When it comes to incorporating technology into the wine industry, organizations have so many opportunities to apply analytics and technology. However, there is a huge discrepancy in terms of dollars invested towards IT.
A recent WBM Technology Survey by Wine Business Monthly magazine analyzes the top IT priorities for wineries based on various categories such as winery size, job function, and IT job function. Most wineries have the same top IT issue, which is “providing better data to our trade sales team.” Better data can result in gained insights into areas of the business and opportunities to spur company growth. Let’s examine how wineries can better understand their top priorities and implement the technology to support them.
Managing direct-to-consumer data
One top IT priority for small wineries is the ability to manage and analyze direct-to-consumer data. This type of data allows wineries to better understand where their customers are interacting or purchasing their products. Organizations want to understand if customers are tasting their products in a tasting room or are ordering products online. This key performance metric allows wineries to strategize efforts that can spur growth and increase revenue and market share.
Analyzing retail data and product trends
For medium and large wineries, a top IT priority is the ability to gain insights into their product portfolio. These wineries want to invest dollars into analytics because it will help them understand how product category sales are trending over time. They can ask questions about why sales are increasing in a specific product category. Based on the results of their examination, they can plan to increase their inventory or product offering within a certain category. This data helps wineries plan their inventory and work towards increasing sales and revenue.
Providing better data to trade sales teams
A top priority for all wineries, regardless of size, is the ability to provide better data to their trade sales teams. Salespeople need to access the resources and data they need whether they are in the office or working on the road. In order to close their next deal, wineries’ sales teams require access to these resources. Enabling salespeople with mobile technology and better data puts them ahead of the competition by analyzing reports, understanding where their prospects and customers are located, and doing their job.
What’s next for the wine business?
It’s clear that executives in the wine business need to invest their business’ IT dollars towards better analytics and quicker access to data, resulting in gained insights and better data-driven decision making. Regardless of their revenue or size of their IT budgets, the benefits are endless. It will be more important for wineries to invest in IT and analytics to get a leg up against their competition.
Learn more about challenges in beverage alcohol industry
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- How Distributors and Suppliers Can Navigate the 3-Tier System
- 3 Essential Metrics for Beverage Alcohol Suppliers
- Understanding Wineries’ Top 3 IT Priorities - September 18, 2018
- 3 Skills Tomorrow’s Distributor Executives Need to Know - August 29, 2018
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