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and services) and will start providing benefits on the first day.” Finally, Andy Dorr, managing director at Athelia UK, offers a UK viewpoint and believes the industry is slowly starting to catch up with a lot of other supply chains. “It’s quite strange to me, how things are changing and developing. It is become the norm to track, and sign. It’s a common problem in using returnable assets, you can only count around 20% of the assets you own. Sure, the brewery has a few more problems than other industries with returnable assets. And sometimes when speaking to people outside of it, you sit there and think, I’m not even going to attempt to try and defend the industry that sees such high losses. But it is a case of education, and we are getting there,” he says. Dorr explains: “Without the right technology, you may have a vague idea of the loss rates, but only with it can you react to it and make a difference. In the five years I spent with Trendstar, I was responsible in purchasing 2m cask and kegs, replacing up to 30% of the container population in the UK in the process.
8th Wonder Brewery Since opening its doors in 2013, 8th Wonder Brewery has been a favourite of craft beer aficionados in the greater Houston area — and for good reason. The popular brewer uses only the freshest ingredients of the highest quality. Each batch of beer the company brews undergoes strict flavour analysis and quality control. Located in a domelike warehouse in the shadow of the Houston skyline just blocks from the Astros, Dynamo, and Rockets stadiums, 8th Wonder is the craft beer for the home team. The craft beer industry has seen more than a decade of growth, posting double-digit gains in recent years. These small, independent brewers are growing demand for specialty beers with enthusiastic support across the distribution system from brewer to wholesale distributor to retailer. However, this three-tiered distribution system lacks accountability. Most brewers have limited visibility into the movement of their product beyond distribution to a wholesaler. In losing control of their supply chain, craft breweries are also losing kegs — typically up to five percent of their inventory each year. At an average of $130 per keg, that can have a significant impact on the bottom line. 8th Wonder Brewery recognizes the critical role that keg tracking can play in preventing loss and maximizing the use of these valuable assets. In fact, they believe that it is so vital that they implemented KegID asset tracking, now a solution from Satellite Logistics Group (SLG), when they first rolled out their craft beer in 2013. Each of the brewer’s 1,300 kegs is now tagged with a metal QR code. Keeping track of them is as simple as scanning each keg every time it changes possession. A Bluetooth scanner is attached to a smartphone which runs
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Many positive things have happened in recent years. Acceptance of the problem, in my opinion, hadn’t really taken place until then. “Breweries have started working together too, working on assets, and a focus on the supply chain. Look at metal theft, it’s a big problem. From our industry, if someone steels a keg, it’s seen as a victimless crime, and nobody knows about it. Unlike a power station losing cable and the negative impact on their service that will have. The impact and effect is different. The industry didn't publicise the scale of the problem so not to potentially make the problem any worse and encourage other people to worsen the issue. He says the whole situation is cyclical. Different breweries have taken up their own initiatives and that’s positive. Most people he speaks to now, says there is an air of inevitability of doing this rather than an option. Dorr and Athelia have enjoyed great success with its KegFlow offering, a proven RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag driven keg and cask tracking and management solution. Created by the Athelia, Portinox
the proprietary application. The technology, which is designed specifically for the three-tier brewing industry, gives 8th Wonder access to a wealth of information. They now know where each keg is, what’s in it, and how long it has been gone. 8th Wonder can leverage online automated inventory and monthly production web reports, so they can see what kegs they have by size, style, and status at any time. Google Maps integration, Web-based reporting, email alerts and other features further aid visibility. The brewer can gain a clear picture of what each retailer and distributor possess. They’re able to track internal kegcleaning and repair needs, as well. “We have better control and visibility into our cooperage,” says Alex Vassilakidis, 8th Wonder CFO. “We are anticipating PAR levels, turn times, and retention rates.” Automated reports also allow the brewer to develop better long-term analytical capability. With good, complete data, 8th Wonder can review a year’s worth of information and analyze how long each customer holds on to kegs, determine a better distribution of keg sizes and use trends to forecast future needs. This in-depth business intelligence can help 8th Wonder to increase accountability, maximize asset use, reduce keg loss, and make more informed business decisions. At 8th Wonder, plans are in the works to double the size of the brewery, so tracking keg inventory will be even more important. As new kegs enter the pipeline, they will be coded and added to inventory. Accommodating the expansion will be seamless since the KegID technology is designed to grow with the brewer. Tagging kegs for scanning costs less than a dollar per keg. Vassilakidis believes the investment in KegID is well worth it. He notes that cooperage is the only component of the final product that is reusable.
Autumn 2016 | Brewers Journal Canada | 67