getting set up with bevspot
For all four Roka Akor locations, Rob expects a weekly inventory. Their previous system of pen-and-paper coupled with spreadsheets ended up being a huge time expense, with some locations having to devote an entire working day to the process of invoicing and ordering. There were other inefficiencies that Rob faced with these systems, too, like bar managers not inputting price changes into the weekly spreadsheets.
“You would hope that, when you hire [a bar manager], they are inputting the changes every week. But, being realistic and knowing all of [their] other responsibilities, unless something is extremely off, people will often simply disregard small fluctuations than take the time to average
in the changes.”
In order to get a clearer picture of his programs, as well as free up his managers, Rob looked for new options. Despite using an inventory scanning solution in the past, Rob saw the potential in the data and insights BevSpot could provide to his complex beverage program.
“[My prior inventory solution] worked, and I could get by with it, but I was looking for something with continual evolution and an end-user experience that coincides with what people are using today like cellphones.”
After deciding to implement BevSpot in all his Roka Akor locations, he found the process really simple. One aspect of the implementation process that was a pleasant surprise for Rob was how easy it was to get a hold of someone from the BevSpot team if any issues arose, which was a stark difference from other companies he had worked with in the past.
“That’s a reassuring thing. For other tech companies, there’s a major lack of support. I would usually get linked to webinars or videos and just wouldn’t be able to reach anyone. [The customer success team] gave me the feeling that BevSpot was in it for the long haul.”
THE OUTCOME
After getting set up in BevSpot, the bar managers of all the Roka Akor locations began using the software to keep track of their counts and complete all of their invoicing. They’ve saved hundreds of hours of time completing inventory and now have the freedom to make adjustments from home.
Rob has heard positive feedback from all of his managers regarding BevSpot’s ordering features, like the ability to add notes to specific products when sending their orders to reps.
The managers are finding the platform to be powerful in planning their budgets effectively, identifying areas where they can trim costs and staying immediately aware of changing pricing in invoices, instead of catching them three months down the road.
“Since implementing the software, our cost of goods have improved due to the hyper-awareness of pricing from the added invoice scrutiny. Our managers are purchasing wiser.”
The benefits of using BevSpot have also positively affected Rob’s day-to-day. He loves the ability to use the platform to oversee all of his locations quickly and simultaneously. He has found the data that BevSpot provides to be useful in reinforcing negotiated prices or working on active negotiations with distributors.
“On numerous occasions, I’ve found myself in a meeting and able to access inventory and depletions to assist with pricing negotiations. In the past, I had to rely on digging in emails for old spreadsheets, or depletion reports from local distributors, which have a lag and would also take time to receive.”
Rob has been impressed with BevSpot’s customer success team being with him every step of the way. Getting regular check-up messages, as well as same-day responses from the questions he’s sent, has been highly valuable. He has also been happy to see his suggestions for product improvements actually considered and implemented into the software.
“Being able to see my feedback implemented into the system has been awesome. With some of the other systems out there, I never got the impression that my feedback was actually valued or actively investigated.”
THE VERDICT
As Rob moves toward relying on BevSpot to help in all areas of bar inventory management, he understands why there might be reservations for other groups to use technology like BevSpot. With margins being so tight in this industry, you always have to justify the added costs with net positive return.
However, he has found that the benefits BevSpot has brought his team—in time saved as well as improved cost of goods across the board—completely justify the investment he made with BevSpot and solidify its value with both Roka Akor and JNK Concepts.
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