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[Excerpt from 6/12/2019 article in Beer Business Daily] 
The highlight of yesterday's meeting was an announcement from Beer Institute chief Jim McGreevy that they, along with the Brewers Association and NBWA, will launch a shared campaign this summer to grow beer.

"Final details are being worked out, but I think this is an important step...for too long we've been focused on the problem. The trade associations are going to get about the solutions," said Jim. Jim also shared with BBD that, while they're not exactly sure what media forms the campaign will take, they have hired an agency and are digging in on that.

A-B CEO Michel Doukeris assumed the stage shortly after Jim and gave the "why" of the campaign: "Share of throat declines persist," he said, and while the overall alcohol industry is growing, "beer is not taking its fair share." He's confident they can overcome that situation.
Expect to see the first phase of this "pro beer" campaign during summer.

(MillerCoors will not engage in this multi-trade org PR effort. MillerCoors offered BBD the following statement on the matter: "We believe in lifting the beer industry, but we've been clear that we won't engage in a category health campaign until Anheuser-Busch stops their category denigration campaign.")

BBD has also learned that Heineken USA is refraining from the effort at this point as well, In principle, HUSA supports the initiative, the company tells BBD, but they've decided to stay on the sidelines for now. "Once everyone comes to the table, of course, we will be there," HUSA Communications Manager Thomas Hunt tells BBD. Adding, "we hope that we reach a point where all major players can fully participate," and they "look forward to this happening soon." (And while the BI will participate in it, it will not fund the campaign.) 
 

For 9 years Tamarron Consulting has been conducting the Supply Chain Performance Survey. This survey offers distributors the opportunity to provide candid (anonymous) feedback to their suppliers on crucial Supply Chain issues and opportunities. This survey focuses solely on the performance of Supplier Operations/Supply Chain. 

A total of 196 distributors responded to the 2018 survey. 

[Excerpt from 12/13/2018 article in Craft Brew News] 
Trio of the largest independent craft brewers (Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Boston Beer) and Mike's Hard Lemonade received highest overall perfomance scores among 8 top suppliers. Sierra Nevada highlighted by Tamarron for having the largest number of distributors selecting it as "best in class beer supplier/brewer supply chain partner". All 8 suppliers scored "good" supply chain rating or better in 2018.

SKU management remains a top challenge for distributors, second only to hiring CDL drivers. Average number of brands and SKUs per distributor nearly tripled since 2011 as average number of suppliers doubled, showcasing the increased pace of innovation.

For 9 years Tamarron Consulting has been conducting the Supply Chain Performance Survey. This survey offers distributors the opportunity to provide candid (anonymous) feedback to their suppliers on crucial Supply Chain issues and opportunities. This survey focuses solely on the performance of Supplier Operations/Supply Chain. 

A total of 196 distributors responded to the 2018 survey.

[Excerpt from 12/12/2018 article in Craft Business Daily]
Sierra Nevada received the highest overall score, ranked highest in overall performance and relationships, and got the highest "best in class" rating percentage. The 8 suppliers included in this survey were AB InBev, Boston Beer, Constellation Beer, Heineken USA, MillerCoors, Mike's Hard Lemonade, New Belgium Brewing and Sierra Nevada. Sierra Nevada ranked first on four capabilities: Supply Chain Leadership/Strategy, Forecasting/Ordering, Transportation Logistics and Customer Service. (Boston was tops in Innovation & Seasonal Management; Mike's Hard Lemonade was tops in Product Freshness/Code Dates; MillerCoors was tops in Package/Pallet Integrity & Product and Package ID/Handling; and New Belgium was tops in Credits.)

Distributors were asked to choose the top 3 challenges facing the beer industry's supply chain - CDL driver shortages, SKU management and out of stocks topped the list. This is not surprising, as results also revealed an almost tripling of average SKU numbers since the survey's inception 9 years ago, to 948 (with a range among respondents of 20 to 10,000).

In an effort to curb beer’s dwindling share of the broader alcohol market, three major trade associations – the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), the Brewers Association (BA) and the Beer Institute (BI) – have formed a group tasked with improving the health of the beer segment – the “Beer Growth Initiative”.

The effort is being spearheaded by alcoholic beverage consultancy Tamarron, along with leaders from the NBWA, BA and BI.

The announcement of the Beer Growth Initiative comes nearly 10 months after the boards of directors for the NBWA and BI passed resolutions pledging to work together with other industry players to advance the beer category, which las lost market share to wine and spirits in recent years.

Link to full article
 

For 20 years Tamarron Consulting has been conducting the Supplier Performance Survey. This survey offers distributors the opportunity to provide candid (anonymous) feedback to their suppliers. It has become an important benchmark survey for the industry!

A total of 206 distributors responded to the 2018 survey with a large percentage coming from mega distributors. Distributors are asked to respond to 73 performance-based questions which provide suppliers a full overview of how the distributors feel they are performing.

Boston reclaimed the top spot on the survey this year….

Link to full article