Beer Business Finance

In today's podcast we talk about the beer distributor health insurance captive with Natalie Witmyer from Bernie Little Distributors and Lee Anne Klas from BevCap.

Natalie shares how Bernie Little has benefitted from the captive with cost savings and improved benefits for employees.

Lee Anne tells us what a captive health insurance is, how it all works, and how distributors can use this approach to save money.

Key Topics

• Captive health insurance 101: Benefits, structure, keys to success
• Debunking common myths and misconceptions around captives (too much risk, one big claim can sink the ship)
• Natalie's advice for beer distributors who may be interested in a captive health insurance program

Resources

• Connect with Natalie Witmyer at Bernie Little Distributors, natalie.witmyer@bldonline.com
• Connect with Lee Anne Klas and learn more about BevNet and the beer distributor captive insurance group, LeeAnne@bevcapmanagement.com

Today on the podcast we hear from Scheppers Distributing President Joe Priesmeyer and Bud Dunn from VxP.

In Joe's words, "We had a severe finished product loss issue in our business..." 

Joe shares Scheppers's challenges managing out of code and close to code product, and how VxP helped to significantly reduce this expense.

Key Topics

• Incentive structures
• The volume x profit commission model
• Success stories from Scheppers using VxP

Resources

• Connect with Joe Priesmeyer, jpriesmeyer@nhscheppers.com, cell: 573-489-2830
• Connect with Bud Dunn, bud@vxptech.com, cell: 269-317-5209
• Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association

Health insurance is one of the biggest expenses on your income statement. And every year that expense just keeps going up.

In today's podcast we hear from John Kirke, President at BevCap Health.  John leads BevCap Management's healthcare captive team, client services and growth strategies empowering clients to create value for their organization through healthcare benefits sponsored in stop loss captives.

In a nutshell, John helps beer distributors save a lot of money on their healthcare expenses. 

Key Topics

• Terms simplified: Fully funded, self-funded, and captive insurance
• Advantages of captive insurance for employees and employers (spoiler alert: significant cost savings and a better health plan for all)
• Financial considerations to understand before joining a captive health insurance group

Resources

• Get in touch with John Kirke at BevCap, jkirke@bevcapmanagement.com
• Learn more about the network for beer industry professionals

In today's podcast you'll hear the audio version of a recent webinar focused on how to grow wholesaler gross profit, reduce finished product loss, and redefine your distribution strategy in 2024.

Bud Dunn from VxP talks through the features and benefits of a new sales tool that will help you increase gross profits, decrease finished product loss and super charge your sales team.

Resources

• Connect with Bud to learn more: bud@vxptech.com
• Join the new finance group for beer wholesalers

Today we hear from RJ Martucci from PKF O'Connor Davies, accountants and advisors.

RJ and I talk about a wide range of subjects including  the current economic conditions facing beer wholesalers, 2024 budgeting strategy, KPIs, as well as tax credits and deductions you should take advantage of.

Key Topics

• Beer wholesaler budgeting strategies
• How to measure performance: KPI leading indicators
• Wholesaler revenue and cost drivers
• Tax credits and deductions you need to know about

Resources

• Learn more about PKF O'Connor Davies accountants and advisors
• Connect with RJ Martucci on LinkedIn
• Get the free beer business finance newsletter

In today's podcast Bump Williams shares an early read on the BWC growth strategy survey.

The results are...surprising.

The survey is sent to hundreds of retailers, wholesalers and breweries, and asks one simple question:  What are your strategies for growth in the upcoming year?

The results are tallied, sorted by the most common answers, and analyzed to determine overlap amongst the companies in the 3-tier system.

One of the goals of the survey is to identify where there is alignment or common growth approaches in the 3-tier system. And where there isn't. 

One big takeaway: The results show a lot of misalignment.

What does misalignment look like? Past surveys have shown breweries focused on innovation, while distributors focus on core brands, and retailers emphasize high-end products.  Hard to grow when everyone is rowing in a different direction.

Listen in as Bump breaks down the survey results and provides guidance and action items for beer industry companies looking to build effective growth strategies for 2024.

Key Points

• Top 3 growth strategies for retailers, wholesalers, and breweries
• The divergence of growth strategies keeps getting wider
• How beer industry companies can use this information to align their own growth plans

Resources

• Learn more about how Bump Williams Consulting can help with your growth strategy
• Join the network of beer industry pro's

The Oakland A's baseball team used data-driven decision-making to build a competitive team despite a limited budget compared to wealthier teams.

This approach came to be known as "Moneyball" and was popularized by author Michael Lewis in his book of the same name.

"Moneyball" explores themes of innovation, data-driven decision-making, and challenging the status quo in the world of sports.

In today's podcast, Bud Dunn from VxP explains how beer distributors can adopt a moneyball approach to sell more beer.

Key Topics

• How to move from "subjective" to "objective" selling 
• "Inspire and enroll"...It's the new command and control
• Tactics to gain a volume x profit mindset
• How to avoid easy placements and gain the right placements

Resources

• Connect with Bud Dunn and learn more about VxP: Bud@vxptech.com
• Learn more about the beer finance network

In today's podcast we hear from Orman Anderson, CFO for Glazers Beer and Beverage.

Orman shares his process for financial analysis, budget planning, key metrics to track, and compensation planning.  

Key Topics

• Wholesaler financial planning tactics
• Key metrics Glazers follows
• Compensation planning strategies
• Glazers software stack

Resources

• Learn more about Glazers Beer and Beverage or connect with Orman Anderson 
• Join the network of beer industry finance professionals

Today we talk sales compensation planning with the leadership team at Stokes Distributing.

Sparkman Walker, President, Matt Mumme, VP of Sales and GM, and Chris Leonard, CFO, share their experiences, challenges and benefits they've seen since partnering with Volume x Profit (VxP).

Key Topics

• How Stokes Distributing reduced finished product loss by 90% 
• Best practices to implement a change in compensation plans
• How Stokes uses data to make better business decisions

Resources

• Connect with Matt Mumme, VP of Sales and GM: matthew.mumme@stokesdistributing.com
• Contact Bud Dunn to learn more about VxP: bud@vxptech.com
• Join the Beer Business Finance Association, a network of beer industry professionals

Distributors are always on the lookout for ways to reduce costs and increase sales. In today's podcast we talk with Bud Dunn from VxP, who shares a tool that you can use to reduce finished product loss by 50% or more, and increase gross profit per CE by 20 cents or more. 

Key Topics

• Volume is good, profits are better, how to use VxP to increase both
• How to align sales rep incentives with overall growth of the business
• How to get suppliers involved with incentives and co-op dollars

Resources

• Learn how to increase gross profit by 20 cents per CE in your business
• Check out the new network for beer wholesaler financial professionals

Today we talk about navigating current market challenges and brand slumps with Bud Dunn from VxP.

These days, beer wholesalers have a doozy of a "brand slump" with the Bud Light debacle.  Bud and I talk about tactics and strategies that distributors can use to navigate the current chaos, and overcome future brand slumps when they occur. 

Key Topics

• Factors that cause a brand slump, and what to do when it happens
• Tactics, strategies and best practices to deal with a brand slump  
• How to use VxP as a tool to identify market opportunities and overcome challenges

Resources

• Read the article: Strategies for beer distributors to master market shifts
• Get the FREE beer business financial newsletter
• Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association

The goal of our new wholesaler finance group is to bring people together to solve problems, overcome challenges, and share best practices.

In our virtual meetings we talk about the key issues facing beer wholesalers: how to build a better sales compensation plan, ideas to manage expenses, next generation succession planning, and gross profit management to name a few.

Key Topics

• How to achieve budget accountability through manager training
• Tactics and specific ideas to reduce costs

Resources

• Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association
• Sign up for the free beer business finance newsletter

In today's podcast we hear from VxP's Bud Dunn and Brad White. VxP is a tool that can help your beer business substantially improve gross profit. 

We dig in on this important question: Why are we afraid to show a gross profit to our sales reps?  Basically, all other industries do it, why not beer wholesalers?

Key Topics

• Most common reasons why owners in the beer industry are hesitant to share gross profit information with their sales reps
• Beer company's that have successfully implemented a program to share gross profit information with its sales team
• How sales reps can use knowledge of gross profit margins to make better decisions about pricing, promotions, and other sales-related activities

Resources

• Learn more about how VxP can transform your sales team
• Sign up for the free beer finance newsletter

In today's podcast we hear from Lester Jones, Chief Economist and VP of Analytics for the National Beer Wholesalers Association. 

Lester's job is to track everything quantitative, economic and demographic about the beer industry. And today he shares what happened in 2022 and his outlook for 2023. 

Key Questions Asked and Answered

• How did beer do last year? 
• What's the outlook for 2023? 
• What is the data telling us? 
• How can beer wholesalers use this information to increase sales?

Key Topics

• Total beer consumption 
• On / Off Premise trends
• Sales growth by product segment
• Inflation, cost pressures, and supply chain issues

Resources

• Check out the Beer Purchaser's Index
• Get the beer wholesaler financial training newsletter

Today we hear from Bart Watson, Chief Economist for the Brewer's Association. Bart breaks down 2022 beer data, shares trends, volume and market share on the beer industry.

Key Topics

• Beer data and trends to watch
• On premise vs. off premise volume and growth
• Trends in pack counts, sizes, formats
• Brewery openings and closings
• Bart's forecast for 2023

Resources

• Learn more about Bart's work with the Brewer's Association
• Get the free wholesaler financial training newsletter

Today we hear from Everlance CEO Alex Marlantes.  Everlance helps beer wholesalers modernize their vehicle program and lower costs without creating an administrative burden.

If you have a vehicle reimbursement program, you'll want to hear what Alex has to say about how to re-claim the tax waste for your business and your employees. 

Key Topics

• Common mistakes beer wholesalers make with vehicle programs
• Tips to automate painful everyday tasks, and help people save time and money
• The high cost of tax waste and how you can get it back
• How Del Papa Distributing saved money with Everlance

Resources

• Learn how Del Papa saved money with Everlance
• Calculate the tax waste associated with vehicle programs
• Learn more about how Everlance helps beer distributors

Sign up for the beer industry financial training newsletter

Today we hear from Todd Grote and Rick Flagg from OnTrak Software, who give a demo of POS marketing software management tools for Beer Wholesalers.

Ten of the Top 20 Beer Wholesalers depend on OnTrak solutions every day. In this podcast you'll learn how they do it.

Key Topics

• Tools to closely monitor your investments in POS marketing assets
• How to significantly reduce costs while increasing accountability with suppliers and customers
• How to verify draught system compliance and measure tap handle market share

Resources

• Learn more about OnTrak Software
• Get the finance newsletter for beer wholesalers

In today's podcast you'll hear the audio version of our recent webinar on How to Build Your Beer Wholesaler Financial Plan.

We'll review how to put together your sales plan, gross profit, operating expenses and bottom line.

Key Topics

• Financial planning best practices
• Budget pitfalls to avoid
• 6 Steps to build your financial plan
• Tips to overcome the 'overwhelm' when preparing a budget
• Spreadsheet models and tools to get you started

Resources

• Learn more about the Beer Wholesaler Financial Professionals association
• Get the free finance newsletter for beer wholesalers

In today's podcast you'll learn about a new organization called Beer Wholesaler Financial Professionals.
 
Beer Wholesaler Financial Professionals is the ONLY national network created specifically for those driving and ensuring your business financial performance.

It’s an organization of financial pros, like you, looking to improve financial results, increase profitability, connect with peers, and share best practices.

Resources

• Learn more about Beer Wholesaler Financial Professionals 

In today's podcast we hear from Bud Dunn from VxP Tech and hear about financial metrics for beer wholesalers. What numbers should you track? Who should have key metrics? How do you automate the reporting process?

Key Topics

• 5 Best practices to design your KPIs
• 5 Watch outs (pitfalls) with tracking and measuring KPIs
• Bud's Favorite KPI metrics for beer wholesalers

Resources

• Watch the webinar replay: Financial Metrics Dashboard for Beer Wholesalers
• To schedule a demo of the dashboard software: Email Bud@VxPTech.com
• Sign up for the finance newsletter for distributors