BRLO Quenches Germany’s Thirst with NetSuite

BRLO Craft Beer Quenches Germany’s Thirst with a Carefully-Brewed Inventory System

Germany is known for its love of beer. In 2019, 76 million hectolitres of the drink were sold in the country, which boasts the third-highest level of beer consumption in Europe. For BRLO Craft Beer, which a group of university friends founded in Berlin, the market opportunity is huge. Competition is stiff, with 1,500 different breweries and some of the largest brands in the world competing for attention. BRLO is standing out from the crowd and growing its business with an integrated system for accounting and managing production—and great beer.

COMPANY

BRLO Craft Beer

LOCATION

Berlin, Germany

INDUSTRY

Food & Beverage

EMPLOYEES

SYSTEMS REPLACED

Excel, DrinkLine

NETSUITE PRODUCT IMPLEMENTED

NetSuite OneWorld

“The cross-departmental cooperation is a big advantage for us because we are working on the same system. From purchasing to production to logistics, sales and finance, quality control, CRM—it’s all on the same system now. That’s good for us.” Aron Ferguson, Sales & Operations Manager, BRLO Craft Beer

Crafting Success

Containing growth: BRLO began in 2014 by making its own beers at other breweries. After proving popular, it created a base of operations in Berlin, upcycling dozens of used shipping containers into a makeshift brewery. Next came two brick-and-mortar breweries and three locations for food, plus introducing more varieties of beer and non-alcoholic beverages. Today, BRLO has 20 beers on tap, sells 40 bottled varieties and operates a production site with a capacity of 20.000 hectolitres.

A storm brews: At the time of its major growth, BRLO were using DrinkLine for sales and distribution and Datev for accounting. The systems were separate for each location and the company struggled without a warehouse management software. The inability to clearly understand stock levels, as well as order and production statuses, resulted in delays and inaccuracies when fulfilling orders.

The perfect combination: BRLO implemented NetSuite with Crafted ERP, which produces an add-on specifically for breweries with functionality such as automated keg shipping charges and fermentation management. The system has been a “huge advantage,” said Aron Ferguson, Sales & Operations Manager, BRLO Craft Beer. From sales to the warehouse, all teams get the same data regarding available stock and order status in real time. BRLO also manufactures products for other companies while tracking opportunities and leads via NetSuite’s CRM.

Solving customs challenges: BRLO is planning to use NetSuite to facilitate its move into more locations across Germany and the expansion of its European export business to the rest of the world. The company is using NetSuite to create all customs documentation. It is also building a customs interface to register all export movements, a necessity due to strict reporting requirements and excise taxes across Europe.

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