As the current downward trends impact the beer industry, there is a case to be made for adopting technology to improve business efficiency. The right technology in a brewery can also reduce labor costs and improve customer satisfaction.
Challenges and Opportunities
It is more important now, than ever before to breweries, brewpubs, restaurants, and really any business that has developed an on-premise sales presence to be using technology to improve their business.
“There are a ton of software platforms that exist that will make do think that it is more important now than ever for running your tap room a lot easier, it’ll reduce your labor costs, it’ll increase customer satisfaction. And I think those are technologies that everybody should be looking into,” says Brett Danielson, co-founder and CEO of BarTrack. “If you’ve never done something like this before and you’re being asked to spend thousands of dollars, that can be daunting.”
However, with the right education and understanding of what your business needs and what can help, the process can be more exciting than scary.
“Without knowing that something’s going to work, you’re not going to see the value of the dollar savings until you know it works, and you make the changes necessary for you to see that efficiency,” says Danielson
Another big challenge in hospitality right now concerns staffing.
While adding software to a brewery it can impact existing employees. Owners want to be careful about not adding too many more responsibilities to a staff member without proper training and compensation. Even if software can help with efficiencies, adding more work to existing employees that work hard, and deliver can put a strain on them and can be at risk for leaving. Retaining great employees should be top of mind when it comes to adding new technologies.
New technologies can also be used as a recruiting tool for new employees.
Decision-Making for Brewery Owners
Brewery owners should be doing regular – or at least annual – honest check-ins with themselves to determine if the business is being run how they want. Is this still a hobby that became profitable, or one that runs happily on passion, or is growth and real profitability the goal, and if so, are those goals being met.
Having those conversations can help owners with their approach to technology adoption.
One big area to focus on is where a brewery is meeting its customers. Is it on shelves, or in the taproom, or at outside accounts. Then it is deciding what technologies are available to help that part of the business grow. For owners, looking at trends in the larger marketplace and how it’s impacting your business might also inform these decisions.
When it comes to taprooms, focusing on technology that gives customers a great experience – even if they don’t know it – is key.
“I think depending on who you are and what type of operator and location that you’re trying to run or manage, you’re going to look at different sets of data,” says Danielson “I think just understanding what your business is and what the metrics that are key to your performance are, and measure just those things are important.”
He says that even with all the tech available, it’s important to stay focused,
“Don’t overextend yourself, measure your results so that you can manage your results. Get great people to help you run your business, because at the end of the day, it’s the people that run the business, not the ideas of the products. And if you do those things well you’re going to be successful.”
The Role of Software in Brewery Operations
When thinking about what software to bring into your brewery, a driving goal should be to advocate for the software to automate back-of-house processes, allowing staff to focus on customer experience and increasing loyalty.
The right software can help with everything from inventory management to financial automation. Obviously on the brew deck the right software can improve efficiency.
It’s important to note that in a creative industry like brewing technology should enhance human efficiency rather than replace jobs. The right software should allow staff to focus on interpersonal connections that drive customer return.
Danielson encourages brewery owners to automate as many processes as possible to shift the labor burden from back-of-house to front-of-house, enhancing guest experience and loyalty.
“If you’re a brewery and you’re not using some sort of software to help you with the brewing process, you absolutely, 100% should be doing that immediately,” says Danielson “If you’re not using an inventory platform, whether it’s us or somebody else in the front of house to manage how much inventory you’re putting in there, what your throughput is, what your consumption is, and, more importantly, what your variance is, you should be doing that immediately.
I would be spending whatever money I have available to do that so that I can deploy my human capital in the front of house, and I can drive better guest experience and more repeat customers, because at the end of the day – any restaurant or brewery – most of their business comes from guests that show up twice a month, at least.
I can develop more twice a month customer, I’m going to have better projectability, I’m going to have better revenue, and I can still deploy the same level of labor costs at the end of the day. If I’m automating my back of house processes so I’m shifting that labor burden from things that the customer doesn’t see to things that the customer sees, that should translate to a more positive guest experience.”