Replacing Manual Purchasing with One Planning Platform
Pet Pawr Group is one of the Nordics’ largest pet retailers, operating four brands: ZOO.se, Dyrekassen, PetXL and Tinybuddy across Sweden, Norway and Finland. This is done through 32 physical stores and 12 e-commerce storefronts. One of Pet Pawr Group’s brands, PetXL has used RELEX Solutions for forecasting and replenishment since 2024. PetXL has seen measurable successes as they have reduced distribution center (DC) inventory value by 23% and increased store availability by 1.37 percentage points.
Before the expansion, the ZOO.se team managed its supply chain manually, using static reorder points. To support the entire purchasing and supply chain planning process, Pet Pawr Group needed a well-established, proven system. The team wanted a single platform for demand forecasting, inventory and replenishment planning, purchasing, KPI tracking, and data-driven decision support. They also wanted more automation and better visibility.
Building on PetXL to Bring ZOO.se Onto RELEX
Building on the strong results at PetXL, the group chose to extend the RELEX platform with forecasting and replenishment to ZOO.se. In 2025, Pet Pawr Group integrated 17 Swedish ZOO.se stores and three e-commerce sites, ZOO.se, ZOO.no, and ZOO.fi into the existing RELEX environment already serving PetXL, which the group acquired.
Pet Pawr Group chose RELEX because it offered a scalable, flexible solution that could automate processes, improve visibility, and support decisions based on data. Their primary goal was to centralize demand forecasting, inventory and replenishment planning, purchasing and KPI tracking in RELEX, so it could work more efficiently through data-driven decision support and increased automation. They also wanted a foundation that could support future growth. Alongside the integration of stores and e-commerce sites to the RELEX environment, the implementation supported the move from two DCs to one in Sweden.
Lowering Inventory While Lifting Availability
Since implementing RELEX, ZOO.se has lowered inventory while improving product availability. Results from January to August 2026 show gains in both stores and DC. In stores, inventory value has fallen 12% since implementing RELEX. Availability has risen by 1.97 percentage points, and inventory turnover has risen by 11%.
The DC has seen the largest gains: inventory value has fallen 37%, and availability has risen by 4.42%. Together, these results show that ZOO.se can hold less stock without leaving shelves empty. Centralizing purchasing in RELEX also delivered a benefit beyond the original targets. Since the change, the number of FTEs working in purchasing has decreased significantly.
“With RELEX, we run buying from start to finish in one place, and we can see what is happening in every corner of the operation, from the shops to the warehouse and online,” said Susanne Swartling, Head of Supply and Demand Planning, Pet Pawr Group. “The results are encouraging because we tie up less money in goods, and customers find more of what they come looking for. Seeing how well things went at PetXL made us comfortable with the choice, and what we have today is a solid base that we can keep sharpening as Pet Pawr Group evolves.”
The ZOO.se results build on the group’s earlier success with PetXL. Both brands now plan in the same RELEX environment, extending the value RELEX created at PetXL to a wider part of the group. The project gave Pet Pawr Group a strong framework to keep building on and optimizing its purchasing operations. With purchasing centralized, data-driven decision support in place and a scalable platform covering stores, e-commerce and the DC, the group has the foundation to support future growth.