Our New Warehouse Management System
This exciting development underscores our commitment to providing customers with a consistent, reliable, and efficient wholesale service.
Unlocking the full potential of Spitfire House
Our new Warehouse Management System (WMS) will allow us to unlock the full potential of our facilities at Spitfire House and make the most of the state-of-the-art, high-performance warehouse track and automated picking system that has been installed. This system is one of the most accurate and efficient systems on the market today and is capable of handling tens of thousands of products.
FAQs
We understand that any major software transition, no matter how well-planned, can temporarily affect routine operations. As you will see above, we have developed a comprehensive plan to ensure minimal disruption to our services during the implementation period. However, we understand that you may have questions. Please see our comprehensive list of FAQs below.
Yes, you can still place your order over the transition weekends. Our order lines are open as usual from 8.30am till 7.30pm on Friday and 9am till 12pm on Saturday. You can also place electronic orders via our online portal – NVS Online, or through your PMS. Please note, however, you will not receive a reply file to your PMS and you may experience a delay to the order exception report, should there be any exceptions. Rest assured that we will have received your order, and it will be processed as usual for next-day delivery (subject to stock availability).
Some PMS systems may be unable to receive batch data. However, most PMS systems will still allow you to manually enter batch data. If your PMS is affected, you will be able to resume automatic receipt of batch data on Monday once our warehouse system is fully operational.
Yes, orders will still be delivered on the Monday following each transition weekend. However, there will be specific times over the transition weekends when live stock levels are inaccessible. This may affect our ability to guarantee full stock availability for delivery on Monday, so you may wish to consider ordering urgent or critical items in the week (Mon-Thurs) leading up to the implementation weekends.
No, it is not necessary to stock up. However, should you wish to stock up on essential items, please place your orders as early as possible in the week leading up to implementation weekends. This will help us manage the volume of orders more efficiently during the implementation stages.
If you use a vPod to place orders, after placing your order you may receive a message suggesting there is a problem with the order. Please ignore the message, we will have received the order.
All products will be available to order throughout the phased implementation period.
The only difference is that you will start to receive a delivery note with any tote box deliveries. This will contain the contents of the tote box and include batch and expiry details.
No, there are no changes to our returns policy – click here to see the full policy.
We will keep you updated throughout each phase of the implementation. Please make sure you are subscribed to our email communications for the latest updates and any important announcements. You can sign up for our mailing list here.
If you still have any further queries, please do not hesitate to speak to your Territory Manager or contact our Customer Service Team on 01782 775555 (Mon-Fri: 8.00am – 6.00pm) or email customer.care@nvs-ltd.co.uk.
What benefits will this new system offer our customers?
Our automated picking system will significantly accelerate the picking process while reducing the likelihood of human errors, ensuring faster and more accurate order fulfilment. In addition, the new WMS employs automated weight verification for each tote box, verifying that it matches the expected weight. Any discrepancies are manually checked, ensuring orders are fulfilled with precision.
Each filled tote box is photographed, paired with the dispatch note, and fitted with a banded seal before being delivered to the customer.
Essential for ensuring product quality and regulatory compliance, our new WMS enables swift and accurate product recalls if necessary.
Designed to use the minimum amount of paper and printing, our new WMS aligns with our sustainable, digital-first focus and our commitment to delivering a greener pawprint for the veterinary industry.
A two-phase implementation
Phase 1: Friday 11th - Sat 12th October
Includes stockroom and large items such as diets, controlled & hazardous drugs, including anaesthetics, plus NationWide Laboratories (NWL) consumables.
Phase 2: Friday 18th – Sat 19th October
Refrigerated products, MSD pharmaceuticals and all remaining products.
Please note: ALL PRODUCTS are still available to order throughout the phased implementation period. Whilst you should see no disruption to deliveries during this time, you will not receive a reply file to your PMS and you may experience a delay to the order exception report, should there be any exceptions. Rest assured that we will have received your order, and it will be processed as usual for next-day delivery (subject to stock availability).
If you still have any further queries, please contact us:
Customer Services Team
Mon-Fri: 8:00am – 6:00pm
*Applies to the majority of the UK mainland.
