edge tools, is absolutely the basis of our success—and we’re confident that this approach will be well-received by North American retailers, wholesalers and manufacturing companies, who face the same challenges as their European counterparts,” says RELEX Group CEO Mikko Kärkkäinen. “Summit is a perfect fit for us both culturally and strategically, especially as we expand worldwide. We have a shared vision of making RELEX a global force in supply chain management technology.”

About RELEX
RELEX Solutions is the first supply chain solution provider to offer retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers the power of In-Memory Computing.

Together with a proprietary database and unique tools RELEX delivers results over 100 times faster than traditional alternatives, bringing unprecedented power and agility to supply chain management.

Customers in 17 countries use RELEX demand forecasting, inventory optimisation, replenishment automation solutions to cut spoilage by 40%, inventory by 30%, boost on-shelf availability to 98%+, and become more profitable in the process.Founded in 2005 by three logistics scientists, RELEX is the fastest growing company in its field in Europe. RELEX employs almost 150 people at its offices in the UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and at its Helsinki headquarters and is planning to launch its US operations in late 2015.

More information: www.relexsolutions.com.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a growth equity firm that is currently investing more than $6.5 billion into equity and fixed income opportunities. Summit has invested in more than 400 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth sectors. These companies have completed more than 135 public offerings, and more than 150 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Notable technology companies financed by Summit Partners include Avast, Belkin, Flow Traders, Hyperion Solutions, Infor, McAfee, NetWitness, Postini, RiskIQ, SafeBoot, Sybari Software, Uber and WebEx. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, visit www.summitpartners.com or follow on Twitter at @SummitPartners.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This website is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.