From Market Uncertainty to B2B SaaS Success:
How RELEX Built a Successful Retail Assortment Product Where Competitors Had Failed
"Assortment management is retail's Holy Grail: every retailer wishes someone could tell them what the perfect assortment should be," explains Tommi Ylinen, Chief Product Officer at RELEX Solutions. Yet the industry had poured resources into solutions that customers ultimately abandoned. When RELEX faced mounting pressure to enter this space, they hesitated. The stakes were high, but so was the risk of failure.
Through a systematic 6-month product discovery engagement that used Deductive Innovation methodology, RELEX accomplished what their competitors couldn't:
  • Uncover why previous industry attempts had failed
  • Mapped the complete scope of customer needs
  • Defined an evidence-based product concept addressing both mathematical and psychological challenges
  • Made informed decisions about product strategy and development priorities
  • Created a comprehensive playbook for efficient product development
  • Validated their approach with key customers before major investment
The results were transformative. With a lean team of 3-4 people working over 18 months, RELEX successfully developed and launched an assortment management solution:
5 Customers in Year One
Signed 5 customers within the first year with several in production use
Strong Pipeline
Built a promising pipeline featuring a multi-billion euro grocery chain
Global Expansion
Created a foundation for rapid expansion to 20 customers globally
Productivity
Enabled retailers to eliminate manual spreadsheet workflows
"The results have been surprisingly good given how little resources we have spent on it," notes Ylinen.
This case study reveals how systematic customer problem discovery helped RELEX minimise risk, find the optimal path forward in a challenging market space, and create a valuable assortment management product that customers actually use and love.
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Table of Contents
  • 1. The Challenge: High Market Demand, High Risk
1. The Challenge: High Market Demand, High Risk
For retail software companies, assortment management represents both an immense market opportunity and a daunting challenge. While being the industry's "Holy Grail," it's also been its greatest source of failure. Despite significant market demand, previous attempts by many vendors had resulted in expensive shelfware: solutions that customers may have purchased but never fully adopted.
RELEX faced a crucial decision. “We had a micro space solution in our Space & Assortment product area,” explains Tommi Ylinen, Chief Product Officer, "but without a dedicated assortment management product, we were losing competitive bids." Market pressure was intensifying, particularly as COVID-19 and inflation accelerated changes in retail trends and reshaped purchasing behaviours.
"When I joined RELEX as the Product Lead for Assortment, we faced a critical and incredibly complex challenge. Existing assortment solutions had failed to gain major traction in the past. We needed to understand why. Each market, vertical, and retailer had different needs and processes."
- Jay Hawkins, Head of Product for Assortment and Insights
The stakes couldn't have been higher. A failed product initiative wouldn't just waste development resources, it could damage RELEX's market position and relationships with key customers. As Jay Hawkins emphasises, "Assortment is the very essence of every single retailer in the world. It was clear we needed to get it right this time."
The complexity of the challenge was recognised across the organisation. "As a product manager, I found it challenging to fully survey the problem space and determine which problem to solve first," explains Jussi Niemi, Product Manager at RELEX. "While we had an initial vision for the product, we needed a way to refine our approach and ensure we built something that would truly succeed in the market."
RELEX's leadership had doubts about the business potential and the right approach. "We didn't want to just pour money into building another product in an area where no one had succeeded before," explains Ylinen. Before committing significant investment, they needed to understand why previous attempts had failed, and validate a winning approach.
2. The Ground-Breaking Approach:
Deep Discovery Before Development
Rather than repeating the software industry's typical mistake of jumping straight into development with minimal validation, and then gradually learning through customer feedback, RELEX took a systematic front-loaded approach.
RELEX partnered with Antti Latva-Koivisto of Deductive Solutions Ltd to apply his Deductive Innovation methodology. They needed more than just traditional market research or development support, they wanted a systematic way to:
Identify the true customer problems worth solving
Design a viable product concept based on real customer needs before starting development
Define a product strategy that would work in the market
Create a foundation for efficient execution with limited resources
The 6-month engagement consisted of structured problem discovery and solution concept design phases.
Deep Problem Discovery
The discovery phase utilised Deductive Discovery methodology. The objective was to find out and document retailers' all essential customer needs, and map all significant dependencies and concepts across their processes to ensure completeness, instead of identifying just explicit pain points.
Assortment needs were investigated through:
Customer Sessions
21 sessions with 3 different retailers to map customer problems, business context, processes and planning triggers
Expert Interviews
19 internal interviews with RELEX's domain experts
Business Process Analysis
Study of how retailers review assortment performance, construct plans, and forecast financial impact
Domain Research
Research into industry sources and scientific literature
Data Analysis
Analysis of necessary input data for optimal assortment planning
"Through Antti's discovery work with our customers, internal experts, and product team, we achieved a clear mutual understanding of the assortment challenge," explains Jay Hawkins, Head of Product.
"His ability to gather information from customer interviews, create insightful visualisations, and piece together scattered knowledge helped get everyone on the same page about what the problem was, what our customers were saying, and what we needed to do."
"Some of his illustrations triggered real 'light bulb moments,' which helped us see familiar concepts in new ways."
Comprehensive Solution Design
Findings from discovery were used to design a comprehensive product concept covering:
  • End-to-end planning process from supplier relationships to store execution
  • Performance review and root-cause identification of assortments issues
  • Integration of mathematical optimisation with human decision-making
  • Strategic use of loyalty and transaction data
  • Synergies across unified retail planning (macro/micro space planning and replenishment)
To design the concept, Antti used his unique Deductive Design methodology, where an optimal solution is deduced from discovered facts, eliminating guesswork.
The approach strikes a balance by avoiding unnecessary complexity while still ensuring no critical functionality is missed.
In parallel, the project supported RELEX Labs in their investigation of algorithms needed to implement the product concept, ensuring technical feasibility alongside market viability.
"The results formed the foundation for our design, user navigation and solution architecture," notes Sam Welton, VP of Product for Space & Assortment.
"We used them to start to build our go-to-market strategy and make sure we had a credible scope for entering the market."
3. Key Insights
The systematic discovery process revealed insights that fundamentally changed RELEX's understanding of assortment management and surprised even veteran retail experts.
"It informed me about areas I hadn't considered, broke certain myths, and gave me new perspectives on what retailers truly required from an assortment solution," admits Welton.
Understanding the Complete Scope of Customer Problems
The research uncovered that previous solutions had failed because they hadn't addressed the complete scope of customer needs.
"There isn't just one optimisation problem to solve," explains Jay Hawkins. "There is a complex selection of related problems that combine mathematical and scientific challenges with psychological elements like trust and change management."
Sam Welton adds: "Antti's systematic approach revealed the true breadth of the topic. It showed that working with suppliers, pricing decisions, introductions and terminations of products, all the way to store execution, and everything in between impacted assortment decisions."
Need for an Integrated Approach
The research revealed why point solutions had consistently failed: customers needed a comprehensive product that would support their entire planning process rather than focusing on isolated functionality.
This insight fundamentally shifted RELEX's product strategy and enabled them to create something uniquely valuable in the market.
Foundation for Efficient Execution
Perhaps most crucially, the results provided a clear direction for development with limited resources.
"Given the early stage of the product's lifecycle, Antti's professional expertise helped us accelerate our development efforts," explains Jussi Niemi.
The comprehensive foundation enabled the small team of 3-4 people to move forward confidently and efficiently, avoiding the wasteful cycles of trial and error that often plague product development.
The documentation would serve as their guide through 18 months of focused development and provided a cornerstone for achieving market success with remarkably limited resources.
4. Business Impact: Market Success with Minimal Investment
The insights and solution concept from the discovery engagement enabled RELEX to move forward with product development and achieve remarkable results using a lean team of just 3-4 people. The impact of having a clear, validated direction proved transformative for their business.
What began as a high-risk market opportunity transformed into a product with demonstrated market success.
Rapid Market Traction
"We have successfully built a marketable product that has generated significant interest," reports Tommi Ylinen, CPO. The numbers tell the story:
  • Successfully signed 5 customers during the first year with several in production use
  • Built a pipeline including a multi-billion euro grocery retailer
  • Demonstrated ability to sell assortment management as a standalone product
  • Established competitive positioning in the Space & Assortment market
Unprecedented Resource Efficiency
The most impressive aspect was achieving these results with minimal investment.
"Even with very limited resources the results have been surprisingly good," notes Ylinen.
Fast market traction and the development efficiency validated RELEX's strategic decision to invest in thorough discovery before development.
Clear Path to Scale
The initial success has positioned RELEX for rapid growth.
"We now have five customers, and we are planning rapid expansion to roughly 20 customers globally," reports Sam Welton.
"That's a really successful outcome."
Real Customer Value
Unlike previous industry attempts that resulted in shelfware, RELEX created a solution that actually gets used and delivers tangible value.
"We have now onboarded our first customers to production use and the feedback has been highly positive," reports Jussi Niemi.
"Users have gotten rid of their manual and spreadsheet-based workflows and can now dedicate more time to analysis and decision-making."
Foundation for Long-Term Success
The comprehensive discovery work continues to pay dividends as the team scales. As Niemi notes, "The material and interview recordings have proved vital, and we have often returned to them to better understand customer needs."
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5. Client Perspectives
The project's comprehensive impact is best understood through the journey of RELEX's key stakeholders, showing how initial skepticism transformed into market success.
From Skepticism to Success - Chief Product Officer
Tommi Ylinen, CPO, began with well-founded caution: "Assortment management is retail's Holy Grail, but we had seen the industry develop solutions that customers ultimately didn't use. We didn't want to just pour money into building another product in an area where no one had succeeded before."
The discovery work transformed this caution into confidence. "The insights and results from Antti's product discovery and concept design work helped us find the right approach," Ylinen reveals.
"Even with very limited resources the results have been surprisingly good. We have successfully built a marketable product that has generated significant interest and that we are excited about."
Challenging Assumptions - VP of Product
For Sam Welton, VP of Product for Space & Assortment, the work challenged deep-seated assumptions:
"I had thought that I knew the key aspects relevant about the area. But it introduced new ideas and challenged my assumptions as to what could and should be included for a successful solution."
The engagement provided crucial strategic foundations. "Antti's contribution helped inform our design, user navigation and solution architecture. We used the results to start to build our go-to-market strategy and make sure we had a credible scope for entering the market."
Solving Complex Challenges - Head of Product
Jay Hawkins faced a daunting task as Head of Product: "We faced a critical and incredibly complex challenge. The complexity wasn't just mathematical. There was a significant human element, and each market, vertical, and retailer has different needs and processes."
The structured discovery process proved transformative. "Without this approach, it would have taken significantly longer to reach the same mutual understanding of the challenge. The shared understanding across the team served as our foundation to build a tangible product roadmap. His results also provided us with a clear narrative that helped us tell the story when talking to customers and stakeholders."
Accelerating Development - Product Manager
For Jussi Niemi, Product Manager, the impact was immediate and lasting. "His insights clarified that our customers needed a more comprehensive product than we initially thought. As a result, we had a clear and refined vision on how to move forward with the product. His contribution made my job as a product manager significantly easier."
This multi-level impact, from strategic vision to practical implementation, demonstrates how thorough discovery work can transform not just product development, but an entire business initiative.
As Niemi concludes, "It is absolutely crucial to gain a thorough understanding of the big picture at the very beginning. This is particularly important when facing a complex and multifaceted problem that presents multiple possible directions to pursue."
6. Key Takeaways: 6 Critical Lessons for B2B Product Success
RELEX's success in assortment management reveals several critical lessons for B2B software product development:
1
Deep Problem Understanding Before Development is Critical
Success in complex B2B software requires understanding the entire problem space before building a solution. As Jay Hawkins notes, "We often have a natural tendency to jump straight to solutions, but there isn't just one optimisation problem to solve. There is a complex selection of related problems."
2
Systematic Discovery Reduces Risk
By front-loading discovery before investing in product development, RELEX
  1. avoided costly pitfalls and
  1. delivered a successful product
  1. with minimal investment.
3
Comprehensive Problem Space Coverage Matters
Understanding the full scope of customer needs, from supplier relationships to store execution, proved crucial. This comprehensive view enabled building a solution that actually gets used, unlike previous attempts that addressed only fragments of the problem space. The breadth of discovery revealed interconnections between different aspects of assortment planning that competitors had missed.
4
Solution Concept Forms Foundation for Development
A solution concept, based on thorough discovery of real customer needs, provided a clear direction for product development. The product concept defined how different parts of the solution would work as a complete system, and enabled confident decision-making about product strategy and development priorities.
5
Shared Understanding Aligns Teams for Success
Well-documented and comprehensive discovery results created team alignment, making execution more efficient and scaling the team easier. They are assets that continue providing value for many years. Jay Hawkins emphasises, "Without this structured discovery process, it would have taken significantly longer to reach the same mutual understanding of the challenge."
6
Discovery Saves Time and Resources in the Long Run
A 6-month discovery phase using Deductive Innovation enabled RELEX to succeed in 18 months, far more efficiently than approaches that rely on trial and error. Deductive Innovation helps find an optimal solution so product teams can focus their efforts in developing only useful features that deliver superior customer value.
By understanding customer problems at a fundamental level, companies can build products that don't just compete in the crowded markets, but rather transform their markets.
7. Transform Your Product Strategy
If you're a product leader in B2B SaaS, RELEX's journey likely resonates with challenges you face:
1
Pressure to enter new market spaces despite significant risk
2
Need to achieve more with limited resources
3
Challenge of building products customers will actually use
4
Difficulty in aligning teams around a clear direction

Consider these critical questions:
  • Are you confident you fully understand the problems your customers need to solve?
  • Could you achieve more with current resources through better problem understanding?
  • Do you have a systematic way to validate your product direction?
  • Are you confident your next product investment will succeed where others have failed?
  • Does your team have a shared, comprehensive understanding of your market?
  • Could your organisation benefit from a systematic approach to product discovery?
The Path Forward
Deductive Innovation offers a proven approach to answering these questions and transforming market opportunities into successful products.
The methodology helps B2B SaaS companies:
Discover and validate customer problems systematically
Reduce development risk through early validation
Develop a product strategy based on facts and evidence
Create alignment across product, engineering, and go-to-market teams
Design optimal solutions based on deep customer understanding
Execute efficiently with limited resources
Achieve market success with a high level of certainty
Do you want to discuss how to apply this approach to your software product?
Deductive Innovation Outperforms Traditional Approaches
Contrast Deductive Innovation with more traditional approaches to product development:
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Discovery is the Cornerstone of Progress
"Antti's work was a real cornerstone of our progress, as it was a direct line from the engagement with him into the customer related activity and development. We now have five customers, and we are planning rapid expansion to roughly 20 customers globally. That's a really successful outcome of Antti's work."
– Sam Welton, VP of Product
Understanding Core Problems is Essential
"Antti excels at discovering and understanding the core problems to solve, which is essential for building a successful product."
– Jay Hawkins, Head of Product
Problem Discovery Fast-Tracks Development
"Antti has exceptional expertise in the critical early-stage product development tasks – discovering customer needs, producing a holistic view of a complex problem space, and analysing it. I warmly recommend Antti for such an engagement, especially when the goal is to fast-track the development of your new product."
– Jussi Niemi, Product Manager
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About RELEX Solutions and Deductive Solutions
RELEX Solutions
RELEX Solutions provides a unified supply chain and retail planning platform that aligns and optimises demand, merchandising, supply chain, operations, and production planning across the end-to-end value chain.
Founded in Finland in 2005, RELEX has grown into a global company with over €300M in revenue and 2300 employees in 21 countries. RELEX serves top-tier global retailers and consumer goods companies with AI-driven, data-centric software solutions. Their innovative approach enables businesses to drive profitable growth across all sales and distribution channels, leading to higher product availability, increased sales, and improved sustainability.
Deductive Solutions
Deductive Solutions is transforming product development of B2B software with its novel Deductive Innovation methodology.
Founded by Antti Latva-Koivisto, a veteran product specialist with over 25 years of experience in B2B software, the company helps B2B and Enterprise SaaS companies systematically discover customer problems, evaluate product opportunities, and design solutions that have a superior problem-solution fit and consistently achieve market success.
Through its unique methodology, Deductive Solutions enables clients to create superio B2B products faster and with fewer resources than traditional methods.

This case study is based on a real project that Antti Latva-Koivisto, founder of Deductive Solutions Ltd, conducted for RELEX Solutions. All quotes and results have been verified and approved by RELEX executives.
© Antti Latva-Koivisto, Deductive Solutions Oy Ltd, 2025