Matthew and Lauri Spitz, beer enthusiasts and entrepreneurs, are living their passion as owners of Moustache Brewing Co., located in Riverhead, New York. Celebrating their three-year anniversary this month in the craft brewing business, Lauri reflects on how far they’ve come and how being introduced to KegID has helped them to make smarter business decisions with the real-time data.
Lauri, when did you realize your company needed a keg-tracking solution, like KegID?
As our company began to grow, so did the challenge of keeping track of our kegs. We are a self-distributed brewery and our kegs are leased, so it’s critical to know exactly where they are. We began using KegID one year ago, and we’ve never looked back.
Tell us how KegID has helped your company.
It has made our daily business practices more efficient. The tracking system takes the guesswork out of knowing how many kegs are out and where they’re located. It’s a real life-saver.
Over the past year using KegID, can you tell us how it has impacted your keg fleet?
Having a fleet of about 300 kegs, I can say without a doubt that we have seen less keg losses using KegID. It’s been extremely helpful with seasonal accounts. It helps us efficiently track kegs that have been out for a while, so we know when we need to get them back.
Have you ever lost kegs?
Yes, unfortunately it happens—it’s just part of the business. We are never happy about it, but we’ve come to realize it comes with the territory. In our case, it was a matter of beer distributors picking them up by mistake or accounts leaving them outside and then they are stolen. The great thing about KegID is we were able to know the point at which these kegs were lost, and the party that is responsible for replacing them.
Have you used the business intelligence tools that KegID offers?
Yes, we use the ‘Reporting’ feature quite often. It’s been a valuable tool to help us know when kegs are to be picked up, dropped off, cleaned and put back into inventory. It’s one of those things that you didn’t know you needed until you have it.
Have you ever needed to use Hillebrand’s EcoBev solution to locate kegs for recall purposes?
No, thankfully we were never in that position. I will say that having KegID on board is a great safety net in the event of a recall. It’s a valuable product we can rely on, but we also know about EcoBev solution (if that day ever arrives).
Over the past year using KegID, have you recommended it to any of your industry colleagues?
Yes, I have. We’ve had great success with it and I have no problem spreading the word about a good thing.
Tell us some things you like most about the KegID program.
Where do I start? First, I have to say that it’s so easy to use. The fact that I can track accountability is invaluable and, of course, the ‘Reporting’ feature is amazing. But my favorite feature is being able to look at the map and see a snapshot of our keg fleet.
What is it about ‘At-a-Glance’ that makes it your favorite feature?
It’s a timesaver, and in business that means everything. I can visually look at a color-coded map and see where my kegs are located, how long they’ve been there, and if it’s time for them to be picked up. It’s all about quality control. It’s a fantastic feature that is easy to use.
What advice would you give to industry newcomers?
We would absolutely recommend KegID to colleagues and industry- newcomers alike. I would tell them if they think they need a keg tracking program, they should get it sooner than later. KegID is extremely easy to use and the onboarding process was a breeze—we were completely set up within one day. The KegID program has proven to be a cost-effective tool to help us build our business with confidence.
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