In today's podcast you'll get best practices, tools, and inspiration to build your 2025 beer wholesaler financial plan.

Topics Covered:

• Open Q&A: What is your BIG budget challenge right now?
• 3 Steps to take right now to build a great budget
• Budget prep outline template to keep you organized
• 6 Budget questions you need to answer
• Sample wholesaler budget templates - sales, GP, OPEX, etc.

​Key Takeaways

• How to overcome analysis paralysis in the budget process
• Tactics to consolidate multiple business entities
• Best practices to overcome the 'unknowns' of financial planning
• One wholesaler's process to achieve a 2-day financial close

Resources

If you need 1-on-1 help to create your best beer wholesaler budget ever, learn more about my financial coaching package. We'll work together to build your 2025 financial plan.

Today on the podcast we dive deep into the world of supplier incentives. What they are, how they work, and how to get alignment between these incentives and bottom line company goals.

Summary

• How supplier incentives fit into the bigger picture of compensation
• The ideal compensation mix: Base, commissions, PFP, and supplier incentives
• The complexity of managing different categories of supplier incentives: Volume, placements, facing, displays, etc.
• The potential for misalignment of incentives: Is the supplier incentive aligned with your wholesaler business goals?
• How VxP helps you calculate, measure, and manage supplier incentives 

Resources

• Connect with Bud Dunn to learn more about how VxP can help manage supplier incentives and sales compensation - [email protected]

Today on the podcast we hear from Sean McLaren and Adam Bush from OMAC Beverage Advisors.

OMAC has worked on hundreds of transactions in the beverage industry, and understand the unique considerations for these types of deals.

Sean and Adam share insights and analysis on the state of wholesaler consolidation, trends in valuation multiples, and best practices to make ready for a sale. 

Summary

• Multiples of EBITDA steadily rising from 7x-9x to 10x-15x
• Annual transactions remain consistent at 20-30/annually
• The main driver of business sales: Family dynamics

Resources

• Connect with Sean and Adam: [email protected], [email protected]
• Learn more about OMAC Beverage Advisors

Tom DeMayo is a partner with PKF O'Connor Davies, specializes in cybersecurity, and is a self-described 'ethical hacker'.

Cybercrime is a $10 trillion problem globally, and beer wholesalers are target.

In today's podcast, Tom shares how these crimes occur, how to find out if your company is vulnerable, and what steps you can take right now to prevent a ransomware attack. 

Key Points

• Terms defined: Dark web, deep web, surface web, ransomware
• How hackers break in to your systems and what you can do to prevent this
• Basics of compliance testing and risk assessment
• Tips for creating and managing those pesky login credentials 
• The case for a cybersecurity committee 

Resources

• Connect with Tom and learn how to protect your beer business from cybercrimes, [email protected]

Want smarter wholesaler analytics to get better results?

Then you'll want to learn more about VxP, the best tool for guided selling strategies to increase sales and gross profits while decreasing finished product loss.

A powerful 1-2-3 combo to supercharge your income statement.

In this recorded workshop you'll learn how VxP provides the tools for real-time execution, automated workflows, and smarter analytics.

Workshop Overview

• Review of VxP: Who it's for, why it's important, how it works, and the problem it solves.
• Compensation planning process: What considerations are made prior to diving into a comp plan? What are the typical components of comp? How are components prioritized? How does VxP align compensation between route sales/team lead/sales management?
• Look under the VxP hood. We build sample compensation structures using a blend of base, commission, bonus, and pay for performance.
• Hear success stories. Results that have been achieved. And they are impressive $$$.

Do This Next...

1. Watch the sales workshop video below
2. Listen to the Tapped In Podcast, Sales and Strategy for Beer Distributors
3. Learn more about VxP and join over 1,500 high-performing distributor sales reps. Book a demotoday, or reach out to Bud Dunn directly, [email protected], c: 269-317-5209

Today on the podcast I'm joined by Orman Anderson, CFO from Glazer’s Beer and Beverage, and RJ Martucci, a partner with PKF O’Connor Davies.

You'll hear the audio version of our NBWA presentation on A Practical Guide to Beer Wholesaler Mergers and Acquisitions.

Our presentation covers four key issues -

1. Target identification: Selling or buying, who are you valuable to, and who is valuable to you
2. Due diligence: Research, homework, what you need to do
3. Valuations and models: Current market, quantitative and qualitative measurements
4. Post acquisition: What happens after the deal is done, and how to combine the right way

Do this next:

• Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association, we are a network of beer industry professionals who come together to network, share ideas and best practices to build a stronger beer business

Today on the podcast we hear from Lester Jones, Chief Economist for the National Beer Wholesalers Association.

Lester takes us through his 2024 U.S. Economic Outlook and Beer Industry Trends report.

His bottom line: "The economy is resilient, people are spending money, just in different ways. We need to react to that in a dynamic way."  

Key Points

• How to make data driven decisions using macro economic and market data
• Consumer purchasing trends on-premise and off-premise (total spending away from home now exceeds at home spending)
• Labor and productivity data results and analysis

Resources

• Download Lester Jones' U.S. Economic Outlook and Beer Industry Trends
• Learn more about the beer wholesaler financial network

Today on the podcast we talk mergers and acquisitions and wholesaler consolidation with RJ Martucci from accounting firm PKF O'Connor Davies.

Key Points

• How to generate the maximum return on a sale
• Strategies to make the sale tax efficient
• State of mergers and acquisitions in the beer industry
• Primary motivations for sellers

Resources

• Learn more about PKF O'Connor Davies
• Get the free beer business finance newsletter

Today on the podcast we talk wholesaler mergers and acquisitions with Orman Anderson, CFO for Glazer's Beer and Beverage.

Orman is a former investment banker with Bear Stearns and JP Morgan, and has done multiple transactions as CFO for Glazers. So, this man knows his stuff.

In our conversation, we dig in on how Glazer's conducts it's acquisition due diligence, establishes valuations, and considers financing options.

If you're thinking of buying (or selling) your beer business, this podcast is for you.

Key Topics

• Valuation methods and multiples
• Best practices when using a broker
• How to finance an acquisition
• How to forecast and achieve consolidation synergies
• Purchase and sale agreement basics

Resources

• Connect with Orman Anderson on LinkedIn
• Join the network of beer professionals, the Beer Business Finance Association
• Get the free beer business finance newsletter 

In today's podcast we talk about the beer distributor health insurance captive with Natalie Witmyer from Bernie Little Distributors and Lee Anne Klas from BevCap.

Natalie shares how Bernie Little has benefitted from the captive with cost savings and improved benefits for employees.

Lee Anne tells us what a captive health insurance is, how it all works, and how distributors can use this approach to save money.

Key Topics

• Captive health insurance 101: Benefits, structure, keys to success
• Debunking common myths and misconceptions around captives (too much risk, one big claim can sink the ship)
• Natalie's advice for beer distributors who may be interested in a captive health insurance program

Resources

• Connect with Natalie Witmyer at Bernie Little Distributors, [email protected]
• Connect with Lee Anne Klas and learn more about BevNet and the beer distributor captive insurance group, [email protected]