We recently had the opportunity to talk to Greg Small, head of operations at Zeffer Cider, an award-winning cider company based in Auckland, New Zealand. For a team of five, they have been punching well above their weight, winning awards in both Australia and New Zealand.
Zeffer started out at a small farm in Matakana (almost an hour north of Auckland), where Sam Smith, the brains behind the cider and a winemaker by trade, began brewing cider and selling it at the local farmers market.
The name ‘Zeffer’ comes from a sailing term which means ‘a light breeze’. The official spelling of the word is ‘Zepher’, but this was changed to ensure they could trademark the name.
It’s an appropriate name, as Zeffer’s not-from-concentrate, no-added sugar, and only-made-from-New-Zealand-fruit cider has been a refreshing entry into the cider market, and has been well placed to take advantage of the growing demand for cider worldwide.
Zeffer crush and ferment the fruit on-site to produce their cider, before transporting it to a third-party brewery who bottles the cider and then returns it to Zeffer for distribution. From here, the product is shipped to supermarkets and liquor stores around New Zealand, and exported to seven countries, including Australia and China, where Zeffer have identified a growing demand for their product.
With multiple markets, six different flavours of cider in different formats, and over 300 customers, Zeffer need to be able to manage their inventory efficiently, and understand the true cost of distributing and exporting their product. Cider making is also a very seasonal business, as the fruit is not available all year round, meaning any tool they can use to make their processes more accurate and efficient is welcome.
Unleashed’s production module has been a big help for Zeffer cider, as this has allowed them to successfully understand the true cost of each of their products. As is the case with many businesses who manufacture their own products, Zeffer need to assemble their products before they can sell them.
To do this, they used Unleashed to create a bill of materials for the cider (which itself is comprised of different ingredients), before creating another bill of materials for the finished product, which includes the cider, bottles, labels and caps. This means Zeffer are able to measure the profitability of the finished product they sell, against the costs of items like bottles and labels that they do not produce themselves.
For Greg, Unleashed has been just the ticket for invoicing, monitoring stock levels, and analysing sales information. When we asked why he selected Unleashed for his inventory management software, Greg said, “I was after a product that was easy-to-use, didn’t cost too much, and would satisfy our needs for inventory and sales reporting, and Unleashed was absolutely perfect for that”.
It’s great to see how Unleashed has helped another successful global business to efficiently and accurately manage their inventory, and in particular given Zeffer Cider a more accurate understanding of how much it costs to produce and sell their cider.
Watch the video below to learn how Zeffer Cider use Unleashed to manage their inventory, or click here for more case studies about how successful businesses are using Unleashed.
If you would like to learn more about Zeffer and their award winning cider, check out their website.
Zeffer crush and ferment the fruit on-site to produce their cider, before transporting it to a third-party brewery who bottles the cider and then returns it to Zeffer for distribution. From here, the product is shipped to supermarkets and liquor stores around New Zealand, and exported to seven countries, including Australia and China, where Zeffer have identified a growing demand for their product.
With multiple markets, six different flavours of cider in different formats, and over 300 customers, Zeffer need to be able to manage their inventory efficiently, and understand the true cost of distributing and exporting their product. Cider making is also a very seasonal business, as the fruit is not available all year round, meaning any tool they can use to make their processes more accurate and efficient is welcome.
Unleashed’s production module has been a big help for Zeffer cider, as this has allowed them to successfully understand the true cost of each of their products. As is the case with many businesses who manufacture their own products, Zeffer need to assemble their products before they can sell them.
To do this, they used Unleashed to create a bill of materials for the cider (which itself is comprised of different ingredients), before creating another bill of materials for the finished product, which includes the cider, bottles, labels and caps. This means Zeffer are able to measure the profitability of the finished product they sell, against the costs of items like bottles and labels that they do not produce themselves.
For Greg, Unleashed has been just the ticket for invoicing, monitoring stock levels, and analysing sales information. When we asked why he selected Unleashed for his inventory management software, Greg said, “I was after a product that was easy-to-use, didn’t cost too much, and would satisfy our needs for inventory and sales reporting, and Unleashed was absolutely perfect for that”.
It’s great to see how Unleashed has helped another successful global business to efficiently and accurately manage their inventory, and in particular given Zeffer Cider a more accurate understanding of how much it costs to produce and sell their cider.
Watch the video below to learn how Zeffer Cider use Unleashed to manage their inventory, or click here for more case studies about how successful businesses are using Unleashed.
If you would like to learn more about Zeffer and their award winning cider, check out their website.
