Sales Order Management
Does your system have a robust sales order management tool, or is it really just an extension of invoicing?
Whether the brewery is a self-distributor or uses distributors tracking of customer orders is important. VicinityBrew streamlines the process of taking an order, fulfilling the order, and shipping/invoicing the order. The intuitive user interface makes it easy for new users to learn and master in no time.
- Send invoices directly to customers from the system via email
- Clone past orders to easily fill new or repeated items, with the ability to make small adjustments
- View real-time inventory levels, stock status report — what is on hand, what items are uncommitted, and item availability for distribution
- Input sales orders directly into the system to be reviewed by operations and production planning
- Access the system from a web-enabled device such as a tablet
- Designate prices by product or customer
- Export various items at one time with bulk invoice management
- Customize your workflow process and add rules to workflows
- Send an email to the customer as you forward a document to the next workflow
Sales Forecasting
Does your existing system support forecasting that is linked to the MRP purchasing system?
Due to the long production time of beers and relatively short lead time for sales orders, most breweries use some form of forecasting to plan production. VicinityBrew leverages multiple forecasting tools and strategies to assist in the forecasting process. No matter the tool, this forecast can be used in the VicinityBrew MRP functionality to ensure there is enough inventory to ship on future sales orders.
- Use past sales history to drive out future sales forecast
- Populate VicinityBrew’s forecasting table to drive out MRP, or manually schedule production
- Import and export with an easy-to-use Excel forecasting template, or
- Utilize live API integrations to forecasting solutions such as HaloBi
Keg Management
How are you tracking kegs today?
Kegs are one of the toughest assets for a brewery to track on a consistent basis. VicinityBrew has partnered with various keg suppliers to report filling of kegs, shipping of kegs, and receipt of kegs. Have knowledge of what last happened to the kegs and who last saw them is the first battle in fighting keg management.
- Track your own kegs as inventory items, associate items with customers as they cycle through use
- Send your packaging schedule with the touch of a button to automate your keg orders
- Utilize an API Integration with 3rd party keg management company MicroStar
- Track how many times a keg has been cycled through distribution and maintenance
Mobile data collection
Does your existing system have barcode data collection or tablet capability?
Barcode data collection can be a good thing once you have your systems in place and working well. It is often said that mobile data collection is a great tool to speed up processes. Just speed up good processes and not flawed ones. VicinityBrew gives many ways to enter data into the system. Barcoding and usage of tablets are reasonably priced ways of getting even more from your system.
- Streamline data entry by using barcode scanning devices to record inventory transactions such as stock counts, site transfers, adjustments, returns, and more
- Access sales orders and read real-time inventory levels from a tablet or approved internet-enabled mobile device with our browser interface
- Consider scanning finished goods as they are recorded on a packaging log first. Once that is mastered, move on to shipping of invoices followed by ingredient receipts on a PO
Lot Recall
If you had a recall of a product, what manual steps would you have to perform with your existing system?
While lot recalls do not occur often to a brewery, when they do they can be quite disruptive. The manual steps other breweries go through to track from packaged beer through brite to wort to ingredients is time consuming. VicinityBrew automates this process. Simply select an inventory lot and VicinityBrew will trace all the way back to the origin ingredients or all the way forward to the distributor or customer.
- Track any inventory items with manual or receipt-generated lot numbers
- Use assigned batch numbers for production runs, which will track the consumption of lot-tracked items through your production process, including tank blending and packaging for true grain-to-glass visibility
- Utilize the Lot Trace Report to easily identify where a raw material lot was consumed and fast track any recall process with this report
- Employ the Where Used Report to identify all batches associated with a component or raw material item
- Evaluate the reach certain ingredients have throughout your product mix
Anticipate shortages
How do you currently predict when you are going to run out of inventory? Is it a phone call from the warehouse?
Breweries often fight the balance of too much inventory and a potential stock out. VicinityBrew reads all data in the system — including sales orders, forecasts, quantity on hand, purchase orders, and open logs — to determine when inventory levels will be getting low. VicinityBrew will report suggested logs and purchase orders with no additional effort.
- Review anticipated raw material shortages based on a dynamic production schedule and real-time inventory levels
- Calculate shortages by item and day, considering lead time, safety stock, and economic order quantities
- Reassess data routinely and create purchase orders for items and quantities from specified suppliers
- Manage inventory by exception and act on the items that need your attention
- Identify and automate PO suggestions on any necessary materials needed to meet anticipated demand with our MRP purchasing system
