Managing your inventory effectively, completing tasks on the go, and selling more of the beer you make as efficiently as possible are all key ways to make your brewery a success, explains Stephen Jones, UK team lead at Unleashed Software.
Inventory management is something that underpins any company’s efficiency, but there are some unique benefits when it comes to the beer brewing industry. Particularly with craft beer establishments, inventory management software can mean the difference between an average batch of beer and a great one, the difference between efficient batches and wasteful ones. It also allows a brewery affordable tracking and quality control of batches, as well as greater trust from the customer.
Using inventory management software to track the different raw ingredients used in a batch of beer means improvements can be made to the different tastes and types of brews. The Bill of Materials, or BOM, feature of inventory management will inevitably result in an accurate recipe of all the ingredients used in the brewing of the beer being created. With something as intricate as beer brewing, where the slightest addition of a special ingredient can dramatically alter the taste, it is essential to be certain of every little change in the manufacturing process.
Brewery Quality Control
Sometimes quality control can be hard for a start-up to achieve, and not because it is not a desire and there is a lack of intrinsic quality, but moreover because it can be a daunting, painstaking process to ensure every ‘T’ is crossed and every ‘I’ dotted for any authorizing bodies. Often the small breweries have such a personal hand in the manufacturing process that there is no room for neglect of quality.
However, quality must be proven in this day and age and inventory management software such as Unleashed makes this easier to achieve. The software allows tracking of every batch, and the raw materials used to produce them, so that if there is regrettably an error downstream, the batch can easily be traced and recalled.
Inventory management software allows for the control of all parts of the manufacturing process. From the raw ingredients used all the way to the shipped product, the process can be controlled in such a way as to maximize production and minimize any resource waste. This holds true for microbreweries and craft beer manufacturers.
All good, lean manufacturing requires accurate assessment of all the raw materials and what effects them in terms of ordering times, shipping times and expiry dates, to name a few. Understanding these things allows for timely ordering of more materials so that production is consistent and efficient. This also allows for the minimization of waste due to expiration of stock for example. Inventory management software can easily be utilized to achieve this level of control, the result of which is highly cost-effective production and greater profit.
Inventory management software
Even in the smallest businesses, such as a fledgling micro brewery, it is essential to research anything that can ensure the success of the endeavor from the get-go. Having a good inventory management solution on hand can be invaluable in maximizing profits. This can be achieved through the accurate tracking of raw ingredients, which can be quite changeable in their nature, the control of batches through standardized recipes, and the reduction of waste in the manufacturing process.
Use the cloud
Cloud-based inventory planning tools can help breweries work smarter by shifting individual areas of inventory management into a single, easy-to-use software product. Cloud software can be used to streamline planning by automating the entire process, reduce waste and the cost of stock-outs.
Unleashed provides craft breweries with real-time inventory levels. It allows you to see exactly what inventory you have on hand, which ingredients are committed to the next scheduled brew batch and, the quantities of finished beer on hand.
By eliminating the need for time-consuming manual data systems typical of brewery management, Unleashed allows breweries to improve productivity through a single integrated inventory solution. No more individual spreadsheets and dry-erase whiteboards!
Unleashed also provides centralized coordination of essential data from all areas of the brewery. With an integrated, at-a-glance cloud system, all employees whether from production or sales, can have the same information updated in real-time.
Our easy-to-understand system, supported by Unleashed University, allows all employees to quickly learn and operate the software, removing the need to task individual staff members with inventory planning.
With the benefit of Unleashed’s cloud-based inventory management you can remotely access important information when offsite or overseas. Do you need to attend beer festival events domestically or overseas? Activities can have you away from operations, but with Unleashed you are never away from critical business information.
What cloud-based software provides is an inventory management tool that allows you to view stock levels and order history in real-time, helping to reduce production delays. Bottlenecks occur through not having necessary inventory available to bottle, label and package beer. These can be avoided with the improved inventory control provided by Unleashed.
Breweries can reduce spoilage waste by identifying when batches are reaching perishability dates, providing an opportunity to clear stock through promotion and event activities. Our inventory software will provide real-time data to identify batch lots and use-by dates well in advance of spoilage occurring.
Growing with your business
The flexibility of cloud-based inventory software allows breweries to increase production capabilities without the need to update your system. Whether you are planning to slowly increase capacity or to quickly expand, Unleashed will adapt to meet the needs of your business. Without interruption or delays.
