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Wine merchants: problems we solve

28 problems wine merchants bring us, each with the cause, what it costs and what we build to fix it.

Wine merchants problems

28 articles

How Do I Stop Losing En Primeur Orders Between Emails, Phone Calls and a Spreadsheet?

Wine merchants

En primeur campaigns bury wine merchants in reply emails and phone orders. We build an order capture system that records every request against the offer.

How Can a Wine Merchant Share Out a Small Allocation Without Upsetting Loyal Customers?

Wine merchants

When a domaine gives a wine merchant six cases and forty customers want them, allocation becomes guesswork. We build rules-based allocation you can defend.

How Do We Keep Track of En Primeur Wine When It Finally Arrives Years After It Was Sold?

Wine merchants

En primeur wine lands long after the sale and wine merchants must work out who bought what and where it goes. We build arrival tracking that joins them up.

How Do I Keep Accurate Records of Customers' Wine That We Store for Them?

Wine merchants

A wine merchant storing customers' cases needs to know who owns every case and where it is. We build a reserves ledger with statements customers can read.

How Do I Make Up Wine Club Cases That Avoid Repeats and Respect What Each Member Likes?

Wine merchants

Wine club members get wines they already had or dislike when cases are built by hand. We build case selection that checks history and preferences first.

How Do I Stop Sending Wine Club Cases to Members Whose Payment Failed or Who Asked to Pause?

Wine merchants

Wine club cases go out to members whose card failed or who paused by email. We build a pre-dispatch check that holds cases until payment and status are clear.

How Do We Handle Age Checks on Wine Deliveries Without Losing Track of Failed Handovers?

Wine merchants

Wine merchants need age checks on delivery and a plan for parcels that come back. We build tracking that flags age-check orders and handles failed handovers.

How Do I Keep Track of Corked Bottles and Breakages So Suppliers and Couriers Actually Pay Us Back?

Wine merchants

Wine merchants replace corked and broken bottles but rarely claim back from suppliers or couriers. We build a claims log that follows each one through.

How Do I Run Wine Tasting Bookings Without Overbooking the Room or Losing Track of Guests?

Wine merchants

Wine tasting tickets sold online, in the shop and by phone lead to overbooked rooms. We build one booking record for tastings with capacity and guest details.

How Do I Turn Orders Taken at a Wine Tasting Into Invoices Without Retyping Order Slips?

Wine merchants

Wine tastings produce order slips that take days to process and some get lost. We build tasting-night ordering that goes straight to stock and invoicing.

Why Does Our Website Still Show the Old Vintage When the Shelf Has the New One?

Wine merchants

Wine merchants sell a 2021 online while the shelf holds the 2022, because vintage is not tracked as stock. We build vintage-level stock that stays in step.

How Do We Stop Staff Hunting Through the Cellar for Bottles the System Says We Have?

Wine merchants

Wine merchant staff search the cellar for bottles the system says exist but nobody can find. We build bin location tracking so every case has a known place.

How Do I Stop Overselling When the Same Wine Is Sold by the Bottle, the Six and the Dozen?

Wine merchants

Wine merchants list a wine by the bottle, six and case, each with its own stock count, and oversell. We build one stock pool that every pack size draws from.

Why Does Our Mixed Case Discount Work in the Shop but Not Online, or the Other Way Round?

Wine merchants

A wine merchant's any-twelve-bottles discount behaves differently on the till and the website. We build one discount rule set that both channels apply.

How Do We Handle Private and Corporate Wine Tasting Enquiries Without Endless Back and Forth?

Wine merchants

Private and corporate tasting enquiries take a wine merchant dozens of emails each. We build an enquiry-to-booking flow with quotes, deposits and wine choices.

How Do I Stop Restaurant Wine Orders Arriving by Text, Voicemail and a Note on the Invoice?

Wine merchants

Restaurant trade orders reach wine merchants by text, voicemail and email at midnight. We build a trade ordering portal with account prices and cut-offs.

How Can a Wine Merchant Warn Restaurants Before a Listed Vintage Runs Out?

Wine merchants

Restaurants list a vintage their wine merchant can no longer supply and find out on delivery. We build per-account alerts before listed wines change or run out.

How Do I Keep a Different Trade Wine Price List for Every Restaurant Account Up to Date?

Wine merchants

Wine merchants keep separate trade price lists for each restaurant, and they go out of date fast. We build account pricing that produces every list from rules.

How Do I Get Restaurants to Pay Their Wine Invoices on Time Without Losing the Account?

Wine merchants

Restaurants pay wine merchants late, and chasing them feels risky. We build trade credit control with account limits, polite reminders and delivery holds.

How Do I Work Out the Real Cost per Bottle When I Import Wine Directly From Growers?

Wine merchants

Wine merchants importing direct struggle to spread shipping, duty and fees across each bottle. We build landed cost calculations that feed pricing and margins.

How Do I Get Hundreds of New Wines Onto Our Website Without Typing Every Tech Sheet by Hand?

Wine merchants

Wine merchants retype grape, region and ABV from supplier tech sheets for every new wine. We build listing drafts from those sheets for staff to check.

How Can Shop Staff See What a Wine Customer Bought Before, Whether in the Shop or Online?

Wine merchants

Wine customers ask for 'that red I had at Christmas' and staff cannot find it across till and website. We build a single purchase history staff can search.

How Do We Run WSET Courses in Our Wine Shop Without Losing Track of Students, Study Packs and Exam Entries?

Wine merchants

Wine merchants running WSET courses juggle bookings, study packs, attendance and exam entries across emails. We build one course record per student.

How Do We Handle Customers Who Want Us to Buy or Sell Wine From Their Own Cellar?

Wine merchants

Customers send wine merchants cellar lists of varying quality and ask what they can get. We build intake that turns those lists into tidy records to review.

How Do I Find and Sell the Odd Bottles and Bin Ends Sitting in the Back of the Wine Shop?

Wine merchants

Wine merchants accumulate odd bottles and final few of old vintages that nobody sells. We build a bin end finder that surfaces them and lists them for sale.

How Do I Push a Supplier's New Wine Prices Through the Shop, the Website and Trade Lists in One Go?

Wine merchants

When an importer's new price list lands, wine merchants update the till, website and trade lists one line at a time. We build a price update review in one go.

How Do I Plan a Wine Shop's Own Van Deliveries Without a Wall Chart and a Lot of Phone Calls?

Wine merchants

Wine merchants running their own van plan rounds by hand and ring customers for slots. We build local delivery planning with slots, routes and driver lists.

How Do We Keep Track of Sale or Return Wine, Glass Loan and Returns for Weddings and Parties?

Wine merchants

Wedding and party orders on sale or return leave wine merchants reconciling returned bottles and glasses by hand. We build event orders that settle cleanly.