Pedigree Wholesale: Optimise Marketing Collateral Management and Distribution

To build product awareness and ensure all retailers have the tools they need to grow revenue, Pedigree Wholesale invests in a wealth of point of sale (POS) and in-store marketing materials. Many of their POS stands are specialist, bespoke products that help to amplify in-store engagement.

As this type of marketing collateral often includes multiple different elements, it does require careful and thorough management, particularly when it comes to controlling inventory and logistics.

While the organisation does have a well-established stock and distribution operation for their pet products, it did not initially have a dedicated system for managing its marketing collateral.

Given the volume and complexity of these materials, this created several challenges for the business:

• It was difficult to maintain an accurate inventory of marketing collateral, which led to sales representatives ordering items that were not held in stock.
• The consignments would often arrive late, with mis-picks and damaged items.
• When the goods were returned, they would not be accounted for or were missing key components.
• A considerable amount of obsolete and out-of-date material was also being held, wasting space and increasing the risk of error.

Managing and troubleshooting these issues wasted sales and marketing resources.

To address these challenges, Pedigree Wholesale’s Head of Marketing approached PDS and briefed us to implement a fulfilment and distribution solution for their sales and marketing collateral.

We gained a clear understanding of their pain points and delivered a solution that is powered by our PDS+ software solution and supported by our operations, logistics and design specialists. Bespoke built to Pedigree Wholesale’s exact requirements, this user-friendly and flexible platform – which can seamlessly scale as needs grow – underpins all the core services we offer, increasing efficiency, visibility and control.

This solution also includes reliable courier services provided by our delivery fleet and supported by our trusted courier partnerships.

While developing this solution, we conducted a thorough stock audit, disposed of damaged and out-of-date items, and ensured that the portal always reflects accurate stock levels.

As part of our fulfilment service, all stock is now stored and assembled at PDS. To streamline distribution and ensure no item is delivered incomplete, inventory kitting is carried out with a checklist to ensure we bundle all the correct product elements together.

We also conduct regular audits, so our client is confident they always work with the correct inventory. The live platform includes accurate imagery (photographed by our studio) and real-time stock levels for all items, as well as accurate and seamless reporting capabilities.

Before the new solution went live, we carried out a thorough onboarding process involving experts from all relevant service areas, as well as system training on the PDS+ platform, to ensure all Pedigree Wholesale users gain maximum value from PDS technology and services.

Now, sales and marketing personnel have one central, user-friendly system for selecting scheduled delivery dates, tracking orders and more. This approach supports optimum efficiency, collaboration, visibility and control.