What Are MOQs and How Do They Benefit the Drinks Industry?

If you’re a brewery, winery, distillery or no-and-low alcohol producer, you’ve probably come across the term 'MOQ'when exploring partnerships with logistics providers.

But what exactly is an MOQ and why does it matter so much in drinks logistics?‍

In this blog, we’ll break down what MOQs are and their importance in the drinks industry, as well as provide some typical MOQs you might face when working with a third-party logistics provider (3PL).

What Is an MOQ?

'MOQ' stands for Minimum Order Quantity, which essentially means the smallest amount of product that a supplier, distributor or logistics provider requires you to order or deliver at one time.

For a drinks 3PL, an MOQ might refer to the minimum number of cases, pallets or litres you must deliver, store or have fulfilled per order.

Why Do 3PLs use MOQs?

MOQs are important in the drinks logistics industry for several reasons:
‍

• ‍Cost Efficiency: Larger, consolidated orders reduce overall handling and transportation costs. This is critical for controlling margins and keeping third-party logistics costs lower for both the 3PL and the drinks producer.‍

• Faster Fulfilment: Working within MOQ guidelines enables drinks 3PLs to plan more efficiently, ensuring quicker turnaround times and making next-day venue deliveries possible.‍

• Supply Chain Stability: MOQs help consistent production and delivery schedules, helping avoid stockouts or overstocking.
  

What Is the MOQ for Working With a Drinks 3PL?

Your MOQ may vary depending on the 3PL provider you've chosen to partner with.

However, some common MOQ ranges include:

• ‍Cases per order: Your drinks 3PL could set MOQs between 10 to 50 cases for pick/pack fulfilment.‍

• Pallet minimums: For palletised shipments, MOQs might be a full pallet or half-pallet, depending on the 3PL’s warehousing setup.‍

• Litres delivered minimums: Some 3PLs like Tap'in operate under literage Minimum Order Quantities. This means that you are required to deliver a certain volume per month in order to meet those MOQs.

What are Tap'in 3PL's MOQs?

Tap'in 3PL is a drinks-specialist 3PL that offers simple Minimum Order Quantities (MOQs):

• ‍3,500 litres of drink per month (for on-trade/venue London and South East drinks delivery) ‍
• 500 orders per month (for e-commerce/DTC drinks delivery)
  

If you're looking to deliver this amount or more through a 3PL, talk to Tap'in- our team would love to chat.

Conclusion

MOQs are a key part of logistics for drinks brands.

MOQs help balance:

1. Cost-efficiency
2. Operational smoothness
3. Supply chain reliability
   

When choosing a drinks 3PL, it’s essential to fully understand their MOQ policies and whether they can support your brand’s growth and flexibility. Make sure to choose a 3PL that offers the right MOQ bracket for your drinks brand's current and future business goals.

Is Tap'in 3PL the Right London & South East Drinks 3PL for You?

Tap'in 3PL could work for your drinks business if

• ‍You're a drinks producer: Tap'in exclusively works in drinks logistics. Our clients include breweries, wineries, distilleries and low-and-no alcohol drinks producers. We use a simple PDL charging matrix that is specifically built to optimise drinks delivery charges.‍

• You produce in the UK and are looking for London and South-East deliveries: our warehouse is located just 5 miles from Woolwich means our team can deliver into London 4 times a week, even offering next-day deliveries (subject to our delivery timetable).‍

• You deliver a minimum of 3,500 litres of drink per month: for our drinks logistics service to be cost-effective and efficient, we work specifically with drinks producers operating on these minimum quantities

Check out our FREE drinks logistics cost tool to see how much you could save with Tap'in. Our bespoke pricing covers:

1. Receipt and handling of drinks stock
2. Storage (based on your particular volumes)
3. Direct drinks delivery into London & the South East
   

Ready to make drinks logistics one less thing to worry about?

Get in touch with our team to see how we can help.