Featured Industry: Beer, Wine, & Beverages

Here at Knack we have the unique opportunity to see all of the web apps and online databases that are built for specific industries.

A great example is the beverage industry, where we”ve seen a particularly strong fit amongst the craft beer and wine sectors.

This attention may or may not be heightened by the near and dear place wine and craft beer holds in our hearts 🙂 Eric makes his own wine, Steve ran a wine blog, and craft beer is always on Brandon”s Christmas list.

Why Knack?

Many of the breweries and wineries we”ve worked with are big enough to have significant I.T. needs, but don”t have the technology budgets to pay for bloated software or full-time technology staff.

Many of these individuals not only manage “the books” but they wear several hats like purchasing agent, production supervisor or even brewmaster.

This is why Knack is so appealing: it”s quick, easy to use, and perhaps most crucially can immediately provide major benefits. Customized apps can quickly be built to help manage sales, inventory, and distribution without a huge investment in time or money.

This combination of simplicity and customization were exactly what appealed to Jessica Jones of Ninkasi Brewery:

“We needed a platform for group project management and collaboration. Other options were either not customizable enough or too complex to teach all of our staff at varying levels to use.”

Trey Bowden of Dogfish Head Brewery was pleased with the ease of use when creating a production management database:

“When I was recently tasked to build an internal database-driven app for “beer product holds & dispositions”, I knew Knack was the right tool to get the job done in a timely manner…You can”t beat the simple user interface, built-in reporting, and cloud-connected capabilities with it”s Zapier interface (as opposed to using something like MS Access).

“We just launched our first app in early 2015 and our production team couldn”t be happier!”

Here”s a look at some of the apps we”re seeing for beer and wine users:

Beer, Wine, & Beverage Applications

Inventory & Production Management

Production is much more than simply pumping out cases of wine and kegs of beer. It’s organized chaos and, with a Knack database, can be transformed into an organized system of efficiency.

• Track raw materials, production schedules and output on a small or large scale
• Manage inventory, stock levels and production holds
• Forecast purchases, cost of goods and profit/loss

Inventory doesn’t count itself, nor will it report to you when the numbers are off. A Knack database will. Gain up-to-the-minute accuracy in all of your inventory and production management systems.

Distribution Tracking

Small or large, each beverage business relies on a distribution network for sales and market penetration. A custom distribution management database built with Knack can automate specific processes and streamline supply management.

• Establish a Distributor/Supplier directory and allocate inventory
• Monitor stock levels, increase/decrease allocations and assign delivery schedules
• Track most effective distribution markets/channels, set targets and assign value

Employee updates means distribution can be tracked in real time so managers always have the key data thy need: sales and distribution targets; margin and performance on a per supplier basis and automate allocation based on sales.

Goal and Project Planning

Launching a new beer or wine requires every aspect of the company’s resources. A Knack planning app helps clearly define goals and manage all the projects needed for a successful launch:

• Assign goals and objectives to team members; set reporting schedules
• Develop employee task calendars with completion requirements, dates and summaries
• Project quarterly milestones, track progress toward achievement and allocate budgets

The whole team can post updates on progress and managers can track project completion and resource allocation.

Sales CRM

The name of the game is sales. Knowing who the customers are, who the customers may be and what it takes to gain or keep customers is integral for any sales-driven business. A Knack CRM helps manage the process:

• Track purchase history, monthly contacts and sales plans for each customer
• Facilitate new customer acquisition through lead/pipeline management
• Rate and prioritize, set team and employee sales objectives and build out a team calendar for all customer activity

Knack + Beer/Wine

These are just a few ideas of how Knack can help breweries and wineries.

Susan McCraith, a business consultant and Master of Wine, explains how Knack is proving to be the ideal solution for her:

“I work with many companies who struggle with complex product data, changing vintages and alcohol levels and the different requirements of buyers, marketing, provisioning, merchandising, suppliers, stores etc.

“I’m building a web app which will manage all this much more easily, including workflows and reporting. Knack is flexible, easy to understand and use and the possibilities are very exciting.”

Get in touch if we can help you build a great online database app for your brewery or winery!