08 February 2010

Initially, Inventory Optimiser will be installed in Pets at Home’s national distribution centre before being rolled out to include the growing number of stores throughout the UK. In the longer term, the company is looking to control costs by reducing the need for additional warehousing as purchasing cycles / patterns change.

Based in Handforth, Cheshire, the company was founded in 1991 and now has over 250 stores across the UK. Pets at Home is the UK’s leading pet care retailer, providing 1,000s of dedicated pet products for dogs, cats, small animals, reptiles, birds and fish, as well as wildlife. It offers everything from food, treats, toys and training aids, to homes, bedding and healthcare essentials such as flea and worm treatments. Pets at Home stores also provide a range of services including veterinary care, grooming and nutritional advice. In recognition of its achievements, Pets at Home won Retail Week’s 2007 Specialty Retailer of the Year award.

Quantified ROI
Before selection, AGR ran its unique forecasting simulation application for Pets at Home, which compared actual purchase orders from the past with simulated orders produced by the Inventory Optimiser. The results of this simulation allowed Pets at Home to quantify the ROI and project targets as well as understand the demand forecasting and inventory optimisation capabilities of the system.

Inventory Optimiser’s speed of implementation and ease of use means a faster ROI and low risk to the project. Dan Harvey, Head of Supply Chain at Pets at Home comments “AGR Inventory Optimiser is an uncomplicated, easy to use application, which delivers the results of complex calculations in an understandable, relevant and re-useable format. AGR has taken the time to understand our specific business issues and is working with our team to provide a solution that fits exactly with our requirements and objectives.”

Improved visibility
Dan Harvey concludes, “As our business continues to grow, AGR’s Inventory Optimiser will give us improved visibility of demand patterns as well as the ability to make better and more profitable purchasing decisions.”

Haukur Hannesson CEO of AGR comments “Our solution consistently delivers valuable results to our customers and we are confident that Inventory Optimiser will identify new opportunities for Pets at Home. One of the main benefits AGR offers potential customers is our Inventory Optimisation Simulator, which provides an accurate representation of the savings they could achieve with AGR based on real, historical data. This means we can prove the potential return on investment before the customer has to make any financial outlay. The Pets at Home simulation produced very promising results and we will now replicate these positive hypothetical results in the real world.”