“Beer rangers” can’t be found in digital history books, but they can be found on their Ultrabook tablets, clicking their way across 30 states as they market the handcrafted wares of the New Belgium Brewing Co., based in Ft. Collins, Colo.

New Belgium, which is owned by its 500 employees, has equipped its more than 100 beer rangers with mobile access to customer and corporate data through Microsoft Dynamics CRM, which has helped the company create a brand to rival any from the Old West. These rangers — the sales team for
New Belgium — have a multi-faceted task in front of them every day. New Belgium brews its beers in Colorado and then sells them to 350 distributors, who sell them to bars and restaurants, which ultimately sell them to patrons. The rangers have the job of keeping this entire sales chain in step so that New Belgium understands the kinds of beers customers want and meets the demand with a consistent, high-quality product. Consequently, rangers are constantly in the field.