In a time when Goliaths with massive market shares control almost every sector, there exists an extraordinary anomaly: craft breweries. In fact, between 2008 and 2016, the number of breweries expanded by a factor of six, and the number of brewery workers grew by 120 percent.
With all this growth has come an overwhelming amount of data. While brewing giants like Anheuser-Busch are experts at streamlining their operations, most craft breweries struggle with uncovering and managing their data analytics.
It might be tempting for small breweries to try and manage their data in Excel or Google Sheets, but those platforms can be very problematic. We’ve outlined some potential issues in our previous blog posts, the problem with spreadsheets and why you need to stop using excel for your budgeting process.
For brewers considering implementing a software system to help manage their data, we’ve put together a list of four reasons why craft brewers need to effectively manage their data:
Sales & Distribution
There are numerous ways in which a data management system could benefit a brewery’s sales and distribution. Through data analytics a sales manager can look at year-over-year growth, market share, target vs. actual sales, sales by associate, on vs. off premise sales, and more. Having a real-time understanding of sales numbers leads to better forecasting and more efficient production.
Production Metrics
Another area where brewers can increase their bottom line is by streamlining their production process based on insights gleaned from data analytics. Through data, brewers can better understand bottling line efficiency, keg line efficiency, brew quality, tank residency time, first pass quality, wastewater, and plant safety.
Demand Planning
Demand planning is another area that can be improved through the implementation of a brewery data management system. With demand analytics a brewery could better understand order management, order fulfillment, distributor inventory levels, the number or percentage of distributors out of stock, days of inventory left, and forecasting analysis.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions are on the rise throughout the craft industry. When a brewery is positioned to be acquired, it is critical that they have their housekeeping in order. If they are using various data systems this could be less appealing to a buyer who is aware of the time and resources needed for a multiple system data integration.
In conclusion
Treehouse Technology Group can help brewers capture and display data across multiple systems. With access to data analytics in real-time, brewers can better manage inventory and production to identify and resolve problems. With an entire brewery using the same system and accessing the same data, decisions can be made using accurate information in a collaborative manner.
For more information on how Treehouse Technology Group can help your brewery implement a data management system, contact us today.
