Australia’s largest online pet retailer, Pet Circle, has partnered with Manhattan Associates Inc. to modernise its national fulfilment network with Manhattan’s warehouse management system (WMS). The partnership has established a digital foundation for warehouse automation, improved operational efficiency and faster delivery as the online retailer continues its rapid growth.
As a 100% ecommerce business, Pet Circle had relied on a bespoke WMS for more than 13 years. While the platform had successfully supported the company’s early growth, increasing order volumes and reliance on manual warehouse processes were making it more difficult to scale efficiently and introduce new automation technologies.
Pet Circle selected Manhattan WMS to support its long-term growth strategy and automation roadmap. A key factor in the decision was Manhattan Associates’ local implementation team, whose close collaboration helped tailor the solution to Pet Circle’s operational requirements.
The implementation began at Pet Circle’s Sydney fulfilment centre before being rolled out across facilities in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, establishing consistent warehouse processes across the retailer’s national network. Shortly after the initial go-live, Pet Circle introduced autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), automated packing systems, and conveyor and sortation technology, with Manhattan WMS providing the platform to integrate these technologies into its fulfilment operations.
Andrew Haverfield, Head of Innovation Supply Chain at Pet Circle, said the move to Manhattan WMS was driven by the company’s long-term growth strategy.
“As a fast-growing ecommerce business, we needed a warehouse management platform that could grow with us. Our previous system had served us well for many years, but we’d reached the point where manual processes were making it harder to keep pace with increasing demand and deliver the level of service our customers expect,” Haverfield explained. “Manhattan WMS has given us a modern foundation for our fulfilment network. We’ve been able to standardise processes across our sites, introduce warehouse automation and better manage peak trading periods, while creating a platform that can continue to evolve alongside our business.”
Since implementing Manhattan WMS, Pet Circle has streamlined previously manual warehouse processes, improved operational consistency across its fulfilment network and strengthened its ability to manage peak trading periods. During the last Black Friday sales event, the retailer maintained same-day and next-day delivery services throughout almost the entire peak period. This marked a significant improvement on previous years, when elevated order volumes could affect fulfilment operations for up to two weeks after the event.
The solution has also improved visibility across warehouse operations, providing richer operational data and audit trails to support faster issue resolution, continuous optimisation and more informed decision-making. Pet Circle is now using these insights to further refine its operations and identify future automation opportunities across its fulfilment network.
Raghav Sibal, Vice President APAC at Manhattan Associates, said modern fulfilment operations require cloud native technology that can continually evolve alongside the business.
“To support today’s speed of operations, retailers need a flexible platform that can integrate automation, unlock greater operational visibility and continuously adapt as customer expectations evolve,” said Sibal. “Pet Circle’s transformation demonstrates how the right technology foundation can help businesses improve fulfilment performance today while supporting long-term growth and innovation.”
Looking ahead, Pet Circle plans to continue optimising warehouse processes across its national fulfilment network while evaluating further automation opportunities to support future growth.
