Pick and crush grapes, let the juice ferment, then pour it into bottles. It’s easy to think nothing ever changes in winemaking, but the reality is very different. As reported in, “Libation Frontiers: A Deep Dive into the World Wine Industry,” while the overall market remains static, consumer tastes change quickly, as the rise in popularity of prosecco and rosé will attest. Interest in organic production is growing, which requires new certification schemes, labeling requirements differ from country to country, and there are new EU labeling regulations to contend with. In addition, the data that can be gathered from grape to glass has grown exponentially.
Viña Undurraga S.A is a Chilean winemaking business that’s been in existence well over a century. From 2,500 acres in some of Chile’s best and most productive winemaking regions, they produce 18 million liters of wine each year. Their challenge is to keep adapting to industry changes and constantly evolving customer requirements. As the leadership team sees things, they have to optimize and automate every aspect of the business, which is why they turned to cloud-based ERP from QAD.
Manufacturing Challenges
Winemaking is a seasonal business, so the top priority at Viña Undurraga is to optimize their use of production capacity. Grapes can only be harvested when they are ready, so capacity management is a particular challenge when Mother Nature is involved in the scheduling.
As Viña Undurraga exports 70% of their production it’s important they stay abreast of labeling requirements in each market they serve. And to complicate matters, there’s an increasing need to operate “track and trace” systems for complete traceability throughout the supply chain. The growth of wine counterfeiting further underscores the need to document the provenance of every bottle.
Resource utilization and cost management were additional concerns. Viña Undurraga endeavors to measure consumption of every ingredient and the performance of every machine, but this cost tracking is only of value once turned into actionable intelligence.
These issues are best summed up in a single phrase: management needed real-time visibility into every aspect of their business. That’s why they turned to QAD.
End-to-End Coverage
As detailed in our Viña Undurraga S.A. case study, QAD was chosen for its ability to address unique vineyard management and wine production requirements. The solution that was implemented addresses the entire winemaking process, from cleaning of vineyards at the end of one cycle to the harvest of the next.
Labor tracking was a high priority, and as their CFO comments, “This is a complex process that includes the sprouting, counting and harvesting of the grapes.”
The ERP solution begins with the process of receiving grapes and follows them through pressing to the delivery of bulk wine for bottling. It manages mixing, required materials and costs, additives and labor costs.
Smooth Implementation
Viña Undurraga management was very hands-on in the structured implementation process. As the CFO told us, “Both our agricultural and winemaking managers were involved…and with each upgrade, we have adopted a process of continuous improvement and integration of the newest features.”
One important factor in achieving a smooth ERP implementation was that the QAD solution didn’t require any changes in how people worked. Instead, it felt natural and completely changed their view of IT systems for the better.
Increased Flexibility and Agility
QAD has improved visibility into production in the vineyards, and of the quality of wine produced. In the words of the CFO, “This has given us the ability to make better decisions about managing vineyards based on the varieties and quantities, ultimately producing higher quality wines for a better price.”
Check out the full case study for more information on how QAD improved visibility into wine production for this quality winemaker.
