In the dynamic landscape of the alcoholic drinks industry, wholesalers find themselves navigating through a myriad of challenges that require strategic agility and resilience. From managing inventory complexities to staying ahead of shifting consumer preferences, these challenges shape the daily operations of wholesalers. In this blog, we take a look at seven of the hurdles faced by these essential players in the supply chain and how a complete business management system such as Bevica can help them.
Fluctuating Demand and Seasonality
Drinks wholesalers often grapple with the unpredictable nature of consumer demand, which can vary significantly with seasons, holidays, and trends. Balancing the right amount of inventory to meet peak demand without overstocking presents a constant challenge, requiring a delicate dance between market insights and operational efficiency.
Inventory Control
As well as the issues caused by fluctuating customer demand, drinks wholesalers face challenges in inventory control such as managing perishable goods, tracking diverse product variants and ensuring that salespeople and order takers have clear visibility of stock levels, item reservations and customer-specific pricing and discounting.
Regulatory Compliance
The drinks industry is subject to a web of legal and ever-changing tax-related regulations, including HMRC duty management, licensing, labelling, and health standards. Staying compliant with these regulations, which can vary across local and international regions, adds an additional layer of complexity for wholesalers. Non-compliance not only risks legal and financial penalty repercussions, but also tarnishes the reputation of the wholesaler and the brands they distribute.
Competitive Pricing Pressures
The competitive nature of the alcoholic drinks market puts pressure on wholesalers to offer competitive pricing while still maintaining healthy profit margins. Negotiating with producers and importers, as well as on and off-trade customers to strike a balance that satisfies all parties is a delicate task.
Logistics and Supply Chain Disruptions
Efficient logistics are the lifeblood of drinks wholesalers. Challenges such as transportation bottlenecks, fuel price fluctuations, and unexpected disruptions—whether they are natural disasters or global events—affect the timely delivery of products. Implementing robust supply chain management practices becomes imperative to mitigate these challenges.
Evolving Consumer Preferences
Consumer tastes and preferences are ever-evolving. Wholesalers must keep a finger on the pulse of market trends to anticipate and adapt to changing consumer demands. This requires continuous market research and flexibility in product offerings to align with shifting preferences.
Technology Integration
Embracing and integrating new technologies into traditional business models is a challenge faced by many wholesalers. From adopting digital platforms for orders to implementing data analytics for demand forecasting, staying technologically relevant is essential for efficiency and competitiveness.
How can a system like Bevica help drinks wholesalers?
Developed over the last 20+ years, Bevica is a complete business management system specifically created for the drinks industry by wine experts. Powered by Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Bevica includes a wide range of features and functions that drinks wholesalers can use to overcome the business challenges detailed above.
These include:
- A complete Finance/KPI solution, including invoicing, etc
- Automated processes for HMRC Duty Management, Accruals and Costs
- Reliable demand planning tools with which to manage stock levels
- Automated supply chain routines to help plan how much stock is available and when to pay suppliers
- Cloud-enabled technology that will enable salespeople to always share the most up-to-date information with customers
- Seamless integration, through APIs, with a range of eCommerce solutions including Shopify.
How to find out more about Bevica
To find out more about Bevica and how it could help modernise and improve your business processes and productivity, book a demo with one of our expert team today.
