Craft brewing has undergone an amazing surge in the last decade. Small craft breweries are showing up in cities across the nation, in dedicated plants to former retail locations in strip malls. Even the biggest beer manufacturers across the world are marketing their 'craft' brewing options to compete with smaller operations. Opinions abound about this amazing growth and what the near future will hold, but a very important factor seems certain, craft brewing isn't going away any time in the future. Even though many craft brewing operations may learn how to make an incredible beer, or know how to market their wares like nobody else, many struggle to meet up with the demands that competent and long-term food and beverage manufacturing companies have grown up with.
Often the largest challenge several craft breweries must face is not how exactly to market and sell their product, but how exactly to manage all the regulations and requirements, and how to maneuver everything that go with production and distribution. They simply don't have the experience or the various tools in place that allow them to remain lean and operate smoothly. That is why it really is so important that with their tanks and bottle systems, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system ought to be high on their list of needed equipment.
Top 3 Craft Brewery ERP Needs
The main areas that an Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP) can best help craft breweries both large and small are not in essence much unique of other styles of food and beverage process manufacturers, though there are a few intricacies as there's with any specialized product. https://get.brewninja.net go through the top four areas that breweries must carefully consider and how an ERP can make their lives and their beer much richer and vibrant.
Meeting Regulations
It isn't surprising that brewing beer to sell to the general public is under strict scrutiny. There are lots of legal ramifications with such a product, but beer does not have any fewer health insurance and traceability requirements than any food or drink. They must manage proper reporting, traceability of manufacturing actions, documentation of ingredients, documentation of shipping and sales, and many other regulatory necessities. An ERP system contains all this information for the brewer and manages it smoothly to remove the chance of non-compliance, which is often deadly for a little brewery trying to grow.
Product Development
If you've ever read the labels in the craft beer section at your neighborhood liquor store, so as to the uniqueness of each brew matches the uniqueness of its name. For a few beer consumers, they are happy with finding one brew and sticking with it. However the current trend is sampling. Beer connoisseurs are constantly seeking new flavors and new complexities, even inside a particular style. For instance, a person may only drink imperial pale ales, but really wants to get one of these different formula every day. Or, a person may not have a popular style, but instead has loyalty to a specific brand and desires a range of styles to try. Either way, craft brewers must keep reinventing themselves and their selections to remain competitive. Which means tracking recipe changes, understanding life cycles, and having clear data linked to development costs are crucial. Once again, the very best answer for this is the implementation of an ERP system.
Supply Chain
Unlike giant beer companies with huge distribution agreements and national advertising, craft brewers should be creative and put a great deal of focus on how they can bring their creations to the public. Every aspect must be carefully monitored from the receipt of raw ingredients to delivery at the restaurant or liquor store featuring their product. An ERP manages their inventory and all areas of it, and will continue to track those ingredients through production and on the shelves.
What was once a hobby for many craft brewers is continuing to grow into their livelihood. The probabilities are good that many of well known craft brew companies began in the basement or closet with a house brew kit, and no idea of all the intricacies involved in moving it to an effective business operation. Fortunately, there is help for all those passionate individuals to remain profitable, and continue to thrive.