What 180 days at Proof 8 has taught me about modern distillery management

By Stuart Maxwell, ex-William Grant & Sons, former Maturation Lead and Proof 8's Head of Product

Six months ago, I left a decade at William Grant & Sons to join Proof 8, a technology company on a mission to digitalise the whisky industry. I’d realised that all the tech companies claiming to support whisky were not innovating fast enough or providing a good enough, or cost-effective, service. Proof 8 is unlike anyone else in that regard. We provide the blueprint for smart spirits businesses operating in a world that now demands digital traceability. The distilleries and warehouses we work with refuse to settle for “that’s how we’ve always done it”. They’re using technology to reshape our industry’s future and it’s exciting to see.

These are the five things that have struck me most in my first 180 days getting under the skin of distillery and warehouse management software.

Real-time tracking beats spreadsheets every time

I used to spend a good amount of time manually cross-referencing different 

 files because someone updated the wrong cell. Frustrating.

This is the reality for many craft distilleries or bonded warehouses still running on legacy systems and paper records. Static spreadsheets simply break down, especially as you scale.

By logging data such as ABV, temperature, flow rates, cask location and reguages instantly via our Explorer interface, you eliminate entry errors and unlock predictive analytics. That’s more time optimising, less time fixing problems. Win win.

Digital Deeds have changed whisky cask ownership

Paper-based delivery orders are on their way out.

aired and brought the very real risk of fraudulent whisky casks to everyone’s attention. It spurred on the need to find a viable, modern alternative. This is where 

There’s simply nothing else out there that can provide the same absolute assurance of provenance, location and ownership like Digital Deeds. Blockchain-based digital records that are tamper-proof and stay with a cask for its lifetime. They’ve been embraced by warehousekeepers, whisky brokers and cask owners and are changing the face of whisky ownership today.

Automated HMRC, Irish Revenue and TTB reporting saves serious time (and headaches)

By automating HMRC, Irish Revenue and TTB filings you free up at least two days a month and slash manual entry errors to zero.

This reporting is built specifically for spirits, pulling live data from across your entire operation, and organising it in HMRC, Irish Revenue or TTB standard reporting formats.

HMRC compliance means there’s built-in due diligence checks with Sumsub identity verification and there’s integration with all financial systems whether you’re using QuickBooks, Xero, or other ERP platforms.

Recipe Builder for batch for batch consistency

Many distilleries face the challenge of maintaining consistency in production.

So, we designed and recently introduced the Proof 8 Recipe Builder feature. We’ve seen the impact this feature can have at distilleries like 

, where we’ve mapped every step of their unique process to ensure consistency batch for batch, across every unique recipe. This was crucial as they embarked on their own-make journey as a relatively new Irish Whiskey distillery.

. It has a flexible drag-and-drop system for capturing distillery-specific processes from milling, mashing, fermenting and distilling. I’ve personally overseen its rollout and seen the reaction when distillers see their paper SOP come to life online. Also, when they realise that all production data from each batch can be easily interrogated through the Explorer feature, and appears in widgets on our central dashboard - teams can find the data they need in no time at all and get easy access to reports.

Flexible workflows adapt to each distillery or warehouse’s needs

Distilleries and warehouses don’t all run the same way, so flexibility in digital workflows is essential.

We let customers configure their system to best suit their needs with pre-built widgets rather than generic templates. There are built-in authorisation steps too which means nothing is committed without proper approval.

We prioritise ease-of-use. We make it a rule not to over-complicate things. Because of this, we can quickly and easily embed the platform into day-to-day operations and the benefits come almost straight away. We’re on hand for any teething problems as you’d expect, and to learn how people use our systems so we can continually improve and introduce new features that make things even better in the future.

One final thought on all this. Change in any industry can feel daunting. With the support of intuitive tools designed specifically for your needs, and a knowledgeable and experienced team behind them (and in your corner), it can feel very possible. The goal isn’t to rush into huge sweeping changes, but to make considered decisions on how technology can genuinely improve your day-to-day.

I see it all the time. How businesses gain real competitive advantage because of the systems they have in place that allow them to focus on what really matters. It truly can be transformative.

"I’d realised that all the tech companies claiming to support whisky were not innovating fast enough or providing a good enough, or cost-effective, service. Proof 8 is unlike anyone else in that regard."

Platform

Marketplace

Connected Products Coming soon

About

Team

Careers

Five lessons I've learnt for modern whisky distillery management

Five lessons I've learnt for modern whisky distillery management

More from Proof 8

Platform

Marketplace

Connected Products Coming soon

About

Team

Careers

Five lessons I've learnt for modern whisky distillery management

More from Proof 8

Five hallmarks of Scotch Whisky production

Digital innovation & sustainability converge at Ahascragh Distillery

Getting started with Digital Deeds

Join the conversation