Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/724494
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m S e p t - O c t 2 016 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 4 3 ness development and marketing for Copper Peak Logistics, who recently spoke on a panel addressing customization at the ShipCompliant 2016 conference, wineries are doing a good job embracing the curated economy. "The subscription food business has gone berserk and wineries are looking to copy that success by offering wine club shipments that are specifically curated to add value and recreate the experience of vis- iting the tasting room." As a fulfillment service partnered with ShipCompli- ant, Dobrow has witnessed a market flooded with con- ventional wine clubs be undermined by high customer churn rates and rising import volumes that are driving substitution. "E-commerce is a growing, moving expe- rience, and wineries are customizing their shipments by including premiums like food products and kitchen- ware or using specialized packaging to create additional value," he says. Dobrow points to carriers including FedX, UPS and GSO that are embracing customization by offering delivery experience tools. "FedEx recently introduced free residential phone calls and text messaging to cell phones for Alcohol Signature Required packages. This is a game changer and gives customers more control over their delivery experience," he says. REFINING B2C SALES Whether customers are browsing in the tasting room or on a winery's website, their order history and prefer- ences are gathered via POS and CRM systems to cre- ate actionable information that can be used to prompt a customer to trade up and close a sale. For winemakers like Jeff "El Jefe" Stai, who owns Twisted Oak Winery in Calaveras County, Calif., con- ducting, tracking and shipping B2C sales involves using a bundle of integrated services — Vin65 winery com- merce software, ShipCompliant compliance technology and WineDirect fulfillment centers — that approach an ease of use he compares to the on-off button operated by the 1960s cartoon character George Jetson. "All of our B2C sales follow this path," says Stai, who uses a warehouse in American Canyon for B2B distributor pickups. "Customization on our website works well through Vin65," he adds. "It offers choice options and consumers can roll their own wine club selections." Twisted Oak's online and tasting room sales are managed by Vin65, captured and batched by ShipCom- pliant and fulfilled by WineDirect, which Stai applauds for beating their stated failure rate and for superb cus- tomer service. "Every state has a different website for filing returns, and ShipCompliant is a mature system that makes it about as painless as possible," says Stai, who notes the batching feature is there for wineries that pack and ship their own club orders. Given the demands of such a fragmented industry, integration makes it possible for Stai and his staff to effectively manage a sale through all three areas of expertise. "All it takes is using three separate screens to process an order from start to finish," he says. His only critique of the workflow is the occasional lag time in order processing, which he attributes to an over- taxed server. Jeff Stai of Twisted Oak Winery uses a bundle of integrated software services for ease of use and customized service.