At IndePet’s 2023 Level Up Conference in Fiji, the group announced several new initiatives designed to make life easier for independent pet retailers.
The new initiatives, exclusive to IndePet members, include a Virtual Rep, IndePet PetCademy, and IndePet InSights.
Todd Clarkson, CEO of IndePet, explained that these tools will better allow members to access deals, train staff, and compete and flourish using data.
The Virtual Rep is an online platform that will enable members equal accessibility to IndePet’s supplier partners regardless of location.
“One of IndePet’s key principles is to provide equal accessibility for all our members. That can be challenging in a real-world sense when it comes to the role of sales representatives due to the geographic distance spread of our membership.
“Our new IndePet ‘Virtual Rep’ is a way for our supplier partners to be able to provide equal service to all our members in a timely manner and also provide enormous time savings for our members,” said Clarkson.
IndePet has partnered with the Retail Doctor Group to launch an online training system called PetCademy to allow IndePet members and their teams to access high-level retail training.
“Independent pet stores are the heart and soul of the pet industry, and the first stop for customers who need care and advice. Our new online training system will further position IndePet stores as the leaders in knowledgeable service.
“IndePet PetCademy is designed using a market leading learning management system platform and we partnered with the Retail Doctor Group to bring the best retail training to our members and their team.”
The platform will also allow suppliers to access all stores to provide the most up to date product training, and in turn enable teams to better support their local communities and provide the best experience for customers.
As large chains have access to a wealth of data across their stores, so too now will independent stores who are members of IndePet with the launch of IndePet InSights.
“IndePet InSights is a group wide data analytics platform designed to help our members with real time data-based decision making.
“Using industry best practice KPI monitoring and benchmarking it will allow our independently owned stores to leverage the insights of the total group to better serve their customers and their community.”
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