PDSA: Securing the future of charity retail
For over 100 years, the Peoples Dispensary for Sick Animals, or PDSA have been saving our beloved pets and changing lives in the process.
Founded on the vision of one incredibly strong and determined woman, Maria Dickin; PDSA was set up with few resources and precious little support, amid the poverty and chaos of World War One. Back when they started as a charity that looked after pets of the poor, PDSA knew it was key to drive donations in new and innovative ways, to help them overcome the lack of Government funding; which is still void to this day. Fast forward a century and PDSA have dedicated teams at 48 pet hospitals throughout the country, providing over 2 million veterinary treatments a year, bringing peace of mind to owners of much-loved pets.
“The Cloud offers us access to ‘live’ information anywhere including via our mobiles and tablets. It also allows us to react quickly to sales data, customer spending trends and seasonal changes. Moreover, it provides great insight into ‘click and brick’, ecommerce and social media reaction.”
Darren Irwin, Group Head of Trading, PDSA
Wanting to provide customers with a wider choice from the traditional charity shop, PDSA developed a range of new goods to sell in-store – A mix of seasonal gifts and pet products.
As the ranges, pricing and ordering for seasonal lines was done months in advance, and with no historical sales information, buying decisions were based on best estimates, meaning that often their stock would either sell out or not sell at all.
As Andrew Holl, former Director of Business Services at PDSA, explains: “Prior to selecting Cybertill, we relied upon manual stock management processes. That left us with little visibility of stock holding and sales across our stores.”
To find out more, download the full PDSA case study here.
Elizabeth loves to write and is exceptional at creating content that people want to read. Although still new to the world of retail, she has many years marketing experience within the B2B technology industry.
With a flair for the creative, Elizabeth graduated with a degree in Product Design from Liverpool John Moores University and enjoys scribbling any moment she gets!
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