PHOENIX Healthcare Distribution adopts AI forecasting and replenishment to strengthen UK pharma supply
Published: Jan 20, 2026
PHOENIX Healthcare Distribution has selected RELEX Solutions to modernise forecasting and replenishment across 12 national distribution centres serving more than 7,100 pharmacies, dispensing practices, and outpatient sites. The goal: higher service levels, tighter control of stock, and faster response to demand swings-without adding operational drag.
Why this matters for operations
- Pharma distribution is unforgiving: strict regulation, short shelf lives, substitutions, and tight margins.
- AI-optimised forecasts promise fewer stockouts and less waste by aligning inventory with service level targets.
- Network-wide visibility and supplier collaboration help teams get ahead of constraints-especially during peaks.
What changes on the ground
- Automated demand assessment that blends history, seasonality, and service targets to set ideal stock by product type.
- Dynamic, rule-based replenishment to handle pharmaceutical substitutions and shifting demand across a diverse customer base.
- Inventory optimisation across 12 DCs to balance availability with capital tied up in stock.
- Faster exception handling so planners spend less time firefighting and more time preventing issues.
- Improved supplier collaboration and visibility to pre-empt shortages before they hit service levels.
Implementation will be supported by Wysupp, a partner with deep pharmaceutical project experience. RELEX has already been deployed in other PHOENIX Group companies, including Tamro Finland, Tamro Baltics, and Nomeco-giving the team a head start on configuration and best practices.
Scale and footprint
PHOENIX is part of the international PHOENIX Group. In the UK, they supply medicines and healthcare products through brands including Rowlands Pharmacy, PHOENIX Healthcare Distribution, PSUK, Numark, Nupharm, and NuCare, reaching over 20 million patients each year.
Voices from the project
"RELEX's proven ability to handle the complex balancing act between maintaining the high availability levels required for us to best serve our customers, while managing our inventory efficiently is exactly what we need," said Richard Tunnicliffe, UK Chief Operating Officer, PHOENIX Medical Supplies Ltd. "Their success with other PHOENIX Group companies demonstrated that they understand our specific challenges around pharmaceutical assortment management and regulatory requirements."
"The pharmaceutical industry represents one of the most technically demanding supply chain environments with tight margins, strict regulation, short shelf lives, and unpredictable substitution cycles," said Sandra Oliveira, CEO, Wysupp. "We are eager to bring our domain-expertise and proven implementation track record to this deployment, ensuring RELEX's advanced algorithms are configured to meet the real-world complexity of UK pharmaceutical distribution."
"PHOENIX Medical Supplies operates in a complex manner and our work with the wider PHOENIX Group companies has given us insight into these challenges," said Jason Berry, Senior Vice President, EMEA, RELEX Solutions. "PHOENIX will benefit from our advanced capabilities in managing complex substitutions through dynamic replenishment, improving supplier collaboration to increase visibility before constraints arise, and optimising inventory across their network while meeting stringent service level requirements."
Operational scorecard: what to track
- Service level (%) by product segment and customer type
- Forecast accuracy (weekly), with separate views for fast/slow movers and new items
- Inventory turns, days of supply, and working capital tied up in stock
- Spoilage/write-offs due to expiry and short-dated stock
- Substitution handling time and impact on fill rates
- Supplier OTIF and lead-time variability; exception counts triggered by constraints
- Backorders and time-to-recovery during peak demand
Compliance context
Operations teams will need tight alignment with Good Distribution Practice, temperature control, and traceability requirements as processes and parameters shift. For reference, see MHRA guidance on GDP for medicines in the UK: Good Distribution Practice (MHRA).
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