Special Report: Alcoholic Beverages
Special Report: Alcoholic Beverages
October 2009
Further to our previous Special Reports on the IT that is powering Premier League football clubs, top Private Schools, and most recently the UK’s Housing Associations, welcome to this, our final Special Report of 2009, on the technology initiatives now underway in the alcoholic beverages industry
Now approaching the busiest time of its year, the drinks sector has experienced a turbulent one. Some have suffered due to fewer consumers visiting pubs and restaurants, and tightening their belts on premium brands. Others have recorded bumper sales, with growing numbers enjoying a night in with a bottle of wine.
Drinks companies have historically employed large field representative workforces, with IT initiatives focused heavily on their support. We've found that organisations are looking to enhance these systems and ensure data may be transferred easily to the rep while in front of the customer. They also want to make their ERP and CRM platforms more accessible.
Interestingly however, we've found initiatives more immediately on the horizon tend to be focused away from the remote workforce. We’ve identified companies with immediate requirements for support surrounding VoIP telephony, the integration of RFID technology into the order management process, CRM enhancements and desktop standardisation. You’ll also find advice from each decision-maker we’ve spoken to on how they best like to be approached.
The Report focuses on 4 key product areas of the sector – beer, wine, cider and spirits (it also includes a conversation with the IT Manager at a UK producer of pork scratchings!). There are conversations with senior technology decision-makers at brands such as Bacardi, Pernod Ricard, Carlsberg and Constellation Europe to name but a few.
Pearlfinders Special Report Q4 is exclusively available to subscribers - please click on the links below to access the full conversations.
Please read this report responsibly.
Carlsberg, which operates 12 European subsidiary businesses, has outsourcing deals with partners including IBM and Accenture. Here, we discuss the nature of these partnerships with the company's IT Service Support Manager, based at Carlsberg UK in Northampton.
Fuller, Smith & Turner has been brewing beer in London since 1845. Here, we discuss a recent hardware upgrade, virtualisation and SAN storage project with the firm’s Group Systems Manager.
Faversham, Kent-based Shepherd Neame claims to be England’s oldest brewery with a history dating back to 1698. Here, the company’s IT Infrastructure Manager highlights Shepherd Neame’s ambitions as regards sustainability.
Pernod Ricard is one of the world’s largest wines and spirits operators with over 17,000 employees. Here, we speak to a Technology Project Manager, involved with supporting the company’s SAP systems, about its focus on sustainability and green IT.
Manchester-based wholesaling operation Wharton Wade is looking to build its portfolio of drinks companies, which started with the acquisition of Lancashire-based wine, beer and spirits distributor John Stephenson & Sons last year.
Buckfast Abbey, a monastery in Buckfastleigh, produces Buckfast Tonic Wine among other products and exports internationally. Here, its IT Manager, responsible for 120 desktop users, highlights an immediately-actionable opportunity for a supplier.
Global spirits company Bacardi is best known for its Bacardi Superior and Bacardi 151 rum brands. It sells in excess of 100m bottles of spirits annually in over 100 countries. Here, we speak with a member of its global IT infrastructure team, who highlights the company’s focus on outsourcing technology operations to international service providers.
Whyte & Mackay, founded in 1844, employs nearly 600 people - 90 per cent in Scotland. We’ve spoken with the firm’s Head of Information Systems about its project planning timescales and the challenges surrounding a restructuring process taking place at the moment.
The Edrington Group employs close to 2,000 people across sites in Scotland and the Dominican Republic. Here, we uncover an opportunity for a supplier to help with a project the company is planning, focused on supporting those working away from the office.
Constellation Europe produces a number of well-known cider brands in Europe including Blackthorn, Gaymers Original and Diamond White. Here, the company’s Web Systems Specialist talks about the alignment of its online operations with its ERP systems.
Here, we speak with Thatchers Cider Company’s IT Manager about the company’s plans to build RFID technology into its order management process. The company also has a long-term ambition to improve provisioning for its remote workforce.
Red Mill Snack Foods, which owns the Mr Porky pork scratchings brand, is itself owned by Irish snack foods company Tayto. Here, the IT Manager highlights where decision-making authority lies for the group’s 300 IT users.