The pandemic has created chaos for businesses globally and the craft brewing and cider industries are no different. Many operations have been forced to close their taprooms, retail locations, and have suffered due to bars and restaurants being closed as well. It has forced business owners to become adaptable and flexible in order to persevere and overcome these turbulent times.
An area where Breweries and cideries can adapt and improve their business is tackling home deliveries in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible. The Mckinsey report suggests that home delivery is here to stay making it more important for breweries and cideries to make it a permanent and profitable part of their business strategy.
How some have diversified:
Bridge Brewing
Bridge Brewing in Vancouver British Columbia trained their sales reps to become home delivery drivers. Bridge Brewing was using a route planning software system to optimize routes for their sales teams. They implemented this into their delivery plan as well. They continue to leverage these optimized routes as bars and restaurants begin to open up to the public.
Nat’s Hard Cider
Nat’s hard Cider was forced to close their doors to the public when Covid – 19 struck. They began an online shop and immediately signed up for Routific. Within a couple of days had a home delivery business. Nat’s Hard cider plans on continuing home deliveries to their local customers. They’re able to deliver to over 240 homes a day, with a 90% same-day fulfillment.
Last-Mile Delivery
Last Mile delivery is the process of getting the product from the closest point whether that is a warehouse of the brewery to its final destination. This includes homes or businesses. Surprisingly, the last mile can account for one-third of the total cost of a product. Further, it can even account for more than half of the overall shipping costs. This is an extremely vital part of the delivery and an area where the money is often hemorrhage.
Making Home Delivery work
There are three key areas in order to make home delivery work and they are:
1. planning your routes wisely
2. showing customers, you care
3. and monitoring your cost per delivery
Planning Routes
Making sure your routes are carefully organized is a vital facet of making home delivery more profitable. This will take more than using just google maps as it will show you the quickest way to get to your destination rather than showing you the most efficient route for multiple destinations across your territory. Poorly planned routes account for wasted time in driving and fuel resulting in thinner margins. Once order numbers begin to increase to a sizeable amount it is an excellent idea to invest in some sort of route optimization software. An example of a poorly planned route is demonstrated below.
Showing Customers, You Care
It might be easier to contract your delivery out to an ordering platform such as door dash or skip the dishes however, these companies charge commission in some cases as high as 20%. You also lose the ability to connect with your customer.
An interesting collective that was started by seven Vancouver owned breweries is called Beer Van. The service allows customers to place orders from different breweries, and everything is delivered at once. The other benefit to the beer van is it allowed the breweries to keep staff who would have been out of work. These employees are the heart and soul of many breweries and add that extra touch when delivering your product. They can add that custom feel to the service and add a personal touch.
Monitoring Cost Per Delivery
Understanding what it costs to do your home delivery should be understood by the business owner in order to see if it is worth it and to further understand how to make it more efficient and productive. An area that can often be improved on is route density. This looks at delivery volume, area, days, and time windows. Optimizing these will generate more success in your home delivery capabilities.
To learn more: https://blog.routific.com/craft-brewery-delivery-business
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