An excellent, straightforward reference for checking the health of your beverage business is calculating your gross profit per case. Many route accounting systems have report functions that will give you an estimate of this figure, but route accounting systems don't take into consideration all of the outside influences; such as samples, free cases, breakage, discounts, promotions, or theft. I use a simple spreadsheet program that will give you the exact figure once you have entered the neccessary sales information. At the end of the month, I enter my individual case sales, gross dollars by individual case, any promotional dollars and then, in a flash, I get my figure. It stands at $4.65 a case at present, which is up substantially from three years ago, when it was a stagnant $3.87. In fact, my margins have also increased a nice 3 percentage points to 26.4%.
Analyzing your gross profit per case will undeniably impact your margins and profits in a positive manner. This simple report will also give you needed guidance in reducing unneccessary discounts, rationalization or elimination of unprofitable SKU's, monthly forecasting and ordering, and a wealth of data about your portfolio.
This program is built using simple excel formulas that you can develop very easily. If you want an example of mine, you can download it here.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Calculating Gross Profit per Case
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Building a Foundation for the Distribution of New Beverages
When expanding your portfolio in the beverage distribution business, a distributor must understand and follow certain guidelines that affect the rollout of a new beverage line. I believe that additional groundwork, preparation, and sales presentation tailored locally for a new beverage introduction will pay considerable dividends in the establishment of new brands in your market. Many distributors assume the brand programming developed by the supplier will be automatically successful in their local market. Many times this is not the case. A one-size-fits-all approach will not always work. Exceptional distributors that build brands will take the brand programming and revise it with their local intricacies, pricing influences, and vernacular to help establish an enduring foundation for the brand.
An example: My company focused on initial Red Bull distribution in the on-premise on our own at our own expense, not only for its undeniable reputation as a mixer, but because all the support we received from Red Bull NA for the first year was product. We supplied the bars with personalized point of sale that we did in house and sampled it extensively. In fact, we didn’t even try to place it in the off-premise for the first two months. I firmly believe that a beverage consumed and asked for in social situations will translate to acceptance on a convenience store shelf and floor. I also believe that Red Bull has created a bureaucracy it doesn’t need. The brand’s mystique and distributor network should’ve been sufficient. An arrogant sales force will be its demise.
There are three parameters a beverage wholesaler should abide by when establishing a foundation for new product distribution:
1.Product and Supplier Knowledge. Extensive research must be conducted on the product and supplier by the distributor. Know every ingredient. Have a list of benefits, nutritional information, and product specifications. Know company contacts, advertising slogans, and all of its uses. Its imperative to know what the supplier’s mission is, what it stands for, and its beliefs. Due diligence is an absolute must before you sign the contract.
2.Local Geographic Brand Programming. You will always receive a new brand or package introduction sales presentation from a supplier. If you don’t, be worried. Anyway, once you get this ask your supplier representative to help you tailor it to your local market, if he doesn’t ask you first. Always ask for extra funding for incentives. When building your local programming, build it in language your sales force will understand and give them the tools they need for the rollout to be successful. Train them extensively. Have signage already produced, sufficient inventory of glide racks and ice bins, street sheets printed and ready to go, plenty of product, iced down samples, straightforward objectives that are not overcomplicated and confusing, and an attainable incentive that creates excitement. Try to design and convey to your sales force the exact message and look you want to see in every account. Make your employees compete…track sales, distribution, and display execution. A cookie cutter approach that designates the slightest details in the introduction is the optimum tool for a successful product rollout.
3.Convince the Retailer Beforehand. People love to buy and shop, but they hate to be sold. I am a salesman, but I hate to be sold something. I can’t stand a cold call. I want my retailers to be convinced that they need my products. I want my customers to shop from me. I want my products to be the retailer’s idea. I want my retailers to be creative with my products. A soft sell where the retailer is convinced in the product’s benefits and contributions to his own business is wonderful. Start a campaign a month before the rollout. Gain placement of teaser point of sale. Give away samples and merchandise. Talk to your customers early and tell them what you need for the brand to be a success. Make people want and ask for the product before the introduction.
Following these three brand programming guidelines for beverage distributors when introducing new beverage products will help you in building an informed and knowledgeable sales force, retailer and customer satisfaction, and trust and dependence from your suppliers.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Three Tier Contemplation
Everyday I hear someone in the Beverage Industry speak about the Three Tier System. In beverage terminology, the three tier system is the arrangement carved from the repeal of prohibition that sets legal boundaries between breweries, wholesalers, and retailers. Section 2 of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution of the United States gives the actual states authority to regulate the production, importation, distribution, retail, and consumption of alcohol beverages inside their own state lines. In most states, breweries can't own distributors, distributors can't own retail establishments, retailers can't own breweries, and so on. The restrictions imposed upon each tier are in place for reasons of control, such as taxation, consumption, and licensing.
Controls and restrictions on the beverage industry were set in motion by men of vision and moderation. They knew the excesses of pre-prohibition times all too well. Every corner saloon was owned, or tied to a brewery. This made the brewer a retailer. Therefore, it is my opinion that brewers' influence upon retailers was the fatal mistake that brought about prohibition. This influence over retailers is the reason why a "middleman" or distributor tier was created. Today, I see many instances of the breweries circumventing laws enacted to prevent the abuses of alcohol:
1.Suppliers never go empty handed into a sales presentation with a convenience or grocery store representative. It is common practice for them to give a gift when starting the meeting. Guess what...these retailers now have their hand out every time we see them.
2.Breweries giving away coupons to consumers. There are laws on giving away free or reduced price product.
3.Suppliers forcing distributors to host taste challenges in local bars. It is against the law in most states to buy a consumer a beer.
4.Breweries hiring sales forces that interact with consumers in stores and bars.
5.Breweries hosting websites that any teenager can gain access to.
Face it, the big brewers are trying to sidestep the wholesale tier. Wholesalers...never, ever think that brewers or retailers are your "partners". The 21st Amendment prevents this from happening. I love to see Brewery CEO's tout the praises of the three tier system. What a load of BS. It's painful to realize our business is more about politics than how hard you actually work.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Conceptualization of New Beverages at Retail
With a new beverage product introduction, you must establish your presence at retail by using imaginative and ingenious methods that focus on key attributes of your product. This should be easy, one would think, for large companies with seemingly unlimited capital (i.e. Coke, Pepsi, AB, or Miller), but I write this from the outlook of a small emerging beverage company. A company that may have one new, niche beverage in the process of building their brand from the ground up, market by market.
As a wholesaler, I am inundated with new beverage opportunities. Many of these brands are viable, great tasting products that could contend in my market. Many are concoctions thrown together with a high margin. Some even have great POS and beautiful packaging. Most all miss the boat on the conceptualization of their new product in go-to-market retail strategies.
The definition of conceptualization when applied to a new beverage is complex. The term loosely means to form by concept, which, for us, is very broad and vague. I define beverage conceptualization as the formation of beverage strategies through the consideration of multiple economic impressions. These economic impressions include, but are not limited to: originality, accessibility, availability, acceptability, dependability, positioning, and marketability.
Now when brainstorming and building your beverage concept you have an outline to help build your go-to-market strategy. Ask yourself questions based on all the economic impressions I have listed above. Some example questions are:
1.Is my product original? Is there a need for it? Has it been done before? Am I jumping on the bandwagon?
2.Is my beverage easy to use? For anyone?
3.Where do you find my beverage? Can it be bought in retail easily?
4.Is my product worth buying? Why does anyone buy it? Is it beneficial to the consumer?
5.Is it a quality product? Can you guarantee its proclaimed virtues? What about imperfections in manufacturing?
6.Do the wholesaler and retailer understand my market blueprint? Is my plan too ambitious? Do I have set, easy to achieve distribution objectives?
7.Can my product be sold profitably for everyone involved?
If you can answer these questions easily and positively, you are well on your way to marketing a successful beverage. You have an outstanding product that fulfills a need in the marketplace. But don’t start having dreams of huge wealth and success. History is cluttered with beverage companies that developed unique products and then squandered their opportunity with arrogant management, excessive spending, and idiotic policy. Many of these companies believed that the retail tier is where their fortunes laid. When in fact it is the wholesale tier. First and foremost, you must take advantage and develop good relations with wholesalers. Build your programming with language the distributor and his sales force can understand. Give equal incentives to all distributors, big and small. Never, ever penalize a distributor because his market isn’t very large, you must understand he is just as important as the largest. Treat the wholesaler as you would your best customer. Once distributors believe and trust in you and your product, you will find your beverage in the cooler and on the shelf everywhere.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Setting Monthly Objectives for Pre-Sell Route Salesmen
- Use historical data with trends broken down by daily, weekly, and monthly sales figures. A rule of thumb is to use your top ten packages. A true salesman needs to know how many cases he needs to sell on a particular day to hit his goals.
- Always include a distribution drive on packages that need placement.
- A list of displayable accounts, the ones that have a display and the ones that need a display.
- A few gimmies. For example: a clean vehicle, participation in company directives, fraternizing with fellow employees, community service, and night calls.
- Build a pull up schedule and include it in the objectives.
- Tie in no more than two supplier incentives, one major and one minor, per month. And always include your largest supplier. Trust me.
- Target 10-20 accounts for needed POS merchandising and cleaning, broken down by class of trade or volume. Example: five large accounts, 10 medium, and 5 small.
- It is imperative that you tie a salesman's compensation to attaining monthly goals. This way the real salesman step up and you find out who the order takers are.
- Always, always, always give weekly projections to let them no how they stand and calculate the exact results to give to the salesman at the next monthly meeting.
- Repeat every month. Once you've made it through a year, you just refresh the sales data and make any needed changes.
Congratulations, you have a working document saturated with much needed information on sales trends, distribution, retail initiatives, and incentive quotas. It is the only way I know how to keep my score in this "game".
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Start a Beer Distributing Company
So you came up with a wonderful idea on how to get rich by starting a beer distributorship. Are you crazy? Are you drunk? Or.... do you have what it takes to work 16 hour days, seven days a week to be your own boss? Do you like pushing one of these things in the picture on the right? Do you enjoy setting your own goals, interacting and conducting business with many different people with multiple demeanors and diverse backgrounds, and analyzing progressive consumer trends and habits in the marketplace? I enjoy teasing the folks that think beer distributors just deliver beer and make tons of money. Nothing is further from the truth. Beer distributors are entreprenuers that evolve everyday. Change is eminent and constant. Believe me, the breweries change marketing focus and organizational structure every few months. To be a beer or beverage distributor, you have to be able to go with the flow and always do what you say you'll do.
Following is some basic information to see if you've got what it takes:
First you need a federal license to sell alcoholic beverages and a federal permit so you can store them.
Second you need a state permit for the counties you service. Once you get a state wholesaler permit you will receive a tax roll of all the accounts that hold a retail license for the area you service. This roll is important because it will be your universe to which you can sell alcoholic beverages. Its also where you will keep up with taxes collected from retailers.
Third you need an operational strategy. This means vehicles and warehouse space. You will also need a decent route accounting software system to keep up with your invoicing, distribution and sales reports.
Fourth you need products and customers. Call and email every supplier you can find...from alcohol to non-alcohol. Check the margins they offer, terms, pos, support, etc. A good starting point is BevNet.com.
Fifth you are going to work your tail off. Do you have a sales force? If you can do all this on your own...you are my hero. I consider owning and operating a beer distributorship with no employees to be the Holy Grail of the beer wholesaling profession. That is, if it could be done.
I hope that doesn't scare you off. I admire that you want to do this. It is a rewarding business and can be very fulfilling, but you have to know that it can also be excrutiatingly painful, depressing, and all-time and all-thought consuming. I know a lifetime of answers to any questions...feel free to email me at any time, my knowledge is at your disposal. For more information online, see how to start your own Beverage Distribution Business.
Now make a list of questions to ask yourself, your retailers, and prospective suppliers. Some examples:
- FOB's and laid in's for different brands and packages.
- Rising fuel, freight, insurance, taxes, and supplier demands and their effect on the beverage business.
- Your location and your competitors.
- Demographics of your territory.
- Service level expectations and payment procedures of various retailers.
- Laws affecting transportation and distributing alcoholic beverages in your area.
- Credit terms with suppliers and retailers.
1. Contact all of the beverage distributors in your area. Don't tell them all of your plans, just say you are conducting research. Ask about the brands in their portfolios and see if they handle the full package line from some mid-major brewers. Start with the Pabst supplier. If the distributor is not carrying some Pabst packages you can request these brands. A few other breweries to contact are Gambrinus, Pittsburgh, Cold Spring, or any small regionals in your area. It will take time to build a product line. Also, you will have to be ready to order and deliver as soon as you start getting the product....remember beer is perishable.
2. Ask about their non-alcohol portfolios...there is more margin in soft drinks and you don't have to pay sales taxes in most states. The only drawback is some retailers will ask for credit terms (larger ones) and Coke and Pepsi control the cooler sets. But sometimes we get lucky with these new niche products..many did with Snapple, Red Bull, and Vitamin Water. Try to get a few of these beverages. A couple to look at are Cocio Chocolate Milk, Hat Trick Beverage's Pumped Fitness Water, and IrnBru. Go to BevNet and research some of these brands. Don't be afraid to call or email them. They will send you samples and pricing.
3. Contact the National Beer Wholesalers Association and ask about your State Association and who the local distributors are. You can also find a wealth of information about starting a beer distributorship on the NBWA website, as well as your state association's website.
4. Never pay for any franchise from anyone in the beverage business...you get the rights from a supplier based on the expectations of your performance at the levels agreed upon in the beginning of entering a contract with a supplier. Any payment to a supplier should only be for inventory and promotional items that help you sell more product. At least, that is my conviction.
5. It would be best to start off with some non alcohlic drinks first, unless your market is heavily skewed to the on premise. Many breweries nowadays let you order small pallet quantities to help with cash flow. So do the smaller soft drink companies.
6. You need to make at least 25% margin on beer and 30% plus on soft drinks.
7. Look in to adding beef jerky, cups, or salty snacks to your routes.
8.It is imperative that you have a superior understanding of computers, the internet, excel, word, and power point. You wouldn't be able to order or sell the first case without 'em.
Hope that helps a little, at least you have a starting point now. Anyway, feel free to email me with any questions. I believe that with consolidation of more and more beer distributorships, there will be breweries and beverage companies that will welcome smaller wholesalers. There is a niche for small, nimble wholesalers...you just have to patient, hardworking, and lucky. Just remember, the beverage business is about making friends...that is forgotten when you're trying to sell 500 sku's.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Miller Coors JV: Great Taste for the Brewery, Less Filing for the Distributor
Let's face it boys and girls, any happy thoughts you have about the joint venture between Miller Brewing Company and Coors Brewing Company you can forget them. The only positive outcomes of this merger will be for the breweries involved and the large mega-wholesalers. Believe me, this new company will become "Millerized". That means less margins, no supplier supplemented POS (thanks to a wonderful program called Service 2000), higher freight, and more bureaucracy. That also means the supposed worst nightmare for small to medium sized wholesalers....consolidation. I say supposed because many think of consolidation as bad. It's not as bad as many may think. Anyway, I think the Justice Department should scrutinize every detail of the propsed merger/joint venture because it is anti-competitive and many small family-owned businesses will be pushed (read shoved) out. I would welcome that "shove" because I believe the valuations for smaller beer distributorships are as high as they will ever be. Think about it, margins are going to shrink even more, fuel, insurance, and salaries are escalating out of control, and the breweries are going to get more and more "influence" over your affairs. Just remember, as it says on our invoices, you are an independent business person free to conduct business as you see fit. If you believe that, I'd be willing to bet you think Miller/Coors is going to lower FOB's.
