Top Challenges Faced by Beverage Distributors

The evolution of the Beverage Industry, as a whole, has been occurring at breakneck speeds for the past few years. Gone are the days of suppliers having simple product lines consisting of a small set of core fan-favorites. Today even the big players have diversified their market shares to incorporate new flavors, varying bottle sizes and utterly new beverage commodities. There are also numerous smaller players gaining much larger spheres of influence in the national marketplace such as craft beer, liquor and wine producers. Beverage distributors play a crucial role in overseeing the dispensing of numerous products throughout a given region. They too have had to keep up with the demands of the ever changing and progressing beverage marketplace. The top challenges (and insights into solutions) that beverage distributors face as the overall number of SKUs increase are as follows:

• Staying organized: Especially with increases to the number of suppliers such as craft beers and micro brews. Having everything in its place and a place for everything is the crux to a facility’s functionality


• Keeping ahead to the competition with finding the next big beverage commodity


• Streamlining your picking operation: Being able to stay on top of your product heading out the door keeps your product line moving and frees up more space for new products. Consistently keeping on top of your salability of your SKUs is hugely important to react to changing market demands

Having the proper racking system and utilizing the correct type of racking makes a world of difference to any beverage distribution facility. You can start by making smaller improvements such as installing case flow racks to increase picking efficiency. Case flow rack also raises productivity when utilized correctly by presenting the picker with the slowest moving products in one location. Every facility is different however and accurate implementation of the correct racking type outfitted is king.  By racking out your facility to meet your specific requirements will drastically improve the overall functionality, productivity and return-on-investment for your operation.

Specializing in racking for the beverage industry our Sales Manager, John Chauncey, is a huge asset to our operation here. If you have any questions about your racking situation please feel free to give us a call here at our office at 1(800)640-5723.