How to: Properly use Production Planning Software with DigThisData
Most production management systems require you to input invoices to inform the platform about product depletions. Forecasting can then be done to estimate when the next production cycle should begin and what raw materials will be needed based on the rate of product depletion. While this is critically important for production, granular sales information is irrelevant - systems like Ekos and BrewNinja don't care who you sold those 50 cases to, they are interested in the fact that you sold 50 cases - it's a product depletion.
DigThisData tales a different approach. At its core, DTD is a sales cycle management platform. Using sales data to create business intelligence and track the market, sales pipelines, opportunities, trends, weaknesses and other metrics.
Within DigThisData, knowing not only that those 50 cases were sold is important, but knowing who you sold them to is vital. So the question arises, How do you use DigThisData in concert with systems like Ekos and BrewNinja?
We strongly recommend placing orders and tracking inventory within DigThisData to inform critical business decisions. With granular order and sales data, you can better calibrate your sales efforts - essential for growth. To inform your depletions for production, it is recommended to consolidate your orders from DTD into a single "production order", and input that weekly into your production software.
For example, if you were to sell 50 cases of product A to 30 customers, and 40 cases of product B to another 30 customers, at weeks end, you can run a report to tally the total cases for each product sold and enter them into your production software as a single order. DigThisData will maintain your customers purchases, while your production software will track the total depletions.
For systems like Ekos, this method actually makes sense for the Canadian market. Ekos was designed for the US market where large orders are often being sent to distributors. We have heard from larger brewers that production software can begin to have issues when the volume of orders grows to a certain point.
When using the DigThisData for ordering, you can take advantage of the TBS, DDVP, and GMS ingestion tools, drastically reducing processing time. Additionally, generating Bill of Ladings is a snap with our pre-built templates - in bulk. Connect to your accounting software for seamless invoice creation with can and keg deposits, multiple sales prices per product, and a slick interface available for mobile and desktop.
Brewers who have migrated to DTD for ordering have increased efficiency by more than 50%.
In consolidating orders for your production software, it's possible to get the best of both worlds - efficient work process with granular sales reporting, and proper production planning.
