It’s no secret that the past few years have been immensely challenging for the Off-Trade sector. The pandemic’s impact alongside the ongoing increases in cost-of-living mean businesses continue to battle unprecedented challenges to stay profitable. Wholesalers are no exception. As they face difficult economic headwinds, they must find the time and resources to strategically operate and effectively expand.
In a bid to accelerate growth for these businesses, Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I brought BEES, a Business-to-Business digital platform, to the UK market last year. BEES provides customers with the technology and resources to drive market reach, operational efficiencies and profitability.
The platform first launched in the Dominican Republic in 2020, expanding quickly into new markets and arriving in the UK in July 2022. BEES is currently live in 23 markets with over 3.1m monthly users, carrying thousands of brands, and working with over 200 supplier partners globally.
The integrated order and delivery platform, built in-house by AB InBev, empowers wholesale customers with flexibility and insights to grow their businesses. Through BEES, customers can place orders any time of day by accessing a searchable catalogue of products with transparent pricing, as well as unlock flexible delivery.
Sunny Mirpuri, Director for Wholesale & Convenience at Budweiser Brewing Group, said: “Bringing BEES to the UK is an exciting step in our company’s digital transformation. By harnessing the power of data and technology, BEES has the potential to improve productivity for all our customers.”
One customer that has already seen the impact of BEES on its business is United Wholesale Scotland (UWS), a leading independent wholesaler in Scotland with three Cash & Carry depots.
Established in 2002, the organisation is now within the top 15 Cash and Carry groups. UWS has been supplying the independent convenience channel with groceries, confectionery, tobacco, beers, wines, spirits, soft drinks and more for over 20 years. Yet prior to using BEES, it faced difficulty in managing delivery timings.
“Previously there was no way for us to choose when we had a delivery arriving which meant we had to ensure someone was always on-site in case stock arrived. Since using BEES, we can select the time and date which is much more convenient and means we can plan around delivery better,” says Telly Sarai, Licensed Trading Director at UWS.
BEES has also helped UWS by directing it to the right products and quantities, with the company describing the platform as ‘user-friendly’. One feature they found particularly helpful is being able to see the photos of what you’re ordering, meaning there is less room for error.
“Previously, when placing orders there could be confusion on whether we were choosing the correct product. Each beer is available in a variety of different SKUs across pack sizes, bottles or cans, and in the past, it has been difficult to ensure we picked the right product. Now with BEES, we can view pictures to ensure we are ordering the correct stock and reducing the risk of human error, which in turn impacts our profit margins,” added Sarai.
In addition, the platform enables customers to effortlessly replicate orders, streamlining the process. The ability to reorder the same items not only saves significant time but also requires minimal clicks to place an order. “BEES has transformed the traditional sales model into a digital experience that allows businesses to place orders anytime they want, even outside of traditional business hours, and schedule deliveries to arrive when it suits them. The platform accelerates the digital journey for our customers, allowing business owners to access business insights all in one digital location,” said Mirpuri.
BEES is one way that Budweiser Brewing Group is providing the infrastructure to enable the wholesale sector to grow and thrive. By collaborating with wholesale partners Budweiser Brewing Group has ambitious plans for this year and beyond.
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