Pet Supplies Plus gets assortment collaboration on leash

Livonia, Mich. - Pet Supplies Plus, a retail pet supply business with 320 stores in 25 states, positions itself as a smaller, convenient alternative to big-box competitors. Success requires proper product assortment always being available through all channels.



Such an effort requires efficient information exchange between the retailer and its trading partners, many of whom operate on different technology platforms. Pet Supplies Plus’ previous manual mode of information exchange was resulting in multiple sales reports showing different figures, harming assortment accuracy and availability.



To optimize the speed and flexibility of its trading partner network, Pet Supplies Plus selected SPS Commerce Integrated Fulfillment, a cloud-based solution that automates the exchange of forms and information between retailers, suppliers and 3PLs. Trading partners connect to the SPS network once to facilitate their exchange of data with Pet Supplies Plus from that point forward.



Today, Pet Supplies Plus is getting new products into its assortment with unprecedented speed and agility. The retailer’s newfound transparency and its collaboration with trading partners are allowing it to stay responsive to changing customer preferences, such as being able to quickly customize assortments at specific store locations. All trading partners also have greater visibility across the supply chain.



In addition, Pet Supplies Plus is sourcing suppliers based more on the quality of their offering and less on the relative difficulty of their technology integration.



“We are now literally looking at the same data, and we don’t spend time wondering how our information is different,” said Derek Panfil, senior VP of merchandising. “Instead, we’re asking ourselves what is driving performance.”