Press Release: Bruichladdich Distillery Company orders £200,000 TROPOS ERP Supply Chain system from SSI

17/03/2008

• Will support rapid growth of business that distributes 45 types of whisky to 25 countries worldwide
• Order marks fifth TROPOS implementation in distilling industry

SSI, a Chelford Group company and provider of specialist ERP and supply chain solutions for key industries, has announced a major £200,000 order from Bruichladdich Distillery Company, the leading independent south Hebridian distiller. The implementation of TROPOS, SSI’s fully integrated ERP system, will provide Bruichladdich with the supply-chain control necessary to support the company’s continued expansion – which saw it increase sales turnover by 40 per cent last year – and allow it to continue the impressive growth it has enjoyed since being founded in 2001. It will help to eliminate inefficient and time consuming paper-based processes and create a single source of information that will provide everyone in the business with instant visibility of information through a common system.

Bruichladdich has a complex supply chain: it distils, matures, bottles, warehouses and distributes 45 different types of whisky at its Islay site – across multiple brands – to around 25 countries worldwide. Every whisky stock movement has to be accounted for through the manufacturing process and reported monthly to HM Revenue and Customs. Special documentation has to be generated for distribution and additionally excise payments made when the destination of the goods are to a UK duty paid location. The recording of this information will now be done automatically by TROPOS leaving staff to concentrate on other tasks.

“We have experienced very quick growth since we started from scratch in 2001, and we now need to implement a greater degree of centralised automation into our business to help us continue in that form,” commented Mark Reynier, Managing Director, Bruichladdich. “We grew at almost 40 per cent in 2007, ahead of an industry average of 10 per cent, and there are still plenty of growth opportunities out there. We needed a system that was proven in our industry, and that would work in the way we needed it to, and not the other way round.

“TROPOS represents an ideal implementation because it simplifies the control of what is a fairly complex supply chain. We now have the security of knowing that we are able to continue expanding – into new markets, such as organic whisky, as well as new countries. More than that, though, our business processes won’t be affected and we can easily up our output without significant new staffing costs,” added Mark Reynier.

“We bring considerable experience and expertise in implementing ERP systems in the distilling industry, and have undertaken five similar implementations in recent   years for UK distillers,” commented Neville Merritt, Marketing Director, Chelford Group. “Bruichladdich is a progressive company and the Directors and Senior Management recognised the distinct benefits that TROPOS will provide for them not only as a distillery, but also for the overall business.”

Bruichladdich is based in a distillery which was originally built as state-of-the-art in 1881. It has now fully modernised the whole operation, but kept the impressive original features of the building. Bruichladdich sources eight varieties of barley, from ten different farms – which makes it unique in the distilling world by offering such tremendous variety across its different malts.

About Bruichladdich

The distillery was built in 1881 by William Harvey and his brothers, but was closed down in 1994 as “surplus to requirements”.

On 19th December 2000 it was acquired by a small group of private investors led by Mark Reynier. Following extensive renovation, the distillery recommenced distilling on 29th May 2001. Bruichladdich is now a private Scottish company operated, managed and directed on Islay.

Bruichladdich makes its single malt whisky using manual C1900 equipment, inspirational distillery design and pre-industrial distilling techniques. 500,000 litres are distilled annually from 100 per cent Scottish barley – increasingly Organic and Islay grown – from different farms, varieties and peating levels.