Dollar General Deploys RELEX AI Across 21,000 Stores and 34 Distribution Centers

Quick Facts

Dollar General is partnering with RELEX Solutions to unify forecasting, replenishment, and allocation planning across 21,000 stores and 34 distribution centers.
The retailer is also deploying an AI-enabled in-store audio network with QSIC across roughly 6,000 stores, doubling its audio footprint to 12,000 locations.
Dollar General spent $48 million on information systems and technology upgrades in the first 39 weeks of fiscal 2025.

Dollar General is bringing artificial intelligence into the core of its supply chain operations. The discount retailer announced a partnership with RELEX Solutions on August 27 to manage store replenishment, ordering schedules, lead times, supplier coordination, and fulfillment methods across its entire North American network.

The scale is significant. Dollar General runs more than 21,000 stores, 34 distribution centers, and an inventory of approximately 18,000 SKUs. The RELEX platform will pull forecasting, replenishment, and allocation into a single planning environment so distribution centers and stores share the same data.

Jeff Vaughan, SVP of Global Inventory Management at Dollar General, said the platform gives teams greater visibility across the network. “We chose RELEX because it gives us a practical way to use AI in our planning and helps our teams focus on the issues that truly need attention,” Vaughan said.

Frank Lord, Chief Revenue Officer at RELEX, said the platform was built for this kind of scale. “Dollar General’s scale and pace, with more than 21,000 stores and a complex distribution network, require planning that is reliable and straightforward,” Lord said.

Building an Enterprise AI Architecture

CEO Todd Vasos framed the RELEX deployment as part of a broader effort. On the Q2 2026 earnings call, also held August 27, Vasos said the company is building agentic operating systems for the enterprise to reshape and optimize workflows across the organization.

Dollar General hired Travis Nixon as SVP of Artificial Intelligence Optimization in November 2025, a newly created role. Nixon previously led AI for Dropbox’s security division and held roles at Meta and Microsoft. His mandate covers supply chain, store operations, and merchandising.

The company is also modernizing its underlying IT infrastructure to support the AI rollout. Dollar General allocated $48 million toward technology upgrades in the first 39 weeks of fiscal 2025.

In-Store Audio Adds a Second AI Front

Separate from the supply chain work, Dollar General is expanding its retail media business through a partnership with QSIC. The deal will bring an AI-enabled in-store audio network to about 6,000 stores across 48 states, doubling the retailer’s existing audio footprint to 12,000 locations by Q2 2026.

The QSIC platform uses AI to combine point-of-sale data with curated music and AI-generated advertisements, giving brands a new channel to reach Dollar General shoppers at the shelf.

Financial Backdrop

Dollar General’s AI push comes as the company reports improving financials. Net sales in Q1 2026 reached $10.8 billion, up 3.4%, with comparable store sales rising 2%. Customer traffic grew 1.4% and average basket size increased 0.5 points.

Gross margin reached 31.6% of sales in Q1 2026, expanding 65 basis points. Shrink improved 28 basis points, building on a 61-basis-point gain the prior year. CFO Donny Lau said operational improvements tied to inventory management and shrink reduction are already visible in the results.

For fiscal 2026, Dollar General forecasts net sales growth of 3.7% to 4.2% and same-store sales growth of 2.2% to 2.7%. Management expects gross margin to keep expanding in the second half, supported by supply chain productivity gains and category management improvements.

RELEX has been growing its retail footprint. Lowe’s announced plans to scale its own RELEX partnership in April to improve inventory management, signaling broader industry adoption of the platform.