With more people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, pet adoption increased in the UK with 11% of households welcoming a new pet and 10% planning to, according to the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (PFMA).

As a result of this rise in pet ownership, Pets at Home – the UK’s leading pet care business – soon identified the need to upgrade its warehouse capabilities and selected Blue Yonder’s Warehouse Management System (WMS) to help meet the increase in consumer demand for pet care products and services.

Pets at Home’s commitment is to make sure that pets and their owners have the very best advice, products and care. Products including food, toys, accessories and more are available online or from its 452 retail stores, many of which also have Vets4Pets vet practices and Groom Room salons offering pet grooming services. 

Pets at Home is also currently underway with a wider digital transformation programme that covers all areas of its business with the aim of delivering an even better experience for its customers and their pets. As part of this project, the retailer is consolidating its two warehouse locations in the UK into a new, single automated mega-distribution center (DC) that is slated to open in 2023. To help deliver on this ambitious project, Pets at Home turned to its long-time supply chain provider, Blue Yonder, for the right warehousing solution.

With Blue Yonder, Pets at Home will be able to:

  • Manage its DC inventory availability across e-commerce and stores orders to meet customer demand and improve on-shelf availability.
  • Configure the solution to seamlessly support both automated and manual processes.
  • Attain full visibility into its warehouse operations to serve both e-commerce and store demand.
  • Manage and coach warehouse colleagues to achieve optimal performance.

“Our decision to implement an upgraded version of Blue Yonder’s WMS in our new distribution centre is a testimony to the strong relationship we have built together and the market-leading position of Blue Yonder in warehouse management,” said William Hewish, CIO, Pets at Home.

With Blue Yonder’s WMS, Pets at Home will increase flexibility and real-time responsiveness, optimize storage and selection strategies, and be able to manage very complex warehouse operations. The retailer will be able to deliver consistently high service levels at a low cost, meeting the needs of its customer whether in store or online.

“According to the PFMA, in 2021, there are approximately 17 million pets in the UK and the pet food market is worth a total of £3.2 billion, up from £2 billion in 2010. The pet retail market has grown, which is why it is important for Pets at Home to be well-positioned now and into the future to meet the growing needs of pet owners,” said Laurence Leer, vice president and head of EMEA 3PL & Execution Sales, Blue Yonder. “The dependable and scalable nature of our WMS makes it the right solution for Pets at Home to manage inventory availability across e-commerce and in-store as they bring their operations into a single, mega DC.”   

For more information about Blue Yonder’s WMS, click here.