MDE - Pioneer Brauhaus Faust Modernizes its Delivery Solution

Relying on tradition while innovatively developing business processes? That doesn't have to be a contradiction, as demonstrated by Brauhaus Faust, a brewery managed in its fourth generation. Over 20 years ago, Faust was one of the first breweries to introduce digital delivery notes. In 2015, they again opted for early modernization. Since then, their beer drivers have been using a delivery app on Android smartphones.

Brauhaus Faust has already been named "Craft Brewer of the Year" three times at the Meininger International Craft Beer Award. For Managing Director Johannes Faust, the Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot) remains the top priority, as it is a promise to the consumer that only the ingredients listed are actually used. Therefore, one does not have to cater to every trend, but one must certainly move with the times to remain competitive: "This includes the topic of digitalization, both in production as well as in administration or service."

This entrepreneurial spirit pays off. The company now employs 55 staff members and trainees, brews 19 types of beer with a total output of 65,000 hectoliters annually, and distributes its products predominantly regionally, as well as nationwide via its online shop. In addition to distribution via wholesalers, the Miltenberg-based brewery also relies on its own vehicle fleet.

Some facts about Faust's regional distribution:

• More than 500 directly supplied customers.
• Currently, 6 trucks and 1 van are deployed for delivery, covering an average of 25 to 30 delivery tours weekly.
• Deliveries are made within a radius of 70 km.
• About 70% of customers pay by direct debit, while about 5% are cash payers.

As early as 1998, Brauhaus Faust relied on digitalization in delivery—an absolute novelty in the beverage industry at the time. The goal was to optimize business processes through the digital archiving of delivery notes. "For us, supporting shipping was very important back then. We wanted to minimize errors and abolish manual back-office entry. We simply wanted to become more productive in that area. That drove us," recalls Johannes Faust.

For the Managing Director, the advantages of digitizing delivery notes and automating delivery processes with a mobile solution were therefore obvious:

• Significantly reduced paper requirements.
• Higher flexibility and speed in the return of empties.
• Booking of cash receipts directly to the item.
• Fewer errors in the entire data capture process.
• Great time savings by eliminating manual data re-entry in administration.

The introduction of the mobile data entry (MDE) solution proceeded extremely successfully—"which was also due to the way the drivers were involved during the initial implementation phase," reports Andreas Blümel, Head of IT and Projects at the brewery. "I can remember some great meetings where I loaded various devices with test tours; we sat in a conference room with our drivers, and everyone was given a device and assigned various tasks to solve." This led to ideas from the drivers and also uncovered programming errors. "As a result, I think the drivers felt really well included back then."

Another decision during the introductory phase also turned out to be a gain: By transferring the balances of cash payers to the mobile solution and making them visible to the drivers, they could also view and clear open items. This insight into process data led drivers to keep an eye on these processes and "report to me, saying: 'Attention, customer XY really has 1000 euros open here; are they allowed to do that? Can they do that? How did that happen, what's going on?'" adds Blümel. This form of confidence and assumption of responsibility contributes directly to the company's success. Today, this functionality is a standard feature of van sales solutions.

Fig. 1: Delivered full goods are unloaded according to plan. Fig. 2: Driver and customer confirm beverage delivery and return of empties via digital signature. Fig. 3: The customer receipt is created from the driver app using a mobile printer. Fig. 4: Empties are recorded immediately—the pre-populated empties block in the driver solution facilitates recording.

The initial MDE solution from 1998 was a custom solution that eventually reached its limits due to its device-specific implementation. Replacing defective legacy devices became increasingly difficult and costly due to a lack of market availability. Modern devices and functionalities could not be used.

Therefore, the brewery decided on a fundamental modernization of its mobile solution. This process was carried out in 2015 and 2016, and a deliberate decision was made in favor of a provider with open display programming that supports all device types. The choice fell on OntegoGL as the preferred software solution because, in addition to responsive design, the solution also met the second requirement: an existing interface to the INTEGRA ERP system.

Andreas Blümel is visibly satisfied with the newly gained flexibility: "If a smartphone fails now, I just take any other one, regardless of the size. Installing it on a new device is quick, and I can pick a device from the latest generation without having to replace the whole series. That is a very big advantage for me." He also expressly rates the now-possible Bluetooth connectivity between smartphone and printer as advantageous.

After the successful modernization, further starting points for MDE optimizations are already emerging. On the one hand, the return of rental material is to be handled automatically within the framework of tour planning as a return order. On the other hand, a route management system that reads actual service times and driving times via GPS trackers allows for much more accurate delivery time announcements—a competitive factor that should not be underestimated in a fiercely contested customer market. The resulting data-supported route optimization would be another important step in continuing the company's tradition of innovation and positioning the brewery "in the long term so that the next generations can continue to lead it solidly," according to the declared goal of Johannes Faust.