Custom glass, long waits
Your gin uses a custom embossed bottle, and the glassworks runs it a few times a year. The wooden-topped stoppers come from abroad. The Christmas gift tubes need ordering in spring. A limited whisky release needs its own box. Somebody holds all of this in their head and a spreadsheet, and every year at least one item arrives late, or a pallet of the old bottle is found after the new one was ordered.
Why distillery dry goods are tricky
Unlike standard stock bottles, custom and premium packaging comes with long lead times, big minimum runs and sometimes storage at the supplier. Usage depends on bottling plans that change as trade orders and releases move. Seasonal packaging only runs once a year. Missing any of it can stop a bottling run, but over-ordering ties up a lot of cash and warehouse space.
- Custom glass and closures have long lead times and scheduled production slots.
- Minimum orders force large, infrequent purchases.
- Gift packaging is seasonal and ordered months before it is needed.
- Each release may need its own label, box or tube.
- The bottling plan is not compared with dry goods stock ahead of time.
What getting it wrong costs
Delayed bottling and missed retailer windows, especially before Christmas. Air freight or premium charges to rescue a late item. Or the opposite: years of stock of a bottle you have redesigned, or boxes for a release that sold less than planned. Both hit cash, and a small distillery feels both.
There is a brand cost too. A premium gin that suddenly appears in a plain stock bottle because the custom glass was late, or a Christmas gift pack that reaches shops in mid-December, tells buyers something about the business behind it, whether that is fair or not.
Dry goods planning that looks months ahead
- Each item is set up with supplier, lead time, minimum order, pack size and any supplier-held stock.
- Each product's bill of materials lists the dry goods it uses, including seasonal and release-specific packaging.
- The bottling plan and release calendar feed a monthly projection of usage for each item.
- Current stock, supplier-held stock and open purchase orders are set against the projection.
- For each item, the planner shows the last date to order to avoid running short, allowing for lead time, and a suggested quantity respecting the minimum.
- Redesigns are handled by marking an item as being phased out, so the planner uses up old stock before the new one.
- Purchase orders are drafted for approval and tracked until delivery.
| Item | Typical challenge | What the planner shows |
|---|---|---|
| Custom bottle | Scheduled production and long lead time | Last order date |
| Stoppers and closures | Imported, variable delivery | Buffer and order date |
| Gift tubes and boxes | Seasonal, ordered months ahead | Seasonal projection |
| Release packaging | One-off quantities | Linked to the release plan |
| Labels | Artwork and print time | Artwork status and order date |
Ordering on time, not in a panic
You know months ahead which items need ordering and when. Seasonal packaging is ordered with a figure based on the plan rather than last year's guess. Redesigns use up old stock first. Air freight becomes rare. The person who used to carry all this in their head gets a list to check instead.
Is this how your dry goods work?
- A bottling run has been delayed by missing glass or closures.
- Gift packaging quantities are a guess each year.
- You have paid for rushed delivery of packaging.
- Old bottle stock was found after a redesign.
- Lead times and minimums are held in one person's head.