Market Watch, November 2019

34 MARKET WATCH MARKETWATCHMAG COM NOVEMBER 2019form that allows on and off premise accounts to efficiently purchase boutique wines craft spirits and beers through local wholesalers The combined force of RNDC and LibDib will offer new fully three tier compli ant solutions at both ends of the distri bution process said RNDC president and CEO Tom Cole when announcing the move According to Riekena the LibDib partnership is playing a key part in the rollout of the distributors eRNDC e commerce initiative Initially we started down a path where we were building our own e commerce plat form including our product catalogue search functions a shopping cart and so on he explains As an executive team we got together and asked How can we go faster Thats how the relationship with LibDib came about Theyve built a platform that allows the three tier system to be conducted online Well leverage that technology across our markets while helping them grow the small brand incu bation part of their business Similar to Southern Glazers plat form eRNDC encompasses new tools for both suppliers and customers as well as the distributors own sales team The customer component includes a digital product catalogue and online ordering features while the supplier portal allows RNDCs partners to provide product details bottle images tasting notes and other content to present their brands to on and off premise operators On the sales side eRNDC will enable the companys sales team to sharpen its focus on business develop ment and product mix when calling on their accounts by streamlining the ordering process The idea is that the transactional part should be more self service taking place whenever the customer prefers not only when their rep is visiting Riekena says Another benefit is that the customer can go online and do product research and explore an entire portfolio not just whats being presented to them And our sales team will have customer history ordering patterns and prod uct info at their fingertips rather than having to gather all that infor mation themselves RNDC piloted its e commerce plat form in the Georgia market and is gradually rolling it out across its 23 market footprint With the recent closure of RNDCs joint venture agreement with Youngs Market Co in the western U S the eRNDC plat form could be launched across those ten markets as well looking ahead Riekena says the initial customer response has been tremendous adding Suppliers are also excited and have been proactive about engaging with us and giving feedback as we continue to expand eRNDC Balanced ApproachThird ranked wholesaler Breakthru Beverage has also made a concerted e commerce push in recent years including a partnership with SevenFifty a platform that allows distributors to list and sell their offerings online to retailers bars and restaurants SevenFifty has been a key product information partner helping our associates bring the right information to each sales call and enabling on and off premise businesses to make the right purchase decisions says Break thru COO Lloyd Sobel To strengthen these relationships weve written algo rithms that identify opportunities for our customers based on their previous order history and sales data Breakthru has also forged a partner ship with Provi an online marketplace that Sobel says is an efficient channel for processing orders Our focus is on being flexible to serve partners regard less of their preferred channel for order ing product Sobel notes Provi has been launched in Illinois Colorado Maryland and Tampa Florida and the early response has been positive According to Sobel Breakthrus digital transformation has been under pinned by its rollout of SAP software across the business which tracks the distributors customer order manage ment and supply chain execution Within the next year our entire foot print will be running on this platform which will enable financial supply chain and operational efficiencies and equip our associates with real time information to better serve our custom ers and suppliers he says Breakthru is also targeting specific segments of the market with new digi RNDC An alliance with California based LibDib a web platform for craft brands to develop the eRNDC platform for customers and suppliers First piloted in Georgia currently launching across RNDCs 23 market footprint Customer side offers a digital catalogue and online ordering The supplier portal allows suppliers to offer product details bottle images tasting notes and other content Its sales portal focuses on product mixes and speeding orders Breakthru Beverage Allied with SevenFifty on a platform that allows distributors to list and sell their products to retailers bars and restaurants Algorithms profile customers based on previous order history and sales data Other Breakthru digital tools include the Trident Almanac app focused on craft brands