It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Anyone in the wine industry knows this sentiment is true about each year’s harvest. The excitement of reaping the literal fruits of a long growing season rubs shoulders against the stress of managing changes to schedules and logistics. As exciting as harvest season is, it’s also one of the most critical seasons your business experiences the entire year.
It’s no mystery that there have been significant changes to the wine industry and growing climates over the last few years. The world of wine continues to add complexity and layers of challenges for annual planning cycles, and winery owners must evaluate where to best invest valuable resources, both in time and money.
“This is the time of year when I like to evaluate all of my harvest trials and experiments,” explained Mike Alley, veteran winemaker and Crafted ERP winery product manager. “After harvest, you’ll want to wrap up trials of any new winemaking techniques or processes and input important data, such as fermentation information, into your winery software platform. Year-over-year comparisons of your efforts help you analyze efficacy, improve production processes and discover cost savings.”
Post-harvest is also a great time to shift focus to the business side of winemaking, especially as you enter the year-end season of holiday celebrations when wine sales tend to spike. Accurate analytics around sales and inventory counts are particularly vital. “It’s important to be intentional and thorough with your team to analyze all aspects of your organization and sales channels,” commented Cara Pepper Day, wine and spirits account manager for Crafted ERP.
Making a List and Checking it Twice
Post-harvest provides a great opportunity to find actionable areas for improvement and innovation. To help you be more organized and efficient, Crafted ERP created an end-of-year checklist for winery owners. Developed by seasoned wine industry professionals, these suggestions work as a guide and reminder to help you streamline annual year-end tasks.
Step 1: Evaluate challenges and successes
Ask yourself – what went well during this year’s harvest and where are there opportunities for improvement? Have a debrief with key stakeholders across your organization and invite feedback from employees across every level. It’s important to look back and learn from each year’s harvest to ensure the next year goes even better.
Step 2: Finalize experiments and product trials
It’s important for all data on trials and research to be entered before the end of the year or any extended holiday break. Any innovations your team is working on can easily be evaluated and reviewed down the road.
Step 3: Perform quality analysis of new vintages
Record data and tasting notes during each stage of the winemaking process. Tools like Crafted ERP’s sensory panel allow you to establish a baseline to review and build off of year after year.
Step 4: Analyze Yields (Planned Yield vs. Actual)
Your crush cellar orders have tracked your yields for the vintage. Utilize custom reports and searches to enable your team to review data in a variety of ways.
Step 5: Wine Processing
Create custom cellar order templates in your winery management software to streamline bulk wine processing.
Step 6: Plan Production
Utilize demand planning and manufacturing task schedulers to plan all “just in time” materials for bottling. This helps limit downtime on the line.
Step 7: Prepare your R&D Tax Deduction
Collect information on all activities related to research, product development and agricultural experimentation to submit for tax credit. This includes personnel and payroll experiences, raw materials costs, testing fees and research expenditures.
Step 8: Build Goals and Budgets
It’s been difficult for wineries to gauge growth and analyze historical data after the pandemic. Consumer behavior is unpredictable, and lower yields paired with slowing sales have caused a downturn in the industry. When setting goals and budgets for the coming year, take into account your YoY changes, but also compare averages to five or more years ago.
Step 9: Think about your team
Are you staffed properly? Do you need to restructure or realign any departments or positions? Find ways to solidify your key team members with long-term career paths and keep a keen eye on driving high retention rates.
Step 10: Investigate and Invest in New Tools
From production to inventory to financials, if you found that managing your year-end was cumbersome and complicated, it might be time to look for new tools to simplify your operations. Winery business management platforms can provide a complete solution tying together every aspect of your winemaking business. The new year might mean it’s time to investigate and invest in new software!
Using Winery ERP as Your Guide
Evaluating these checklist items will help see you through a busy holiday season and better prepare you for a new year. Download a printable version of our winery end-of-year checklist to share with your leadership team for broader perspectives. You can use the insights gained through this exercise to make actionable decisions to future-proof your wine business.
Innovation and adaptability are key to keeping your winemaking business as a leader in the marketplace. As you plan for the new year, consider the tools your team needs to excel. Crafted ERP Winery Edition is a unified, configurable business management platform that offers greater visibility, agility and control across every facet of your company.
With a robust and customizable central database, your team will have access to key business insights to drive profitability. To learn how you can enhance operations in the new year, contact our team of experienced wine industry experts.
Let’s raise a glass to a new year filled with amazing wine!
