Pets at Home Invests in Automation - Conveyor Networks Limited

Transforming eCommerce Capabilities

Fully automated picking and packing operation

Automation

Faster Delivery

Capacity Tripled

Efficiency Gained

Conveyor Networks has a long standing client relationship with Pets at Home, supporting the development of its warehouse capabilities across the UK. Over recent years Pets at Home has experienced accelerated growth in its multi-channel sales. While other general retailers are relentlessly strategising automation for faster delivery and multi-channel fulfillment, Pets at Home is leading the market by implementing automation to pass the benefits to the pets’ community.

To support the transformation of Pets at Home’s eCommerce business, Conveyor Networks was commissioned to deliver the integration of a fully automated picking and packing operation of the business’ Northampton distribution centre.

Phased Approach

The large scale automation project for Pets at Home was implemented in a phased approach, to help alleviate pressures on the warehouse and allow benefit to be realised earlier for the customer.

Technological Challenges

Conveyor Networks and Pets at Home partnered together to tackle some unique challenges that Pets at Home faced.

Phase 1: SQP (Suitably Qualified Person) Orders:

Enhancing the segregation process based on order-type to allow streamlined automation.
Reducing errors and ensuring higher accuracy of fulfillment to set new industry standards.
Allow an increase in product variation on repeat subscription items to help meet more customers needs.

Phase 2: Web Orders:

Improving customer order packing processes to increase throughput, efficiency and accuracy.
Upfront containerisation and shipment creation.
Reduce the amount of time each order takes to pack upto 300%.
Fully automated packing.
Reducing the number of mixed orders across all general B2C eCommerce items.

Intelligent Conveying

Automating picking and packing processes by the installation of conveyors that route, pack and sort product. Diversify container picking to trolley picking, pallet picking, box picking and tote picking based on the nature of the order, type of SKU and automatic packing through multiple packaging material selections.

Smart Software

Technology advancements and seamless interaction between JDA WMS and imio, which processes higher volumes of orders without any bottlenecks.

Learn more

300 %

Increase in throughput

88,000

Orders packed / week

Terry Siddle

- Director of Logistics & Distribution

Conveyor Networks has a breadth of experience and offer, which meant we could design and implement a solution to select the right product, to meet this niche process. The SQP process that we have designed with this mechanisation is the only one in the industry that runs like this, ensuring we can operate with really high levels of accuracy.

Interview:

Simon Hayward

Project Manager

@ IRC