We develop VSSCo B2C ecommerce...
Robust prescription solution integrated with Prophet21
The brief
Following Brexit, a grace period allowing veterinary medicines to be shipped to Northern Ireland came to an end on the 1st of January 2026, meaning well established market leaders could no longer supply beyond the UK mainland.
As an established distributor of medicines to veterinary practices and dispensaries, VSSCO was uniquely positioned to offer a retail solution.
UK Online veterinary medicines market is estimated to be worth £15M per year. Due to the unique market conditions, Northern Ireland is estimated to be almost a third of this. To capitalise on this opportunity, first mover advantage was critical.
Prescriptions require medical professional approval and strict governance around distribution and shipping, so a robust process was required.
Additionally, prescriptions are associated with a specific pet or animal, requiring further organisation.
The business
VSSCO are a distributor of food and medication for pets and animals.
Based in Northern Ireland, distributing across NI and ROI via their 2 B2C websites; vetpet.ie and vetpetni.co.uk and 2 B2B portals; vssco.net and vsscoie.net.
VSSCO have been active with P21 ERP for 3 years and utilise Epicor Commerce (EC) for a connected ecommerce experience.
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Our process
Prior to this project, both Vetpet.ie and VetpetNI.co.uk carried over the counter and controlled veterinary medicines. Consumer product access was controlled by ERP account status. This need to be changed to allow a retail dispensary process.
We designed a solution in partnership with Epicor maximising the flexibility of Magento using Epicor Commerce and the robust processes of Prophet21 ERP.
The timeframe was critical to the project due to the changes in regulation and guidance. Having a solution tested and live would offer an element of first mover advantage in a potentially lucrative market was extremely valuable.
We delivered
Catalogue management of products requiring prescription flowed from ERP with specific attributes into Epicor Commerce/Magento where a new retail user flow was created to support the creation of individual pet profiles where evidence of prescription could be provided.
Pet profiles created by users build a personal attachment to and relationship with VSSCo and ensure smoother future interactions as well and support the level of detail required by a dispensing professional.
Customised backed for approval
Back office order flows have been created to allow for a veterinary professional to review every prescription prior to orders being created in ERP. The vet has the opportunity to review, feedback and where necessary edit prescriptions to meet the most up to date guidance.
What Yoma and Epicor have been able to deliver has put us in prime position to target a new commercial opportunity at scale.
Not only was it delivered quickly, but the solution is robust and allows us to operate in a regulated market with confidence.
We are now looking at other ways to grow our B2C and direct to consumer strategies leveraging P21 and EC”
John Scott, Head of Operations & IT, VSSCo
