Cloud-based system allows craft brewer to focus on beer production
To this day, Mike and Lisa Hinckley, founders of San Diego-based craft brewery Green Flash Brewing Co. take every measure they can to keep their beer-first philosophy at the heart of all they do. Established in 2002 as an independent craft brewery, the firm achieved great success with the launch of its WestCoast IPA. Soon after, the Hinckleys formulated a plan that involved expanding their product range and distribution network to help them take advantage of the growing taste for artisan beers in the United States. Although their existing manufacturing management system had worked well when just one product was being produced, it provided neither the flexibility nor the functionality to support the firm’s ambition.
Green Flash needed an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that could integrate the processes and information required to innovate product lines and increase sales, yet one that allowed the brewer to keep its point of differentiation — a beer first philosophy — alive. Having searched the market for options, and following a four-month migration process undertaken to support future expansion, Green Flash went live with the Plex Manufacturing Cloud in October 2013. The operation now has the capacity to brew as many as 100,000 barrels.