Member Article

What happens when Tesco says ‘Let’s go’?

So, you come up with a great idea for a business and you talk to the UK’s leading retailer, Tesco, about it. They love your idea, and immediately place two large orders. Now what? Two Fingers Brewing Company discovered that they were in this exact situation and so needed an immediate crash course in how to do EDI/electronic commerce.

The first thing of note is that Two Fingers Brewing Co. is no ordinary brewer. It was set up by a group of seven creative types from London marketing agencies whose only previous experience of the brewing process was at the product sampling end of the supply chain. They may not have known much about brewing but they all knew how to create and build a strong brand. Not just any brand though, this was a brand with a real purpose. All profits from the sale of Two Fingers beer go to help fight prostate cancer.

Co. Founder Matt Sadler explains: “The seven of us became aware of prostate cancer through friends and family. The figures are frightening, one in eight men in the UK contract the disease. We wanted to do something to help and establishing a beer brand seemed a great way to extend the reach of our fund-raising. We could appeal to a wide cross-section of people throughout the UK.”

The company’s first beer had an eye on broad-based appeal. Two Fingers chose to create a Golden Ale – a type of ale developed to appeal to younger lager drinkers as well as the traditional beer aficionado. The team selected a small local brewery to create Aurelio, its first craft beer. After two years of development – and several enjoyable tasting sessions – the beer was ready to be marketed.

Tesco was the company’s first target. As the UK’s largest supermarket chain, Tesco offered the beer a national retail channel and access to a large potential market. The team arranged a meeting with the buyer from Tesco. Matt Sadler recalls: “The meeting went better than we could ever have expected. We would have been happy with a little initial interest and some positive feedback. But, the buyer absolutely loved the concept and the beer. She felt it was exactly the type of thing that Tesco wanted to be involved with and we received two major orders for Aurelio as a result.”

Everyone was extremely happy but then something a little worrying happened. Two Fingers received all of the documentation that a new supplier needs to complete to become a trading partner with Tesco. Chief amongst these was the EDI information that Tesco required so that Two Fingers could receive orders electronically.

This was unexpected for Matt. “We had worked out our product development and supply chain processes but, to be honest, when it came to electronic commerce we didn’t know our ASN from our EDI. What exactly was an ANA number? A quick session on Google found a useful website, www.edibasics.co.uk and we realised that we were going to need help”.

“Our research showed us that there was one real expert company in this field, and so I contacted them. The moment my phone call was answered, I knew we were in safe hands. From the first person I spoke with to everyone I’ve worked with subsequently, nothing has been too much trouble. The truth is that Two Fingers aren’t just a small business, we’re a small business without much money to spend. Yet, I feel that this has never mattered to OpenText | GXS. Throughout we have always felt that we are getting the same level of attention, assistance and support that bigger customers receive.”

The first decision was which EDI solution would be best. It had to be simple, easy-to-use and have the required functionality to trade with Tesco initially, but also flexible enough to accommodate other retailers in the near future. With advice, Two Fingers selected Freeway Entry. The entire process of installing the software, setting up the system, testing to ensure it worked effectively and training the Two Fingers team was completed in less than a week.

“Initially, Tesco gave us quite tight deadlines to begin delivery of Aurelio. OpenText | GXS worked very closely with Tesco and us to ensure we could meet the deadline. It wasn’t just the excellent technical work, it was the endless patience and help to answer our many questions. OpenText | GXS took something that looked daunting and complex and made it easy and straightforward for us,” Matt commented.

Two Fingers is working with leading craft beer specialists, Hepworth & Co, for the rollout of its beers as well as building a highly experienced and effective supply chain that includes industry leaders such as Marston’s and CUBE. OpenText | GXS ensures that Two Fingers receives its orders from Tesco in a timely manner and can invoice the supermarket automatically. “It’s as simple as going into my mailbox and downloading the order. The system raises and despatches the invoice and we send the order off to be delivered to the Tesco distribution centres”.

“ We know that we can quickly and easily replicate this process as we sign deals with more retailers. OpenText | GXS has close relationships with all of the UK retailers, so we are confident that we have an EDI solution that supports our company to grow efficiently. The result is that we can make more sales and more of our profits can go to Prostate Cancer UK,“ says Sadler.

Aurelio, the first beer from Two Fingers, was officially launched in January 2014 and, with one retail deal in the bag, the company is currently looking to increase its exposure in both the on and off trade. More beers are in the pipeline and the team believes that it has a B2B ecommerce platform in place to support its business expansion plans. However successful the company is, one thing is certain: when people say drink responsibly, beer lovers need look no further than Two Fingers Brewing Co.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Denise Oakley .