Parfetts is leading the wholesale sector’s shift towards digital and AI-powered product management, by becoming one of the first UK wholesalers to require suppliers to submit product information through a single digital platform.
The employee-owned business has adopted Wholepal as the mandatory route for all new product submissions and data updates - replacing the paper forms, spreadsheets and email chains that have long dominated product listing across the industry.
The platform is being rolled out across the business, with all such information managed through Wholepal. It establishes a single, structured source of product data for every supplier working with Parfetts, replacing the inconsistent manual processes widely used across the wholesale sector.
The move is designed to speed up new product listings, improve data quality and reduce administration for both suppliers and Parfetts, it said.
Suppliers will be able to submit product information once for use across multiple wholesale customers, removing duplicated effort while helping products reach shelves more quickly.
The launch forms part of Parfetts’ wider investment in digital technology to support suppliers and retailers. It follows the introduction of the wholesaler’s Go For Growth initiative and comes ahead of its move to operate independently following its departure from Unitas later this year.
Wholepal uses AI to extract, validate and structure product information before it reaches wholesalers’ systems, automating much of the manual checking traditionally required. Suppliers can manage product details, including pricing and product updates, in one central location and share them across multiple wholesale customers.
Cheryl Hope, trading director at Parfetts, said: “The way our industry handles product data hasn’t really changed in years, and we think that needs to shift.
“As we continue to strengthen our relationships with suppliers, it’s important that we’re making it as straightforward as possible for them to do business with us. Wholepal removes unnecessary administration from the product listing process, improves the quality of information we receive and helps us bring new products to market more quickly.
“It also gives our category teams more time to focus on ranging, promotions and working alongside suppliers to identify new opportunities for growth, rather than managing manual data processes.”
Parfetts will phase out manual product submissions by the end of the year, with suppliers transitioning to the new platform over the coming months.
“We’ll look back on this as one of the moments the industry started moving in a genuinely different direction.”
Victoria Lawson, founder and CEO of Wholepal, said: “Product data has been one of the biggest sources of inefficiency across the wholesale supply chain for years, with suppliers completing different forms and re-entering the same information for every customer they sell to. What Parfetts is doing is recognising that this can’t continue, and choosing to digitise it properly rather than relying on manual workarounds.
“AI can process product information faster and more accurately than manual methods ever could, giving teams more time to focus on commercial priorities while reducing errors and accelerating new product listings. I believe we’ll look back on this as one of the moments the industry started moving in a genuinely different direction.”
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