Five close friends with common passions for distinct boutique brews and local produce launched the Coldstream Brewery on a former wool shed and antique shop site in the Yarra Valley in 2007.
Today, it’s a burgeoning business with a popular restaurant and bar, and sales of its craft brewed beers and organic cider range having infiltrated all regions of Australia.
Its award winning range of unique European, English, dark malts, pale and chocolate ales along with crisp and spicy apple ciders made in the traditional “rack and cloth” method are now exported to parts of Asia.
In 2011, trade sales grew by almost 50% with financials in 2012 indicating an impressive 100% growth with turnover at $3.5M and positive forecasts continuing for 2013.
Stocked in majors such as Dan Murphy, BWS and Woolworth’s Liquor chains, as well as independent liquor stores throughout Australia, Coldstream knew from increased demand and global interest that their beverages were being well received in the market.
Feeling very satisfied with the business and predictions of growth for 2013, the founding Directors, Rohan Peters and Mike Basset decided in early 2012 that they needed an in-house solution to optimise the management and control of their business growth.
Tomaintain and build on their success, they needed help to remote manage, collaborate and communicate across all facets of the business to increase efficiencies.
Mike Basset, joint MD at Coldstream Brewery explained, “With sales predicted to exceed $5M in 2013, and beer and cider production set to proceed 480,000 litres, the business needed a program that was user friendly yet able to store, manage, track all key performance indicators (KPI’s) and notify us, as required.
Seeking advice from their long term business advisor, The Coldstream Brewery set about introducing MAUS Business System’s new MAUS KPI Dashboard solution nine months ago.
Mike added, “None of us really knew what to expect from this internet-based, business intelligence program except that it used a “pay as you go” subscription process and came with a strong recommendation from Curt Tebbut of Effectus Business Coaching”.
“For the past couple of years, Curt has changed our perspective of the business and its direction, and helped us to initiate disciplines, set challenges and plan for growth, enabling us to transform the business into what it has become today”.
“It was within the first two weeks, when we came to appreciate why the KPI Dash board and its range of features to help connect and share information across all levels of a business had been recommended”
With 25 employee’s, the MAUS KPI Dashboard acts as a strategic management tool that has systemised operations and improved overall efficiencies. It allows easy access to data to plan marketing objectives, prepare forecasts and monitor distribution.
Employees are more accountable and take ownership of projects and budgets to foster a real teamwork ethic. Individual achievements are now evident to all, creating greater job satisfaction.
Until recently, this type of technology was only a realistic option for large corporations with high end equipment, in-house expertise and substantial budgets. However, the subscription model makes it affordable and adaptable to all size and style of business with features upgraded automatically.
Mike went on to explain, “Now when we set goals, their progress and outcomes are easily tracked. We can also see in an instant, if production drops or sales start to lag in any particular area to determine where attention is needed”.
“While departments work separately, they still rely on each other to a certain extent and need to co-exist. For example, the updates provided by our tour and function co-ordinator make it easier for the restaurant and kitchen staff to order, roster and prepare in advance, ensuring everyone is on the same page”.
The MAUS KPI Dashboard also improves areas such as inventory control by monitoring unnecessary expenditure to provide ongoing cost and time saving benefits.
Mike added, “For example, our Coldstream restaurant caters forgroup tasting tours, an average of two weekly functions and prepares over 1,000 meals per week. This results in weekly orders that exceed over 200 items.
“The Dashboard provides all key personnel with immediate access to view current inventory at hand, manage and automate orders, and cross reference any price fluctuations”.
“The secure cloud platform has changed the manner in which we operate. Whether in the office, at home or travelling, I can access the Dashboard to help plan, analyse profitability versus cost (acrossall departments), and track all vita data”.
Mike added, “For us, the MAU KPI Dashboard subscription works out to be less than $10 per user, per year. So I think, I could easily say that it’s been money well spent”!
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