Using Smart Monitoring to Reduce Beverage Waste and Track Kegs
Tracking every pour, every keg, and every ounce of beverage being served is no easy task, especially in the fast-paced world of hospitality. Between over-pours, outdated data collection processes, and foamy taps that just won’t pour right, it can be surprisingly easy for profits to be left on the floor. Fortunately, advances in technology have made it far easier than ever to monitor every pour with smart beverage monitoring.
In this article we will outline what Smart Beverage Monitoring Systems are, how they work, and what benefits they can offer your business. We will also discuss why they are fast becoming an integral part of any draft beverage program.
The Hidden Costs of Inefficiency in Draft Beverage Systems
Let’s start with the problem. It is well known that beverage waste can occur at any number of different places throughout your system. It could be overpouring by otherwise conscientious staff, free drinks that are given out but not marked as sold, or due to technical issues like temperature or pressure fluctuations that leave you with a higher proportion of foam and a lower volume of sellable product. More than the inconvenience of spillage, it’s the bottom line that really hurts: estimates range from 20–25% of each keg being lost to waste, which can mean tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue per year.
This waste issue is made worse by antiquated methods of calculating how much product is in each keg. It is not uncommon for staff to still pick up each keg one by one in order to estimate capacity, which can lead to your inventory estimates going out of control. This means you might either run out of that popular IPA right when the house is full, or find you have kegs sitting in the back room that are going stale on you. By reducing waste to just 18-22% per keg, you could save thousands of dollars in lost profits each year.
Smart Beverage Monitoring Systems 101: How They Work
Enter smart beverage monitoring technology. Instead of being left in the dark, you now have access to a full suite of sensors and data collection devices that can give you total transparency over your operations.
The key to these systems is that they gather data automatically in the background, giving you real-time updates on your operation without the hassle of manually tracking pours and temperatures, among others. The key component in this system is a small sensor called a flow meter. A flow meter is installed on each tap or beverage line, and it automatically records every pour with up to 99% accuracy, providing an exact measurement of the amount of beverage poured. But that's not all, because keg sensors are also used to constantly track the amount of product left in each keg at any given time, while temperature probes monitor the temperature to make sure everything is properly chilled.
With all of that data gathered automatically, it is transmitted to a central dashboard, which is generally either a mobile device or a computer, that can pull up reports and charts with the touch of a button. What’s more, these systems are integrated with your point of sale (POS) system, allowing you to verify when the actual pours do not match the sales being entered.
Transforming Operations with Actionable Data Insights
These sensors, dashboards and reports may sound exciting, but what does it all mean for your business? To put it succinctly: More control, less waste and better operations across the board.
Drastic Waste Reduction
One of the biggest benefits is reduction of waste. The knowledge that pours are being monitored makes both overpouring and free drinks far less likely, but can also help you to solve operational issues like regular problems with a tap pouring foam. Better yet, the data provided by the system can help you identify the exact source of these problems, so you never lose profits down the drain.
Accurate Inventory Management
Endless manual tracking and re-ordering become a thing of the past when you have up-to-date keg levels. Not only will you know with accuracy when to reorder, saving you from ordering products that sit unsold or over-ordering when you already have them on hand, but you will also never be surprised by an empty tap at the end of a busy night again. The system can even automatically alert you when you are running low so that manual inventory headaches are eliminated.
Higher Profitability
At the end of the day, the data is there to help you make more informed decisions about your operation. When you finally have visibility into how much each beverage is actually being poured and can correlate it to POS sales, you can make far more informed decisions about your draft lineup, which are your stars, and which might need to be reconsidered. You will even be able to calculate loss on potential sales due to theft, transaction mishandling, or product diversion, since your POS is reconciled with every pour.
Improved Efficiency
Few people enjoy paperwork or manual inventory checks, and automating those tracking and reporting functions means more time and energy can be spent training staff, interacting with guests, and other areas of your operation. Maintenance and cleaning schedules can also be managed to help you catch any irregularities or maintenance issues before they result in costly repairs or losses.
Take Back Control of Your Draft Program
Managing beverage waste and inventory should not be stressful or overly complicated. With smart monitoring, the last-minute chaos of your draft program is a thing of the past, giving you more time to run your business, and impress your guests. When it comes to serious draft programs, smart monitoring is quickly becoming a must-have, rather than just a “nice-to-have”.
Ready to find out more? Our team at Retail Dispense Solutions is here to help you understand the options, choose the right system for your unique needs, and make sure it’s set up to work for you. Your investment in this technology gives you more efficiency, more data, and a draft program that works as hard as you do, while we work to keep your system performing at its peak.
