Primark has partnered with Kallikor, the supply chain network design platform, to introduce a simulation-led approach to significant strategic supply chain decisions. The partnership strengthens how Primark tests and validates operational and capital changes before implementation.
The engagement begins with creating digital twins of Primark’s distribution centres, allowing teams to test alternative operating configurations before implementation. By comparing scenarios in a simulated environment, Primark can identify more efficient approaches while protecting customer service and avoiding downstream cost or operational impacts across the store estate.
Adam Hoccom, director of supply chain at Primark, said: “As Primark continues to grow across markets, ensuring our supply chain is designed to support that ambition is critical. A key part of that is making sure our distribution centres operate efficiently while remaining aligned to store needs. Working with Kallikor allows us to test and compare different operating configurations – from layout and flow changes within sites to broader network considerations – before we commit capital spend.
This gives us greater confidence in the choices we make and how they will perform in practice, strengthening our ability to innovate and make well-informed decisions as we evolve our network.”
By modelling operational flows in detail – from pick paths and labour constraints to throughput variability and service impacts – Primark can see how proposed changes will perform in practice before they are introduced. The models are built from Primark’s operational data, ensuring outcomes reflect how the system actually performs under a range of real operating conditions rather than relying on assumptions or averaged views of the network.
The modelling also establishes a living decision environment built on Primark’s operational data that can be reused and extended as new strategic questions arise. Rather than commissioning a new analysis for each decision, teams can continuously test alternatives within the same validated model as the supply chain evolves.
Through simulation and AI-enabled scenario exploration, Primark teams can run and compare multiple operating futures side-by-side – assessing trade-offs across cost, service, capacity and risk in parallel. This ensures that viable options are explored comprehensively and that the strongest strategic path is chosen with clarity and confidence. It also provides a shared, system-wide evidence base that supports confident cross-functional alignment around significant strategic choices.
Jack O’Connell, CEO & co-founder of Kallikor, said: “At Primark’s scale, no supply chain decision exists in isolation. A change in one distribution centre can affect capacity, flow, service and performance across the wider network. Our role is to help teams explore decisions that would otherwise carry too much uncertainty, testing different scenarios before implementation so leaders can understand the trade-offs and move forward with confidence.
We’re proud to support Primark as they build a simulation-led decision-making capability, beginning with their distribution centres and creating the foundations for better decisions across the wider supply chain over time.”
While the initial focus is on distribution centre configuration, the modelling environment is designed to be reused as new questions arise – allowing teams to test automation pathways, capital investments, network design changes and future growth scenarios within the same validated system.
The partnership represents a step toward a more evidence-led approach to supply chain decision-making – ensuring that future growth and investment choices can be tested against operational reality before change is locked in.
