Pets at Home has signed a deal with Conveyor Networks to implement a £2.5m warehouse automation project at its eCom distribution centre (DC) in Northampton.

The retailer said it will use warehouse automation technology to drive efficiencies, achieve greater productivity and deliver real-time visibility across the operation, so it can continue to provide accurate deliveries to its customers. Once implemented the warehouse will be capable of supporting Pets At Home’s future expansion plans of 100 per cent growth in parcel volumes over the next five years.

Conveyor Networks will install an automated picking and packing system spanning three floors to transform Pets at Home’s second UK DC, which is responsible for fulfilment of online orders, including subscription based medicines. The system will include conveyor modules, packing machinery, automated label print and apply and intelligent routing and sorting.

Terry Siddle, director of logistics and distribution at Pets At Home, said: “Automating material flow and packing for our eCom and subscription based medicines is a priority following our recent growth. It’s vital that we can handle increasing orders and parcel volumes without causing compromise to our high customer delivery expectations.”

The £2.5m deal follows a project in 2017 that saw Conveyor Networks upgrade obsolescent controls at Pets At Home’s Stoke DC.