New Belgium Brewing, a Colorado-based craft brewery with origins in the Belgian style of ale making, has grown steadily from a home-based operation to a thriving company with distributors across the western United States. The company was using a Novell-based networking and e-mail system, which it found increasingly challenging to integrate with its business and IT applications from other vendors.
MMicrosoft Offfice Systemm CCustomer Solution Case Study
CCraft Breewer Stanndardizess on Micrrosoft TTechnoloogies to RReap Inteegration Benefits Oveerview ""With a MMicrosoft-bbased inffrastructure, we shhould Couuntry or Region: United States Industry: Manufaccturing-Consummer sspend lesss time tryying to make thinggs work toogether prodducts aand moree time takking advantage of our IT Cusstomer Profile iinvestments." Neww Belgium Brewinng is a premier ccraft JJay Richardson, DDirector of Information Technologyy, New Belgium Brewing brewwery located in FFort Collins, Coloorado. The company's 280 employees prodduce NNew Belgiumm Brewing, a Coloradoo-based crafft brewery wwith origins Belggian-style ales foor distribution accross the UUnited States. iin the Belgiaan style of aale making,, has grown steadily froom a hhome-basedd operation to a thriving company with distribbutors Bussiness Situattion Neww Belgium wanteed to gain better insight aacross the wwestern United States. The compaany was usinng a into its business infoormation, simpliify its IT NNovell-based networkinng and e-maail system, wwhich it found environment, and mmake better use oof its techhnology investmeents. iincreasinglyy challenginng to integraate with its bbusiness annd IT aapplicationss from other vendors. AAs a result, tthe companny decided Solution Withh the help of 3t SSystems, New Beelgium tto standardize on Microosoft® technnologies, miigrating to AActive migrrated from a Novvell-based netwoork and DDirectory®, MMicrosoft Exxchange Server 2007, aand the 20007 e-maail system to an infrastructure bbased on MMicrosoft® technologies. MMicrosoft Offfice systemm. With this new IT infraastructure, New BBelgium antticipates a ssignificant rreduction inn time spentt Bennefits „ Ennhanced integraation and aadministering its IT envvironment aand a greatly improved ability to innteroperability ccapitalize on its wealthh of business informatioon to drive iits „ Siimplified IT admministration, miniimized suupport ooperations fforward. „ MMore time for straategic work „ Beetter business innsight
"It required an Situation Inspired by Belgian brewers during a „ Tapping into the enterprise resource increasing amount of European bike trip, Jeff Lebesch returned to planning (ERP) capabilities of Microsoft energy to achieve basic the United States, set up a homebrew Dynamics GP 9.0 operation in the basement of his Colorado „ Implementing a third-party sales analysis integration between our home, and started producing Belgian-style and forecasting application business applications ales. In 1991, this basement operation „ Implementing a third-party manufacturing became New Belgium Brewing, perhaps best execution system (MES) and our Novell known for its popular Fat Tire Amber Ale. environment. And there Over the past 16 years, the homebrew Richardson explains that "it required an operation has grown to become the third increasing amount of energy to achieve were some features we largest craft brewer in the United States. basic integration between our business just couldn't take applications and our Novell environment. For the past 10 years, the company used a And there were some features we just advantage of at all." Novell-based directory, file, print, and e-mail couldn't take advantage of at all." Managers Jay Richardson, Director of Information system, primarily to share files and and sales staff also experienced challenges Technology, New Belgium Brewing Company documents among employees and to in synchronizing information from Novell communicate through e-mail. For some GroupWise with their personal digital time, this infrastructure sufficiently served assistants. "With some effort, a basic level of the brewery's needs. New Belgium's Director synchronization was achieved. But we knew of Information Technology, Jay Richardson, a higher degree of functionality was says, "Early on, the company primarily available," says Richardson. needed a way to share files and communicate electronically." Most of the New Belgium also uses a portal solution that files it produced were created in Microsoft® presented some integration hurdles. Office 2000 and Microsoft Office 2003 Richardson says, "We have a growing desktop software. amount of customer and financial data in our databases, and we've begun relying on But... [download for more]
