Coffee Roasters Optimize Ecommerce with ERP to Adapt to Consumer Habits

When was the last time you had a cup of coffee? If you are like most Americans, the answer is likely sometime today! Six in ten Americans drink coffee every day, and seven in ten drink coffee at least once per week (3). While the frequency of drinking coffee has remained relatively stable over the past couple years, how and where consumers get their coffee has shifted drastically.

Over 60% of Americans worked from home in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic (2) and many coffee roasters were forced to close in-person shops and storefronts to abide by health guidelines. 20% fewer Americans had coffee away from home in 2020, and four out of five had coffee at home (3). Furthermore, the way Americans purchased their coffee, regardless of where it was brewed, increasingly transitioned to online platforms. Online coffee sales increased by 57%, with in app purchases increasing by 63% (3). Ground coffee sales on Amazon alone increased by 60% from January to May 2020 (2). These purchase trends show no signs of slowing, with 84% of shoppers identifying at least one way their grocery habits have changed for good (1).

Coffee roasters can no longer rely on wholesale agreements with coffee shops to be successful and have had to adopt ecommerce and direct-to-consumer (DTC) selling models to survive in the modern economy. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) technology helps small and midsize coffee roasters sell directly to consumers and remain competitive in today’s digital marketplace.

Simplify Your Omnichannel Sales Models

Consumers are shopping online more frequently than ever, including on their mobile device. Coffee roasters need to offer consumers with a seamless shopping experience, whether they are looking to purchase coffee on their desktop, tablet, mobile web browser, or on a social media app. Over 55% of modern consumers use their mobile device to make purchases (1). ERP technology allows you to track all your orders and view them in one single source of truth, no matter where these orders are placed. This enables coffee roasters to have a complete picture of their sales on a single platform, as well as trace customer orders, purchase history, and website engagement across all your sales platforms.

Offer Free Shipping While Keeping Cost Margins Low

In today’s Amazon Prime and Instacart era, today’s consumers do not just hope for free shipping and easy returns, they have come to expect it. 53% of consumers name free delivery as the primary reason they purchase from an e-commerce vendor. Free shipping can be a heavy burden for smaller coffee roasters, especially since e-commerce margins are already relatively low. However, 46.5% of small to mid-sized businesses say that offering free shipping increases their profits (1). ERP technology can help optimize logistics like delivery routes and shipping container usage, minimizing shipping costs and resulting in higher profit margins. Total visibility into inventory and production also allows coffee roasters to increase operational efficiency, reducing wastes and keeping costs low.

Enhance Quality to Attract More Customers

Offering quality products to your customers is ultimately what keeps them coming back time and time again. Furthermore, today’s consumers have tons of options and information at their fingertips, and turn to online reviews and referrals to select their products. Increasing web traffic and developing online brand recognition brings in new customers. 94% of shoppers said that they consult online ratings and reviews before making purchases and 83% of people have discovered new products or services on Instagram (1). Making sure you provide the highest quality products every single time means you will build a positive brand presence online, and customers will keep coming back to you. Quality control modules built into ERP systems specific to the coffee industry, help roasters to provide consumers with top-notch coffee.

Conclusion

In today’s digital age, small coffee roasters have a golden opportunity when it comes to e-commerce. The internet expands small businesses’ reach, allowing them to reach the same number of people as their larger counterparts. In order to take full advantage of direct-to-consumer online selling models, coffee roasters should adopt ERP technology to streamline orders across multiple selling channels, keep costs low, and maintain high quality standards.

Sources:

1. https://softengine.com/e-commerce-for-food-and-beverage/
2. https://www.ncausa.org/Industry-Resources/Webinars/Impact-of-Covid-19-on-E-Commerce-in-the-Coffee-Industry
3. https://www.ncausa.org/Industry-Resources/Market-Research/NCDT/Coffee-Consumers-COVID-19-Road-Map-to-Recovery