The Top 5 Biggest Scares in the Drinks Industry (and How to Avoid Them)

The drinks industry doesn't have to be scary, but warehouse mishaps, broken pallets or a late delivery can send chills down anyone's spine.

In honour of Halloween, we're shining a light on the five biggest scares in the drinks industry, and how smart, streamlined logistics can help you sleep easy at night.

Scare 1: Slow Stock Turnaround Times

In modern society, speedy turnaround is an expectation, not a luxury.

As the window between order placement and delivery is expected to continue to get smaller, timely stock turnaround has become a critical part of staying competitive in business.

Think about it from your point of view as a consumer: when you place an order (whether it's clothing, food delivery, or whatever you choose to order online), how expectant are you that the order will arrive in the next few days... or even next working day?

Slow turnaround doesn't just delay deliveries- it can also:

1. Drain cash flow
2. Frustrate customers
3. Throw forecasting into chaos

How to fight the fright:

Partner with a drinks 3PL like Tap'in that understands the fast-moving drinks market.

Drinks 3PLs can manage inventory using real-time stock visibility, efficient pick-and-pack operations and smart warehousing to keep your products moving quickly.

Scare 2: Missed Delivery Windows

When drinks don't arrive at their venues on time, or your most popular venue runs dry, your customers lose trust in you, possibly resulting in your brand reputation taking a hit that's hard to recover from.

Common causes of missed delivery windows include:

1. Traffic congestion on the road
2. High volume periods (seasonal peaks)
3. Inefficient delivery route planning
4. Limited staffing and resources
5. Vehicle maintenance & upkeep issues

How to fight the fright:

These common causes for missed delivery windows can be resolved in a few different ways:

Traffic congestion

Plan ahead and check traffic congestion before a journey. You can do this with logistics routing software that analyses live traffic conditions for you, such as MaxOptra.

High volume periods (seasonal peaks)

Invest in scalable options for your drinks logistics. Whether this is hiring additional temporary staff for increased seasonal demand or outsourcing your logistics completely, delivery windows are less likely to be missed if you are prepared for seasonal demand.

Inefficient route planning

Invest in a comprehensive, in-house logistics team that will dedicate its time towards planning efficient routing. More efficient routing will not only reduce the risk of missing the delivery window, but it also saves time and money through eliminating unnecessary mileage.

Limited staffing and resources

Hire more staff to keep up with the drinks order demand. If this isn't possible from a budget perspective, consider outsourcing your drink storage, orders and delivery through a 3PL to gain access to a team of drinks logistics experts.

Vehicle maintenance issues

If you find yourself missing delivery windows because of a vehicle breaking down on a run or being off the road for repairs, MOTs, servicing, etc., it might be time to invest in a bigger fleet.

Having multiple vehicles to help support when one of your vans is inoperable means your delivery schedule is less likely to be disrupted.

Don't want to manage it all yourself?

Look for a logistics partner with a reliable fleet and delivery schedule, like UK drinks logistics provider Tap'in 3PL.

Scare 3: Damaged Cans & Smashed Bottles

Nothing screams 'horror' like opening a box of drink products and finding a sticky mess of broken glass or dented cans. It's not only wasteful- but it's costly and (literally) damaging to your brand's image.

Damaged cans and bottles can happen at different points of the supply chain:

1. Drinks production (brewing, fermenting and distilling)
2. Drinks storage (moving cases of cans and bottles from the floor to the racking needs to be done with care)
3. Drinks delivery (bottles and cans that are not loaded onto a van properly can be put at risk of damage during transit)

How to fight the fright:

There are two main options for reducing damaged drink products throughout the supply chain:

1. Invest in staff training to ensure all stock handling is done with care to minimise breakage
2. Invest in a 3PL that knows drinks handling inside out. From specialised racking to secure packaging and careful order assembly, the right processes protect your products (and your reputation).

Interested to learn more about how to protect your established drinks brand?

Check out our FREE guide here.

Scare 4: A Stretched Operations Budget

Hidden costs lurking in your supply chain... now that's spooky.

Extra unexpected storage fees, warehouse staff overtime labour and fuel surcharges can all start to add up at an alarming rate.

Here's how to get a hold of your drinks operations budget and avoid hidden costs hiding in the shadows.

How to fight the fright:

Many drinks producers, despite having a good hold of their operations budget, find that drinks warehousing and delivery costs can be too unpredictable to manage their logistics in-house.

Those drinks producers are exactly the kind of business that can benefit from a drinks 3PL partner.

Outsourcing your logistics to a dedicated 3PL means:

1. You only pay for what you use- no more paying for hundreds of square footage that only get used up for a quarter of the year during seasonal surges

1. You can scale quickly and without tying up capital into a fleet, a bigger warehouse, etc.- a drinks 3PL like Tap'in works with large drinks producers every day, giving them access to a large storage warehouse just outside of London and a fleet of trusted delivery drivers under a scalable charging matrix called 'PDL' (Price per Delivered Litre).

Interested to see how Tap'in 3PL's scalable drinks logistics charge compares to your in-house drinks logistics costs? Try the FREE in-house vs. outsourced drinks logistics calculator.

Scare 5: Running Out of Stock During Seasonal Peaks

Halloween, Christmas, summer festivals- they all bring thirsty crowds who are willing to try your new brews.

But running out of stock when demand spikes? That's the true horror story.

How to fight the fright:

Keep track of what stock you have in storage by:

1. Using a Warehouse Management System (WMS) like Clarus WMS
2. Performing regular stock takes to ensure that what you have on your system matches the stock you have stored

Working with a drinks 3PL means the amount of storage and staffing needed to fulfil your drinks orders is easily adaptable- perfect for fluctuating demand.

Stay one step ahead of drinks demand, and your customers won't be left without a pint in hand.

Final Thoughts

The drinks industry doesn't need scares- it needs structure.

Whether it's a pallet of smashed bottles or an empty warehouse during peak season, the right in-house drinks logistics (our outsourced drinks logistics partner) can turn nightmares into smooth operations.

This Halloween, skip the tricks- treat your drinks brand to reliable, scalable drinks logistics.

Outsourced UK Drinks Logistics with Tap'in 3PL

At Tap'in, we specialise in providing next-day UK drinks delivery into London and the South East for breweries, wineries and distilleries looking to stay ahead in the competitive drinks market.

Our tailored UK drinks logistics services are designed to meet your own, unique drinks operations needs. We build bespoke quotes for each and every client we onboard to ensure that your drinks are delivered quickly, safely and to your own personal standards.

Whether you need to get your beers to a London pub, wine to a retailer in Brighton, or spirits to a bar in the Home Counties, Tap'in offers reliable and cost-effective delivery solutions.

What are the benefits of Tap'in 3PL?

1. Next-Day UK Drinks Delivery: Tap'in offers next-day delivery services across London and the South East, ensuring your products are quickly delivered to your on-trade and D2C customers. ‍

1. London delivery 4 days a week: We deliver drinks into key London postcodes four days a week, making it easier for your products to reach one of the most competitive drink markets in the UK. Our regular delivery schedule ensures your products are always available when your customers need them.‍

1. Pallet Network for Broader UK Reach: While our core focus is on London, Brighton and the Home Counties, we also offer Pallet Network delivery services to reach other areas in the UK. Whether you need to fulfil larger orders or expand your distribution network, our expert logistics team can help organise Pallet Network service provisions for a more flexible solution.

Let Tap'in handle the logistics so that you can focus on creating exceptional drinks and growing your brand.

Fill out our contact form below or call us directly on 0203 436 0140 and our expert team will get back to you to discuss your bespoke quote as soon as possible.

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