Read about how Five Roads Brewing Co. starting to use Brew Ninja allowed them to better track inventory levels of raw materials and finished products, all while maintaining an accurate COGS.
Read about how Five Roads Brewing Co. starting to use Brew Ninja allowed them to better track inventory levels of raw materials and finished products, all while maintaining an accurate COGS.
Throughout Five Roads Brewing Co.'s first year, they were able to achieve a lot without the help of brewery inventory management software. At first, it seemed like they would be able to handle production planning, inventory tracking, sales and more through other, more conventional means. However, as Five Roads started to grow their customer base and brewery business, they quickly realized there were issues with this approach that were quickly stacking up, and needed to be addressed.
Prior to Brew Ninja, Five Roads struggled to keep track of their product SKU and material inventory, as well as COGS. They quickly realized that they needed to find a solution that could help them to keep their finger on the pulse of their inventory going forward and one that would enable them to make better decisions.
Five Roads found that they were having trouble keeping track of the wide variety of different hops that they use to make their beer. Many craft breweries often rotate between a myriad of different hops to produce their rotation of beers, and constantly updating inventory can become increasingly difficult, and this was no different for Five Roads. Essentially, tracking all of their materials, from grain to glass, felt like a daunting task and was only getting more difficult the longer they brewed without an all-in-one brewery management software.
Five Roads Brewing Co. knew that they needed to find a solution. Five Roads needed to find a brewery management software that could help their management team with business management for their brewery in one easy-to-use place. After some research, they found Brew Ninja was able to fit the bill for what they were looking for.
Roughly a year after opening its doors, Five Roads Brewing Co. decided to give Brew Ninja a try in an attempt to solve their issues with tracking inventory and traceability. Their hope was that the use of Brew Ninja software can help them to better keep track of their real-time inventory (where it is, how much they have, what's on hand, etc.), and so far, they have been able to solve their inventory problems and improve their efficiency and streamline their business needs across the board.
According to Nic Hendrickson, former brewer at Five Roads, Brew Ninja "makes the tracking of inventory much more simple."
Their issues with tracking inventory of both product SKUs and materials have been completely eliminated. Additionally, the added benefit of being able to track their COGS with real-time data has allowed them to be able to know how much their inventory is worth at any time. Ultimately, this helps the business price its product, leads to a better workflow, and better manages their production schedule thanks to use of inventory software.
For Five Roads, they feel that the difference before and after implementing this software has been like night and day for the team. They now feel that their day-to-day tasks have become much smoother and more manageable. The software has streamlined their entire operation and provided them with a centralized platform to manage all aspects of their brewery. They can now easily track their inventory levels, monitor sales and revenue, and accurately manage their orders, greatly reducing data entry and creating a single source of truth for accurate inventory within their business.
We could continue describing the ways Five Roads has benefited from Brew Ninja all day, but we'll let them sum it up instead.
According to Nic Hendrickson, "It’s a simple system with easy input of orders and the ability to adjust on the fly!"
Langley, BC has been experiencing a boom in craft beer production over the last few years, and Five Roads Brewing Co. was one of the first to blaze this new trail amidst a new wave of breweries coming to the city. After plans for another brewery in the same location fell through in 2018, Five Roads was able to get up and running from where they left off, and a year later, Five Roads Brewing Co. was born! Five Roads was opened by Brewery Owner Aaron Fourt and General Manager Patrick Moore, and was so successful in it's initial first few years open, they were able to open a second tasting room in Steveston, a neighbourhood in Richmond, BC. Since opening, they have been able to take home a Gold Medal for their Permanent Resident IPA in the American IPA Category at the 2021 Canadian Brewing Awards, and continue to brew great beer to this day! (with many more awards to come, we'd bet!)
Five Roads Brewing founded their company with the goal of pushing limits and collectively celebrating the milestones in their lives, however large or small, and strives to embody a spirit of shared adventure that pushes them to continually seek new horizons. They pride themselves on making beer that is as creative and diverse as the people they serve, believes in using "great beer as a tool to shape & share our experiences with friends as they navigate the journey of life", and strives to continue to build a community. They truly wish to be a space that allows people to connect, explore, and share, and want to represent a crossroads for the community. For what it's worth, we think they've been able to achieve all of the above!
If you're in the Langley or Steveston areas, or visiting British Columbia, you can't go wrong with visiting or tasting some beer from Five Roads Brewing Co.!