As founders and start-up business owners stepping into distilling, embracing a culture of precision and accountability is the quickest way to success. That begins with the heartbeat of your enterprise – a solid Inventory Management System.
It might seem boring. It might even seem like the furthest thing from what you want to be doing. Copper stills, custom bottles, embossed labels and all of those flavours are far more interesting. You are in the business of making great spirits and getting them out there to be enjoyed – right!
Fair enough, but none of that is possible unless you have a great system in place. Or at the very least, it’ll come crashing to a hard stop very quickly unless you do…
An adept management system not only facilitates a seamless production flow but safeguards your venture against unnecessary financial pitfalls, legal issues, duty compliance audits and more. It is so important to get right.
It’s also an eye-opener too. Often, establishing their inventory system is the first big reality check a distillery owner gets of what the day-to-day admin looks like. If you thought that a life of craft distilling meant stepping away from the desk, it’s a rude awakening.
The good news however, is that a good system doesn’t have to be convoluted!
Embracing inventory management systems
Let’s focus on the positives and why you should be EXCITED about finding the right management system.
Reorder management
Good systems allow you to take a proactive vision towards materials requisitioning, dictated by real-time and / or accurate forecasted production schedules.
This can prevent production halts and ensure a constant flow in the production line. No more spinning plates and needing to remember everything!
It will help you be on time, have the quantity of materials and eventually, be in a position to outsource some tasks as you grow.
Batch traceability
End-to-end traceability empowers you with data-driven insights to optimise production strategies. For example, by documenting processes and benchmarking quality metrics, you can actively pursue continuous improvements.
You may not fit all of your Process Control, Maintenance checks and Quality Control sign offs in there, but it’ll certainly help.
Duty calculation
Good inventory systems give you a nuanced understanding of duty protocols and how to account for segregated stock. They’ll also tell you how much is owed at any given point, thus pre-emptively avoiding potential legal complications and unforeseen bills.
24/7 stock visibility integrated with accounts
At their most basic, inventory management systems give you up-to-date stock-takes round the clock. Most take it one step further an integrate with accounting software meaning sales, purchases, and supplier interactions are all in one place. It makes for much easier accounting purposes. It’ll also allows you to better understand your P&L as it integrates more of your business in a holistic way.
Basic accounting and tax office essential is just the start of what they can do. Fundamentally, they are just tools that you can use to fulfil your needs, therefore they are adaptable.
A well-oiled inventory management system is the bedrock of resilient craft distilling businesses. You can save time and money, and weaponise data to your advantage. That said, choosing the right distillery Inventory Management Software is never an easy process.
There are many suppliers out there, and most distilleries will have fixed views on what their accounting software will be. This means that any Inventory Management solution needs to integrate with both the fixed products that are being made (and all the relevant data points), as well as existing / desired reporting (be it Xero, MYOB, Intuit QuickBooks or other). Sometimes that’s an easy match, sometimes it needs custom solutions…
Because of this, if you are at an early stage, starting with a fully integrated ‘Enterprise Resource Planning’ (ERP) solution upfront is far easier than making the decision to switch in years to come.
Which software provider should you pick?
To get you started here are some that are worth looking into –
Distill x 5 is one of the big names within distilling (used in many different countries). Distill x 5 integrates with Xero, and has the capability to track production including raw materials, fermentation, distillation – alongside inventory management features.
DRAMS is an inventory and distillery warehouse management system better suited to those producing at scale and building up volume. It comes into its own once you go over a thousand casks and need to factor in Maturation Schedules.
Bevica is one of the better UK specific systems. It includes finance integrations, duty calculations, supply chain co-ordination, inventory management and other online sales and CRM options.
Vinsight is a New Zealand / Australia optimised system that works across wineries, breweries and distilleries. It integrates well with D2C online and front of house activities (e.g Woo commerce, Shopify etc.).
MasterDistiller is one of the Scotch specific tools, and as you might expect, optimised for whisky makers. It’s comprehensive and integrates well with accounting software like Xero.
BrewMan delivers inventory management and production tracking. It’s well priced, scalable and integrates well with accounting software. It is a good solution for those who make white spirits (it can deal with casks, but less good than others mentioned above for aged inventory keeping).
