Business Challenge: A leading food retailer with a revenue base of approximately €30 billion and a network of 4,000 stores faced the challenge of aligning its supply chain with evolving market demands. The company needed to extend capacities, optimize cost structures, and enhance service offerings to meet shifting customer expectations. These included demands for a broader assortment, increased convenience, new store formats, and a robust multi-channel service. The primary challenge was to optimize the supply chain network and store services to achieve cost reductions, particularly in transportation and in-store operations. Additionally, the retailer needed to determine the optimal level of automation to align with ongoing market trends, ensuring future-readiness of their operations.' (....)