Schell’s Brewery tap Crafted ERP to enable new pathways for growth
Schell’s Brewery, the second oldest family-owned brewery in the United States, had a critical need for a new brewery management system. Obeer, the software they used for years, was incapable of keeping pace with the company’s complexity and growth, and couldn’t be relied on to perform even the most basic operational functions. It was time for a change.
Customer
About Schell's Brewery
The Schell’s story in America began in 1860 when August Schell, a thirsty and passionate German brewmaster, co-founded the brewery that bore his name in New Ulm, Minnesota, where the company still operates today.
Triumphing over much adversity through the decades, including prohibition, Schell’s foresight and business savvy led it to become the first brewery in Minnesota to produce craft beers. In 2022, it further propelled its legacy with the purchase of Grain Belt Beer, the largest investment in company history.
Challenges
With 5 campuses, 3 brands and 75+ vessels, the current ERP system — Orchestrated Software (Obeer), could no longer keep up. There was no consolidated way of knowing what inventory was available and what inventory was needed — making it impossible to manage the supply chain effectively.
Much of the order tracking and inventory management was conducted through multiple Excel workbooks, leading to multiple, static sources of truth. Logistics between the main campus brewery and the warehouse were also managed extensively through shared workbooks within SharePoint.
Other limitations included the inability to print invoices on the fly, the lack of mobile device capabilities and not having a barcoding system for inventory, meaning employees had to enter the details manually. All of these constraints slowed operations.
In addition, there was zero integration in the system, which meant the sales, production and leadership teams didn’t have full visibility to the data needed to make informed, strategic decisions.
We needed software that had a barcoded inventory system. That was the biggest catalyst to implement Crafted ERP. We didn’t even have barcodes on our inventory.
Liza Kukla | Controller
August Schell’s Brewing Co.
Solutions
Operational Integration
Crafted ERP delivered immediate ROI by bringing orders, forecasting and raw materials management into one system. With a multi-brand brewery, integration creates much greater efficiencies — from inventory levels to production operations and from the retail tap environment to the gift shop.
“We needed a brewery management system that integrated well with multiple facets of our business… something that offered a robust mobile option and helped facilitate sales,” explained Liza Kukla, Controller for August Schell’s Brewing Co.
Informed Forecasting
Being able to plan and forecast is a huge game changer — planning marketing, planning sales, planning visits and beyond.
Access to supply chain details removed the need for extensive manual input — from forecasting raw material needs to budgeting for them. The system also provided specific information for when to schedule production, available tank space, orders coming in and going out, quality control and more.
Data-driven Decision-Making
Creating only one invoice instead of 15 and being able to print things on the fly (or not print at all) was a huge time saver. Having real-time, immediately accessible data allowed for faster decision-making power. Not the mention, up-to-the-minute information freed the team to focus on more strategic aspects of business.
“I’m a nerd myself. I love my Excel spreadsheets, but if a system can do it so that I don’t have to build those large database tables and do all of the analysis that way, that gives me more time to do more strategic planning,” says Liza.
Streamlined Inventory
Barcodes make it faster and easier to ring up items at a store and track inventory in a warehouse. They also promote accuracy, inventory control and cost savings. Ahhh, refreshing!
What really drove the decision home for our team was the couple hour demo that the Crafted team did for us. they walked us through each step in how we would use the system. And then dove down into exactly what tools we would want, Which opened our eyes to everything Crafted offered.
Kyle Blair | (Former) Vice President of Operations
August Schell’s Brewing Co.
Working with Doozy Solutions
The Doozy team has worked with breweries around the world to simplify and streamline brewing processes, while priding itself on the team’s availability and willingness to problem solve. “They were very, very quick to respond to emails to talk with anyone at Schell’s who had interest in knowing a little bit more about their side of the software — whether it be logistics, quality manager projection or general financial reporting,” emphasized Liza.
Cracking open Crafted ERP’s capabilities can enable new pathways for growth. From operational integration to streamlined inventory, the solution can help a business better forecast and make solid, strategic decisions that are data driven. Cheers to growth!
