Affinity Drinks: It's more than just a migration...it's an evolution

Company: Affinity Drinks
Location: Spain
Industry: Beverage import and export
Partner name: InDaws
Main Apps Implemented: CRM, Sales, Purchase, Inventory, Email Marketing, eCommerce
Company Size: 7
Number of users: 7
Hosting type: Odoo.sh


Overview

Affinity drinks is part of a group of several companies that imports, exports and sells different beverages (beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks) all over the world. Before Odoo, the company had a very simple ERP system that enabled them to create invoices and keep track of stock. Sales were conducted via calls, emails, Whatsapp and text messages. As the company began to expand, it became difficult to keep up with the demand with this method of working. In order to become a more productive company, Affinity decided it was time to re-invent their way of working. Working in collaboration with InDaws, the beverage importer and exporter began using Odoo and revolutionized their way of working thanks to the power of integration.

Key Challenges and requirements

Affinity Drinks is a company specialized in the distribution of beverages. They import and export all kinds of branded beverage goods; whiskey, rum, vodka etc. You name it, they have it. The beverage company is based in Valencia, Spain near the Mediterranean sea however they hold stocks in several places. They have warehouses in the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Main operations are in southern Europe however they also import and export from Turkey, China and Southeast Asia. Currently, the company has over 6000 products available. They’re B2B focused on volume deals with contained margins. To ensure profitability, the company must excel in inventory and logistics, however this is something the company was previously struggling to do with their old ERP system. 

Prior to implementing Odoo, Affinity had a very simple ERP system that enabled them to create invoices and keep track of stock. Sales were conducted via calls, emails, Whatsapp and text messages. The team was often stressed when concluding deals over the phone and fighting for stock positions. This was very common as the same stock was sometimes sold twice to two different customers since orders were taken manually.

In addition to this, being available for different customers was often a challenge due to the different time zones. As the company began to expand, it became difficult to keep up with the demand with this method of working. In order to become a more productive company, Affinity decided it was time to re-invent their way of working.

Affinity’s steps towards re-invention led them to implementation partner InDaws who introduced them to Odoo. They began working together on Odoo 8 in 2016 on a Community version. However in 2020, InDaws decided to move from Odoo Community to Enterprise because the offer provided in the enterprise solution was much stronger than the use case for the community. Affinity Drinks understood this first hand because many of the solutions that were being developed in their community version were already present in Odoo Enterprise. So when InDaw decided to change direction, it was a no-brainer for Affinity to change as well. 

Working with InDaw has not only been useful for Affinity on the technical side. The company has provided consultancy services and training on how to use Odoo. At the beginning this was done in a personalized way at Affinity’s office. However, now that the beverage company is more confident and near enough experts in Odoo, the partner isn’t as involved in terms of teaching but they have an eLearning platform in which they demonstrate functionalities with the most up to date developments.


Working through the Pandemic

The Covid 19 pandemic period was a challenge for the company. As a distributor of beverages, the closure of the hospitality sector was really felt by the business. Affinity Drinks had a few sales for a couple of months in Taiwan but other than that, sales were non-existent. At the time, Affinity was at a crossroad, to close and receive support from the government or should remain open and change their way of working. The company decided to do the latter and spent time creating the 6000 product database, uploading pictures, and adding extra information that could enhance the customer experience on the website. So when the company emerged from the pandemic, they were ready and they were flooded with demands as people who had been stuck indoors for nearly two years were ready to return back to the hospitality sector. The company experienced record figures upon return. The pandemic was a blessing in disguise because it enabled the company to stop, think and act on serious improvements required in order to elevate the business. 

“Sometimes you’re often so deep into your day to day operations that things like changing or strategy, very important things, are at the bottom of your priorities. For us in that sense, the Covid pandemic was a blessing because we had the time to stop, think and act on what we thought.” - Victor Peris, Director at Affinity Drinks 

Today, the order entry is done via Affinity Drinks’ B2B portal. Customers are verified by the Affinity team, and once they can demonstrate they’re professional customers, they’re able to see prices and stock levels on the website. Affinity product information is very accurate with pictures, logistics and fiscal details for more than 6000 products. The B2B portal has positioned the beverage company amongst competitors as the go to solution for not only products but also information. 

Orders can be made at any time, any day (24/7) and completed solely by the customer. Once an order is confirmed, the stock is blocked in Odoo for that customer solving the issue of double selling. The team can be sleeping and the system will automatically reserve stocks for orders made during those hours. Having all the orders via the website has allowed the team to improve in procurement, inventory management and logistics, therefore margins have been improving. Moreover, the endless possibilities of coupons and promotions has been very useful to rotate some products and maintain low inventory levels whilst turnover continues to grow. 

“Odoo makes my life so much easier, being able to work remotely seamlessly has changed my life. Now I can pick up my kids at school and keep track of all my duties from home.”
-Marta Jimenez, Purchase Manager and Co-Owner at Affinity Drinks

In terms of turnover, YTD Revenue growth is around 169% and even higher figures for profit. Portal information included in the Odoo 14 base, has been a great way to improve user satisfaction, now customers use the chatter with the Affinity team and have all their orders updated and invoices available for future inspection. 

“We are quite small in terms of people but we managed to turnover 36M euro this year so that explains a lot and shows a lot the efficiency we’ve managed to gain thanks to an integrated system.”
-Victor Peris, Director at Affinity Drinks 

The possibility to develop modules specific to the business’s needs such as the Excise duties calculator or the European price comparison tool has been a cornerstone to Affinity’s success as a B2B platform. For the company, it would be impossible to work with software that they couldn’t adapt. 

Ease of use has also been another advantage. The company has found, once the user understands one Module it has been really easy for them to learn how to use new ones since the interface is similar. In Affinity, there is a mix of experienced people and younger professionals. As a company, their priority was having software that was easy to learn and all the team has managed to learn it fast and efficiently. 

About Affinity Drinks

Affinity Drinks is a company specialized in the distribution and import export of beverages. We mainly trade in soft drinks, liquors, beers, wines and champagnes. Our main objective is to supply to our customers the best international brands in the market while being fair with our suppliers. We hold stocks in the UK, Holland and Spain moreover we are able to ship them all over the world. We pride ourselves on having strong ties with the industry and with respected importers and wholesalers.

About InDaws

Indaws is the digital transformation company, specialized in implementing Odoo in companies from different sectors, helping them achieve their goals.From our headquarters in Valencia and Madrid (Spain) we provide tailor-made solutions to national and international clients. In our more than 8 years of experience, we have successfully implemented Odoo to hundreds of users , always treating each of our projects exclusively, adapting and customizing each solution to the specific needs of each client. We analyze, understand and make the needs of each client our own, always maintaining our values ​​and guidelines in each of our projects, punctuality in delivery, personalization, training and customer service.

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