SUCCESS STORIES
Pet Food Experts is a leading distributor of pet food and supplies, serving over 6,000 Independent Pet retailers from its six distribution centers across 39 states. For over four decades, the company has been setting the industry standard for quality products and exceptional customer service. When they found their Des Plaines, IL, facility experiencing growing pains, they needed to determine whether it was time to stay or go.
From its humble roots as an independent pet retailer in the 70s, to a distributor of pet products from coast to coast today, Pet Food Experts (PFX) has drastically expanded its distribution footprint by maintaining trusting partnerships with independent pet retailers and vendor partners. When their business in the Ohio Valley expanded to include 10 states and over 600 customers, PFX knew it was time to increase their Des Plaines distribution operations and began a search for a new building.
According Operations Manager, Gary DeKroon, “The pick module option developed for our smaller non-food items was a really nice solution. The density of the storage area really reduces travel time for our associates. In the dry goods area, we were able to relocate about 1000 SKUs to make room for the new freezer space and the resulting new layout has made the way we replenish dry goods much more efficient.”
Alpine delivered a three-phase plan to address PFX’s immediate and future needs. According to Bettencourt, “In the end, we ruled out a lot of things we were originally considering, not because of cost, but because the initiatives would change our processes too much, be unable to integrate with our current technology, or create inconsistencies across our network that we weren’t willing to introduce. Alpine delivered a solution that works well for us now as well as a great list of options that we can tap into down the road as new needs arise.”
