Popular Microbrewer Sees Explosive Growth After Installing Dynamics GP

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery started as a small brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and quickly grew into a thriving distributor selling beer in 28 states through a network of 50+ wholesalers. From making 12-gallon batches in its lone brewpub, Dogfish now houses production in a 100,000 square-foot converted cannery.  

Dogfish was producing dozens of unique specialty brews, but lacked adequate tools for capturing component costs or calculating profitability by brew type. Revenues that could not be readily identified would crop up in the General Ledger. Critical compliance reports had to be generated manually. To enable the company to realize its full growth potential, a systems and software overhaul was in order.

Intellitec Solutions implemented Dynamics GP and provided extensive accounting consultation to help Dogfish Head get a firm handle on costs and generate relevant financial data to make better business decisions. Dogfish worked with Intellitec Solutions consultants to establish accounting best practices and a solution capable of growing with them. In the six years since installing GP and overhauling financial systems, Dogfish revenues skyrocketed from $3 million to $40 million annually.

The complete story

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, opened in 1995, has attracted thousands of loyal customers who appreciate the company’s reputation for quality ingredients and creative specialty brews. With distribution in 28 states and a bustling brewpub, Dogfish must produce enough to fill the pipeline and still provide plenty of interesting choices to its discerning fans.

To meet those dual needs, Dogfish offers six core brands, four seasonal brews, and dozens of beers owner Sam Calagione describes as “calculated experimentation.”  Given such production demands, management systems must be robust enough to keep up with an ever-changing product line.

But when COO Nick Benz joined Dogfish several years ago, he quickly realized the company’s accounting software was inadequate, especially in view of Calagione’s ambitious expansion plans. Existing software couldn’t tell Benz what specific ingredients cost, determine whether brews made or lost money, or even recognize revenues properly.  Benz, who believes “good people and good ingredients make a good product,” knew the company needed better data to make better business decisions. Dogfish had the people, ingredients and product right, but good data for good decisions was missing. Click here to read the full Dynamics GP Case Study – Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

By Intellitec Solutions, Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner serving Pennsylvania

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