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Wine & Spirits

Southern Glazer’s SG Proof App Available for Apple Devices

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits has launched SG Proof app is now available on the App Store for Apple device users and is coming soon to Google Play.

Available at no cost to current Southern Glazer’s customers, the app offers all the features and functionalities of SGProof.com, Southern Glazer’s industry leading B2B eCommerce platform, plus a new Barcode Scanning feature available exclusively on the SG Proof app.

“We are excited for the convenience and enhanced experience that this investment will bring our customer partners,” said John Wittig, chief commercial officer. “Whether ordering from behind the bar or in the office, we want our customers to have convenience at their fingertips. The SG Proof app is one more way we’re making it easier for our partners to manage their businesses.”

With the new Barcode Scanning feature, customers can use their phone’s camera to scan a product’s barcode. If the product is in Southern Glazer’s portfolio, it will automatically load into the app for quick, on-the-go checkout.

The app also includes a “Remember Me” option, ensuring fast, convenient access to SG Proof by eliminating the need to login each time.

SGProof.com is part of Southern Glazer’s Proof digital ecosystem, that includes the 24/7 online shopping experience for customers, as well as customer relationship management and customer advocacy services. Proof® empowers Southern Glazer’s sales team to spend more time delivering consultative solutions and insights that help customers grow their businesses.

Southern Glazer’s customers can click here to download the app today: https://apple.co/3HaTGlb.

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Southern Glazer’s Rewards VolunCheer of the Year, Charities

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits has announced the recipient of its 2022 VolunCheer of the Year Award, Lisa Flowers-Espinosa, customer service manager from Southern Glazer’s in Phoenix. VolunCheers is Southern Glazer’s grassroots employee volunteering and giving program that empowers team members to engage with charities in their local communities. These efforts are managed through the company’s enterprise-wide digital portal, VolunCheers Online, where employees can connect with each other, organize and promote volunteering and giving activities.

For the annual VolunCheer of the Year program, employees voted from among a group of 2022 VolunCheer of the Month winners to determine who would be selected to receive a prize of $5,000 donated to the winner’s charity of choice.

Flowers-Espinosa received special VolunCheer recognition for her efforts in hosting a donation drive for Youth On Their Own (YOTO), a charity that supports local youth with food, school supplies, toiletries, and academic support. In 2022, Flowers-Espinosa successfully spearheaded a donation drive benefiting YOTO by working with a local team of employee volunteers to collect donations to support the youth in her community facing homelessness. The charity was positively overwhelmed by the overflow of donations and commented, “This was the most donations we have ever received at one time!”

In recognition of her award, Flowers-Espinosa selected the Navajo Relief Fund and Boys & Girls Club of the (east) Valley to be the recipients of Southern Glazer’s $5,000 donation, with each charity receiving $2,500 on her behalf.

“The two charities that I have selected play a huge role in everything that I stand for, particularly a better future for youth and their families,” said Flowers-Espinosa. “The Boys and Girls Club serves over 13,000 young people in grades K-12 right in the center of my hometown. As a latch-key kid myself, I understand fully the need for after-school and summer programs for our children, especially youth at risk. Also, a large part of the Arizona population is Native Americans. The Navajo Relief Fund serves the largest Indian reservation in the United States, spanning over 16 million acres in Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern Utah. In the face of extreme poverty and adversity, it just felt right to help the families of Diné Nation (our Native Navajos).”

Southern Glazer’s also rounded out 2022 with its annual Holiday Giving Campaign, during which the company pledged to donate $25 for every volunteer hour logged by employees on VolunCheers Online throughout November and December. The beneficiaries of the campaign are the United States Bartenders’ Guild (USBG)Arbor Day FoundationDress for Success, and Feeding America, with 10 percent of total donations benefiting Southern Glazer’s Canada’s charity of choice, Sickkids.

Southern Glazer’s employees more than doubled last year’s results by logging 2,881 volunteer hours in support of diverse causes on VolunCheers Online, resulting in a total donation of $72,025 to support the five selected charities above. As a result of employees’ commitment to giving back, the USBGArbor Day FoundationDress for Success, and Feeding America will each receive a $16,205.62 donation and Sickkids will receive a $7,205.50 donation, to help further their meaningful work on behalf of Southern Glazer’s.

“Southern Glazer’s encourages volunteerism that fosters opportunity and belonging in the communities where we live and operate,” said Wayne E. Chaplin, chief executive officer. “Our employees are constantly finding ways to expand our volunteer footprint and increase their collective positive impact. The VolunCheers program here at Southern Glazer’s not only makes it easy for employees to find and initiate volunteer and fundraising activities, it allows us to recognize our employees’ commitment to change the world one action at a time.”

Month after month, Southern Glazer’s employees expressed their gratitude through meaningful charitable work. The company is proud to close 2022 with nearly 12,200 employee volunteer hours logged and 210 employee-led volunteer events organized to benefit more than 185 charities.

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BarTrack, Arryved Team Up to Streamline Bar, Taproom Operations

Quality management and data technology company BarTrack and Arryved, the leading point-of-service provider for craft food and beverage establishments, have created an integrated partnership for front-of-house bar and taproom operations. The two data-driven companies will host a live webinar on Dec. 13 at 1 pm ET for management teams to learn more about how to utilize these tools as a tandem solution to save an average of $5,000 per week. Click here to register for the webinar.

BarTrack’s beverage and quality monitoring insights integrate with Arryved’s sales and revenue data to provide breweries, bars, and restaurant management teams with industry-leading, one-of-a-kind reports they can use to pinpoint where, when, why, and how waste occurs and strategize improvements to management efficiency and increase revenue.

BarTrack’s system, featuring the first beverage sensor with no moving parts and no obstructions to draft lines, provides real-time metrics on a dozen beverage-specific variables affecting beverage quality, including flow and keg levels, line temperature, pressure, cooler health, line cleanliness, and more. Arryved’s sales data seamlessly integrates with the BarTrack interface to illustrate reasons for waste that occur as a beer is poured.

Current users of the integration see an immediate impact using BarTrack and Arryved, increasing pouring efficiencies from an average of 47% to as high as 97 percent by the end of the first month – an average of $5,000 in savings per week.

“We’re excited to partner with Arryved because we both offer tools built by the industry, for the industry. Like Arryved, we develop solutions based on the key insights we received from owners and operators with decades of experience,” said Brett Danielson, co-founder, and CEO of BarTrack. “Customer success is a tremendous part of both of our solutions and frequent check-ins and strategizing is key, we both focus on providing high-level customer support.”

Equipped with BarTrack’s draft monitoring system and Arryved’s POS, management teams have access to insightful real-time data over every pour from inventory to sale. Insights are specific to the minute and to the ounce, making it possible to determine where losses and waste occur and if the losses are related to inventory management processes and equipment or human error.

Apocalypse Ale Works, a craft brewery in Forest, Va., reduced its pour cost from 12.8 percent to 7.5 percent, a 5 percent total deduction, after only 3 months using BarTrack and Arryved in tandem.

“We are a low staff, family-run business. These tools and reports are a game-changer when it comes to the success of our draft beer program and visibility into business operations. We were able to identify specific problem areas and develop detailed strategies that ultimately eliminated areas of waste, improved our beer quality, and boosted our overall revenue,” said Austin John, owner of Apocalypse Ale Works. “In the first month the system had paid for itself. Arryved and BarTrack are the two front-of-house solutions that every brewery should invest in.”

Grist Brewing Company, based in Highlands Ranch, Colo., increased its pour efficiency from 54.6 percent to 85 percent in the span of three weeks using the integrated BarTrack and Arryved solution. The brewery’s average pour cost dropped from 12.8 percent to 7.6 percent, equating to $6,359 of lost potential revenue to $1,392, an average of $20,000 in savings per month.

“In a short period of time we have dramatically reduced our pour costs through identifying principal causes of waste and creating a specific plan to successfully remedy those causes,” said Chuck Norman, Grist Brewing owner. “This is the solution for breweries to start re-examining their draft program in the taproom and take a revised approach to maximizing potential profits and improving brand integrity through quality.”

The webinar on Dec. 13 at 1 pm ET will feature additional discussion about these case studies and provide actionable recommendations for teams looking to implement process improvements that improve beverage quality and minimize draft waste.

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