Simplifying Brewery Operations: The Technological Evolution of Be Easy Brewing
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In the heart of Tokyo's craft beer scene, Be Easy Brewing stands out not just for its exceptional beer but also for its innovative approach to business operations. Founded by Gareth, a man whose work ethic, resilience, and dedication to research are as robust as his beers, Be Easy Brewing has become a case study in leveraging technology to streamline restaurant and retail operations. Our recent conversation with Gareth, the founder and CEO, shed light on how the brewery has utilized technology to enhance efficiency and customer service, making it a model for the industry.
Embracing Digital Solutions
Gareth's journey to setting up the IT infrastructure for Be Easy Brewing was marked by meticulous research and preparation. He delved deep into the world of digital menu solutions, evaluating various providers' strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, our platform, Do Your Order, was chosen to partner with him for the restaurant operations, a decision that both flattered and excited us. Like us, Gareth is passionate about delivering outstanding customer service and working efficiently to ensure guests have the best possible experience.
The frustration with greasy, cumbersome menus led to the appreciation of digital solutions' simplicity and immediacy. Gareth highlighted the convenience of updating the menu on-the-fly with Do Your Order, such as adding a new item directly after sourcing fresh ingredients from the market. This real-time flexibility is a game-changer for dynamic restaurant operations.
Integrating Shopify for Comprehensive Business Management
Gareth introduced us to how he uses Shopify, a leading SaaS sales platform, to cater to a broad spectrum of business needs. From direct sales to both consumers (B2C) and other businesses (B2B), to in-house POS transactions, Shopify's versatile subscription plans provide a comprehensive suite of tools for product sourcing, sales and inventory tracking, payment processing, and much more. Its ability to expand functionality through hundreds of apps makes it an invaluable asset for Be Easy Brewing's multifaceted business model.
By leveraging Shopify, Gareth can manage orders to suppliers, add and edit customer profiles, manage gift and loyalty cards, and keep track of staff performance. The unique challenge of running two different business models—retail for merchandise like T-shirts and gadgets, and a restaurant service for food and drink orders—requires a sophisticated system. Shopify's platform allows for seamless management of retail operations with barcode scanners, while Do Your Order excellently handles the restaurant side, from QR code scanning for table orders to kitchen and bar dispatches, complete with push notifications for both staff and customers.
Streamlining Operations and Synchronization
Our discussion also ventured into operational efficiencies and potential integrations. While Gareth prefers to manage items separately in Shopify and Do Your Order due to their distinct nature, he acknowledges the ease of managing menu items in Do Your Order. This led to a proposed solution to bridge the best of Shopify's online sales capabilities with the operational efficiency of Do Your Order. The integration will allow Gareth to synchronize menu items between the two platforms, enabling real-time inventory monitoring in Shopify alongside online sales activities.
This innovative workflow means that entire table orders or single items can be imported into Shopify's POS directly from Do Your Order, blending retail and restaurant sales seamlessly. By using employee PIN codes for authentication, Gareth can maintain detailed sales breakdowns, ensuring comprehensive reporting and a single source of truth in Shopify, where he can monitor the performance of all sales channels.
Be Easy Brewing's technological journey under Gareth's leadership highlights the power of innovative solutions in modernizing traditional business operations. By leveraging Do Your Order's flexibility for restaurant management and Shopify's robust sales and inventory system, Gareth has set a new standard for efficiency and customer service in the craft beer industry. This integration of technology not only simplifies operations but also opens up new possibilities for growth and customer engagement, proving that with the right tools, businesses can achieve unprecedented levels of success.