Grocery fulfillment is becoming more complex. Growing SKU counts, labor shortages, and rising customer expectations require distribution operations that can respond quickly while maintaining efficiency and service levels.

As Western Canada's largest provider of food and health products, Pattison Food Group supports nearly 300 retail locations across nine grocery banners, including Save-On-Foods, PriceSmart Foods, and Buy-Low Foods. As demand continued to grow, the company needed a fulfillment operation that could improve productivity today while providing flexibility to support future growth.

Its existing manual processes created unnecessary product movement and limited operational efficiency, making it more difficult to scale fulfillment as volumes increased.

Key challenges included:

• Labor shortages impacting warehouse productivity

• Manual workflows requiring multiple product touches

• Growing fulfillment volumes and SKU complexity 

• Limited capacity within split-case fulfillment

• A need for greater inventory visibility and operational insight

• A fulfillment operation not designed to scale with future growth

To address these challenges, Pattison Food Group partnered with Dematic on an intelligent grocery fulfillment operation that connects software, automation, and operational workflows into one integrated system. 

Dematic developed an integrated fulfillment solution that combines high-density storage, goods-to-person fulfillment, intelligent software, and connected material handling. Together, these technologies orchestrate inventory movement across the operation, improving efficiency while giving Pattison Food Group the flexibility to adapt as business needs change.

High-density automated storage

Dematic RapidPick® and a nine-aisle Dematic Multishuttle® system provide nearly 62,000 automated storage locations for approximately 11,000 grocery SKUs.

The high-density design keeps inventory close to fulfillment while reducing unnecessary product movement and making products readily available as demand changes throughout the day.

Goods-to-person fulfillment

The solution supports both split-case and full-case fulfillment through 16 goods-to-person workstations.

By bringing products directly to associates, the system reduces travel, simplifies replenishment, and improves productivity for fast, accurate order fulfillment.

Dematic Software

Dematic Software orchestrates inventory, automation, and workflows in real time.

From the moment products enter the system, the software tracks inventory, allocates products to customer orders, and directs inventory movement across the operation. This connected approach provides greater inventory visibility while helping Pattison Food Group make faster, insight-led operational decisions.

Integrated material handling

Conveyor, tote handling, buffering, sequencing, and palletizing systems connect each stage of fulfillment into one continuous workflow.

Working together, these systems reduce manual handling, improve throughput, and support efficient order fulfillment from receiving through shipping.

Resident maintenance and lifecycle services

To maximize system performance, Dematic provides resident maintenance and lifecycle services that support day-to-day operations while helping Pattison Food Group refine and evolve its fulfillment operation over time.

By connecting software, automation, and operational expertise, Pattison Food Group transformed a manual fulfillment process into a scalable grocery distribution operation designed for long-term growth.

• Split-case fulfillment capacity doubled
• Product replenishment reduced from up to four manual moves down to a single, automated move
• Productivity significantly increased across repack operations
• Real-time visibility provided across approximately 11,000 grocery SKUs
• Additional warehouse volume successfully integrated into the operation
• Improved fulfillment efficiency through connected workflows
• Resident maintenance supporting long-term operational performance
• A scalable fulfillment operation supporting future business growth

Beyond today's operational improvements, Pattison Food Group now has the flexibility to take on additional volume, expand fulfillment capacity, and continuously refine operations as customer demand evolves.

As grocery fulfillment continues to evolve, success depends on operations that connect software, automation, and people into one intelligent system. Dematic helps organizations improve efficiency today while providing fulfillment operations that adapt for tomorrow.

Whether you're modernizing an existing distribution center or planning for long-term growth, Dematic works with you to create a more connected, resilient, and future-ready operation.