Challenge
As Beavertown transitioned from a small to mid-sized company, the complexities of managing and analyzing operational and commercial data began to grow. The brewery’s existing systems, primarily SAP Business One (SAP B1), held valuable transactional information, however, these insights were difficult to extract, leading to inefficiencies.
Before adopting Zap Data Hub, reporting relied heavily on manual processes using SQL queries, Excel files, and shared drives, creating bottlenecks and inconsistent data.
Max Smith, Data and Analytics Manager at Beavertown, is part of the D&T team that inherited this fragmented ecosystem. He describes the pre-Zap environment as one where essential business units - such as sales, supply chain, and finance, were often conflicted on key metrics such as production efficiency and sales performance. This led to inefficiencies, with different departments working from isolated versions of the truth, resulting in data misalignment and protracted decision-making.
The rapid growth of Beavertown’s operations intensified the need for reliable data management. With their small team expanding to over 240 employees, disconnected datasets and outdated reporting methods introduced significant delays, making it harder to keep up with the pace of operations. Beavertown needed to automate manual processes, consolidate data across the organization, and ensure alignment between departments.
Additionally, critical reports, such as those for specialist tax reporting and regulatory traceability, relied on complex SQL queries developed by former employees. This created a technical bottleneck, while a lack of documentation made it difficult for new analysts to work with these queries, increasing the risk of errors and slowing down operations. In regulated industries like Food & Beverage, and Pharmaceuticals, traceability is crucial - companies must track raw materials from production to customers, with annual audits ensuring compliance.
Solution
Beavertown implemented Zap Data Hub to streamline data flows, automate processes, and improve reporting efficiency. During the implementation phase, Max Smith and his team collaborated with Zap’s consultants to train internal modellers - one for each department - on how to create data pipelines and load necessary information into the semantic layer. Over 12 weeks, the core model was built from scratch, meeting Max’s expectations for a pre-Xmas rollout.
Centralized data for master accuracy
Zap integrated seamlessly with SAP B1, consolidating customer and product data into a single source of truth. This ensured consistency across departments like finance, logistics, and sales. Teams could now access unified records for barcodes, weights, and pallet configurations, eliminating errors and improving collaboration.
Streamlined sales reporting
Beavertown created an “In-Flight Sales” dashboard, providing a mid-month view of sales performance, comparing actuals against annual plans and revised forecasts. Updated twice daily, it enabled teams to quickly identify trends, adjust strategies, and optimize channel performance.
Production insights & compliance
Production dashboards track key metrics like brew house efficiency and extract yield, helping teams improve operations and reduce waste. Traceability tools enable the identification of raw materials used in specific batches, streamlining root cause analysis and ensuring compliance with industry standards.
Empowered teams & adoption
Zap’s self-service capabilities allowed teams to create their own reports, reducing reliance on technical staff. With 50 active users weekly, reports became widely accessible, and user activity dashboards ensured focus on impactful tools.
Outcome
The implementation of Zap Data Hub has transformed Beavertown Brewery’s approach to data management. The brewery now enjoys improved operational and commercial visibility, faster decision-making, and a reduction in data inconsistencies. With robust data governance, teams can trust the accuracy and integrity of their data, making it impossible to return to the previous fragmented processes.
“Zap has unlocked horizontal expertise within Beavertown by enabling each team to generate their own reports, removing the need for intermediaries.”
— Max Smith, Data and Analytics Manager, Beavertown Brewery
By empowering departments to self-serve their reporting needs, Zap has not only eliminated bottlenecks but also helped foster a culture of data-driven decision-making across the organization.
Looking ahead, Beavertown sees potential in expanding their use of Zap with deeper Power BI integration, further future-proofing their data strategy as the company grows.
“Zap’s integration with SAP B1 has ensured alignment across departments, reducing conflicting versions of truth and improving decision-making.”
— Max Smith, Data and Analytics Manager, Beavertown Brewery