Buying on site
From the moment the internet escaped the exclusive control of the US military, it seemed inevitable that publicans would make the switch from telephone ordering to online purchasing. Inevitable is not the same as instant, though, and it has been a bit of a slog so far. Nevertheless, there will be a significant step forward next week when Barbox is relaunched with a new design and innovative rewards scheme.
Barbox.com was launched by Coors Brewers, then Bass, in 2000 as one of several competing e-commerce sites aimed at the hospitality industry. The dotcom collapse did for most of the competition, but Barbox survived to become the only website targeted principally at the independent pub trade, rather than managed groups.
It has been a slow build since then, but the stats are beginning to look impressive and signal an increasingly positive attitude towards e-purchasing by licensees.
Last year nearly 200,000 orders worth a total of £260m were placed on the site by 6,000 customers. Those figures are growing at about 30 per cent a year as more suppliers, most recently regional brewers, become involved. Subscribers can now use the site to buy not only from Coors and Scottish & Newcastle UK, which owns a 30 per cent share of Barbox, but Inbev, Waverley TBS, Woodward Foodservice, Brakes, King UK, Smiles, Everards and Highgate.
Improvements in technology have also helped. The average time a licensee spends making a typical order (fixed by Barbox at 14 different items) has plummeted from six minutes to two - and that's without broadband.
Marketing manager Geoff Nichol-son says subscribers are discovering business benefits by ordering online. As licensees maintain a direct relationship with suppliers through Barbox, each subscriber has a personal price list - the site stores 10 million unique prices - and to help them decide, they can see their discount on screen.
"As licensees become more professional and more competitive, they are finding that they can have more control using the internet," explains Geoff. "They can browse promotions and compare the deals suppliers are offering in their own time, rather than being pushed into something by telesales.
"They also have the freedom to place an order whenever they want, without waiting for someone to phone them. A third of our orders are placed out of normal office hours and Sunday is the third most popular day to put an order in."
Licensees are also making more use of the information available on Barbox, which helps keep them on top of the latest legislation, and the online tools which are available to buy, including quizzes, business resources and promotional materials.
Unlike with some e-commerce websites, subscribers to Barbox have the option of speaking to someone on the site's dedicated service desk, Geoff says the number of queries are dropping and are increasingly arriving by email.
E-purchasing can reduce licensees' paperwork and makes it easier to check that deliveries are correct and resolve invoicing issues. Coors has introduced e-billing, but e-payment is still in the future.
BarBucks loyalty scheme
Barbox's new loyalty scheme, BarBucks, rewards licensees in cash every time they purchase one of a wide range of products.
Based on an average-sized order, it means a pub buying all the participating brands, which includes big names such as Carling, Coca-Cola, Strongbow and WKD, will make at least £600 over the course of a year.
