By Insight Editor / 16 Dec 2020 / Topics: Customer experience Intelligent edge Digital transformation
The service industry has experienced profound transformation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this TechTalk, Jeff Dodge, director of Digital Innovation solutions at Insight, and Michael Chisnell, co-owner of Ignite Brewing, discuss how their organizations collaborated to leverage technology to create new customer experiences.
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Audio transcript:
Published December 16, 2020
(upbeat music)
JEFF
Hello, and welcome to a special episode of Insight TechTalk. I'm Jeff Dodge, Director of Digital Innovation at Insight. We're sitting down today with Michael Chisnell, co-owner of Ignite Brewing and featured CXO for winter issue of the Insight Tech Journal.
Welcome, Michael.
MICHAEL
Thank you, Jeff. Glad to be here.
JEFF
Now we always love doing these TechTalks, particularly we can bring clients on to talk about our partnership together. Insight and Ignite have been working together for many months pre-COVID on developing and deploying IoT tools that can help maximize your customer's experience, your customer's safety, that maximizing the value in the product that you produce. So really excited to actually talk publicly here and be able to share these stories with the public.
I have some questions I thought we could jump into.
MICHAEL
Sure thing.
JEFF
So unlike like most retailers, I’m really excited to have heard from you that generally in food and beverage it's been challenging throughout COVID and throughout this pandemic, but you've actually experienced growth during the pandemic, which is I mean, just fantastic.
What would you say has contributed to the success and how has technology played a role in that growth?
MICHAEL
A lot of luck, a lot of late nights and a lot of great partners and phenomenal team members is the answer to that question across the whole spectrum.
Going back through kind of the history of our COVID journey, if you will, the first of the year, we have family members that live in Vietnam and Italy and things of that nature. And getting boots on the ground experience from what's happening overseas. Being able to take that information, during my day job I serve as the chief investment officer for my firm. And so, doing a lot of analysis and understanding what's going on in the market, what's going on in the global economy as a whole we're able to thankfully get that feedback to say, this is pretty significant. And the data's really kind of starting to build here. So, we were able to really ramp up a lot of components specifically on inverting our business plan. We had a business plan where we were not going to hit the grocery stores until later on in two, three, four years with our canned products. So, getting packaging ramped up in 2020 and making a bunch of strategic plan pivots.
So, backing up to March, we were shut down by the governor. So, no onsite, on-premises consumption and having craft beer with community is what it's literally all about. So, coming and experiencing our brewery, our taproom and experiencing not only the product but the conversation and the other customers and engagement really makes a lot of changes. So, we've had to invert a lot of things. We had to make a ton of strategic pivots. We ramped up a website in 36 hours so that we could do online delivery, home delivery, dialed in, later that week. A lot of big changes on just the daily experience.
So, we were shut down for a little over two months and getting engaged with how do we get back up and running? We doubled the size of our patio. So, we were fortunate enough to have over 5,000 square feet of outdoor patio space. We were able to secure a bunch of ingredients and other things, but the one of the big plays and one of the big components was how do we make this place safer for our guests? And that's where the technology component and the engagement with Insight came into play in a big way.
So, lots of fun stuff, COVID curtains all over the place and barriers and tons of hand sanitizing training and all of the like. So, lots of fun stuff on that front. That was a kind of a big overview if you will. But the big takeaway there was dialing into that Connected Platform with Insight played a big role as we got fully opened back up, it was really helpful.
JEFF
Well, it's just amazing to think you’re closed for two months and we all are trying to take care of each other, our loved ones but really the community at large. So amazing to come back from two months of being legitimately closed and then being able to actually grow the business. That's just amazing, Michael, truly.
MICHAEL
Well, we we've taken this pretty seriously and we've put a lot of work behind it and our team has really helped out of course, our partnership going back pre COVID with Insight, really helpful in being a good thought partner there. The how we can try to continue to help prevent the spread of this disease. Can't control everything but certainly our partnerships been able to help influence some things.
JEFF
Yeah, it's funny, so prior to 2020, I mean I don't think most people think of a brewery as being this high-tech Mecca, but I think the beauty of technology is when you don't really notice it, when it does sort of melt away, but it still facilitates those outcomes, that safety outcome. What, what did technology look like at the brewery, night brewing prior to 2020? What did your IT department look like?
MICHAEL
Well, we're fortunate enough to have one of the team members who lives his life as a software engineer, software architect. So, we have a very strong tech background on our team thankfully. In addition to that, our ownership team, the six partners, tech is a big component of our day jobs and we've of all in different ways, shapes and forms interfaced with the technology component.
And one of my big components, one of my big challenges I travel a ton for work and not 2020. Right now, we do zoom calls, video calls, etc. So, I travel all day long and I'm going airport gate to airport gate. And if I can't run the business from my cell phone I'm not doing something right, is kind of a personal challenge to our team members on the day job front and at the brewery and needing to be able to monitor how are things going in the taproom? How are things going in the brewing area for production purposes? How are we doing with books and records and things of that nature. If I need to source something through Microsoft SharePoint or whatever the case may be I need to be able to access that through my cell phone. I'm not sitting in front of a laptop all the time or sitting at a desk. So, getting that insight is critical. And another component to that philosophy is what I fight all day long. So, we're all trying to battle scarcity and econ 101 tells you that the solution to scarcity is maximize resources and seek innovation. So, we have to seek that innovation in order to get more out of our equipment, get more out of our team members and create a better experience for everybody.
So those are some of the big philosophical components that how do we run it from the cell phone and how do we maximize our resources? And those were two big drivers to our IT philosophy. So IOT was already in play. We were already doing some things in the monitoring of beverage coolers and things of that nature. And certainly, as we've discussed with your team as we're bringing on the kitchen front how do we monitor to make sure that we're staying in compliance on the food side? So those items that have certain warming temperature ranges and things of that nature. How do we make sure that we're not required to be onsite, on property 24 hours a day in order to create that great experience and stay compliant? So, and then of course COVID comes along and we certainly go down the path of monitoring other things. (laughing)
JEFF
Yeah, I think we're all hearing reports. And I think everyone, the general consensus is that the pandemic COVID-19 is accelerated lots of changes, societal, but in technology as well, by the way that we conduct ourselves and obviously the brewery was no different.
We've been working together as you touched on before and implementing Insights connected platform to help with just some of those things exactly as you just said. What were some of the biggest aha moments as we went through that process or deploy those tools, you start to be able to access them on your phone, wherever you might be whether it's home or in transfer or whatever it might be, what were some of the biggest aha moments for you?
MICHAEL
Couple of them. Apparently baseball hats can get pretty hot. So, baseball hats sitting in the sun and as customers are coming up front and ordering and things of that nature. Seeing those false positives. The table sitting in the background and how we need to make sure that we're positioning for these thermal imaging cameras and things of that nature to work most effectively. And then frankly, one of the biggest ahas was the question from customers as we started to discuss and introduce that. Some of our closest customers, we're getting feedback on this is one of the only places we go to and that's a great deal of weight on our shoulders. When someone tells you that this is the only place that they're leaving their own kind of isolation is to come down to a night brewing company and have a beverage, because we're following the compliance, all the guidelines and making sure everything's spaced out and the tables are outside and et cetera, etc. etc.. Okay, well that's a long-time customer we want to make sure that they continue to feel safe. Also let's introduce them to the fact that we have this thermal imaging camera that's able to help quietly privately monitor temperatures to detect any issues that exist there.
So, you're doing that cautiously because maybe people don't feel great about that. The biggest aha was so many people were asking the question, why aren't more people doing this? How come this isn't in our schools? How come this isn't at major universities or grocery stores or other retailers? Why aren't the mall's doing this? When we're putting this up and you're coming up to order your beer and getting your temperature read and confirming that we're comfortable to be out in public for one of the many potential warning signs, it just enhanced our customers confidence that we were taking it serious with the barriers and all the physical things that you could visibly see, but very quietly and in the background making sure that our desks are healthy and all those things.
And so, from that another aha moment, if you will, would be, not to puff up your team but you guys did a phenomenal job on the rollout. The fact that we were able to Microsoft teams and sweep the cameras around and show you guys where things are positioned and where we're thinking, and you're able to get visible understanding of the environment that this camera technology is coming to be installed in, and then boots on the ground execute, deploy. You guys did a phenomenal job. So wasn't sure what it was going to take to get this done. And you guys exceeded any and all expectations there. So, thank you.
JEFF
Well, thank you for that.
It is interesting that you touched on the thermal camera use case, and you talked about customers saying this is the only place I go. It really is about trust. So, you you've earned their trust prior and now you're continuing to earn it by deploying these sorts of tools. I think that's just amazing. And we hear that. Many clients are starting to roll these out. So, we're starting to see them more and more. But the thermal cameras being able to sense for that temperature, one of many symptoms of infection. And then we've talked a little bit about being able to monitor the temperature in the backroom and in the brewing station, the brewing area. So, we're really excited to have multiple use cases deployed with you now. I think that's been one of the most exciting things for us is to work through various use cases, both that are pandemic related but just normal operations related. That's been really interesting as well.
MICHAEL
Everyone prefers the normal operations that's for sure. (laughing)
JEFF
I’m aware that you guys, you just enjoyed your second anniversary in September. So, when you think about even more broadly, thinking about 10 sensing, like you said you need to know what's happening in the brewery, not just related to the pandemic but normal course of operations, any lessons you want to share over the last two years in business for other small and commercial business owners?
MICHAEL
As always make sure that the team is aware of the numbers, document, monitor, be wise, seek good counsel. Those are critical, critical components. You're invested in the long game. So, making sure that you're making the right decisions and those right decisions have to include making sure that your team is well aware of their explicit roles and responsibilities. How can your team, the old saying of right seats in the right bus. We want to make sure your team members are in the right spots and they know exactly what they're supposed to get done. Do not in any way, shape or form expect to accomplish it all yourself. If you have that clear vision of that future objective that you're trying to accomplish your team comes right along quite nicely. And actually, your team doesn't come along, your team pushes you to continually grind and push hard to achieve those long-term goals and objectives.
So, your team's invested and they want success here. So, they want to see the entity thrive. And so, making sure that you're spending the right time with your people pays dividends, you won't understand until well into the future. So, we're grateful. We're grateful for our team, for sure. And the ownership of the team and making sure that our entity continues to deliver phenomenal experiences day in and day out, both on the manufacturing front, as well as on the customer engagement front, it's fantastic. And they make us better hands down. So certainly, make sure that you're doing that, make sure that you're maximizing those resources of course and seek that innovation. Leverage the tools and technologies that exist.
JEFF
I couldn't agree more. It really is all about team. Totally agree, rings a hundred percent true for me as well. And that's why it's great to have great partners like you. I think Insights made a real point over the last 30 years in business of being that sort of holistic like one-stop IOT partner or technology partner. You've touched on our ability to deploy. We were really pleased to partner with you to be able to bring all of those to bear.
When you think about the future of Ignite Brewing, what do you see as technology in terms of playing a role in your business in the future?
MICHAEL
More and more. There are so many data points to monitor. There are so many items, how can we turn a higher quality product faster? And so, tank monitoring. And if we're on the dream board if we're able to monitor what is the current temperature of the fermenter? But not only that, where are we at in the fermentation cycle? And then trip over to automatically controlling the turn on a cold cycle so that we start dropping yeast and dropping into that next phase. There's so many cool components there. And then there's different CO2 monitoring that that can happen both in our cold room where our beer is stored, but also through and near the fermentation vessels themselves.
So, there are so many data points and so many items that the more we have that access and information, the more that we have good inventory controls, the better we can play like the big guys, if you will. And the only way that we an entity our size can continue to compete and identify those profit opportunities down the road is to play bigger than we are today. From the standpoint of look, we're doing inventory controls we're doing ingredient monitoring, we're doing costing analysis and modeling of that nature. We can get to a better margin. We can get to a better product and again continue to push upstream.
And then in the kitchen front doing better monitoring of all of our ingredients and things of that nature. So, there's a wide variety of use cases and things that the IOT components that can help us from an inventory, capturing, monitoring, improving costing analysis. We expected to use this many pounds of grains or hops or whatever. Having that data at our fingertips allows us to, to negotiate better contracts in the years ahead.
JEFF
We're obviously excited to keep partnering with you. The Connected Platform is designed so that it could be rapidly deployed and then continue to extend into all those use cases you just described. When you think about 2021, are there any goals or resolutions you want to share with our viewers?
MICHAEL
My goal is to stop wearing my mask every time I'm out in public, but society's wellbeing will navigate that objective. Our team continuing to get better with the tools and resources we have, continuing to push up market, getting into more retailers is becoming a new goal for us so that we can deliver our product to where the consumer is most conveniently shopping. That's certainly one of the big objectives and how do we continue to enhance the safety? And most importantly the experience of our guests, getting beyond 2021, just getting beyond the COVID experience. How do we continue to leverage the technology we have to create a good experience? The thermal imaging with the flu season can even help detect and prevent that item. So there there's so many other use cases that exist. How do we make sure that we have a healthy experience for our guests, but enhance that experience in total?
JEFF
I think a lot of us share those goals. So hopefully if it matters that everyone has aligned goals, well hopefully we'll be successful. Michael, thank you so much for your time today. Ignite Brewing is a trailblazer in technology and in the industry. I can't wait to see what happens in 2021. And in particular, I can't wait to share a cold one with you in person as soon as possible.
MICHAEL
Amen, thank you Jeff.
JEFF
Thank you, have a great one.
MICHAEL
You too.
Director, Digital Innovation Solutions
With a rare zest for rallying cross-functional teams behind bold ideas, Jeff uses 18 years of industry experience to help clients leverage digital disruption opportunities. Jeff engages high-impact teams with skills spanning cloud, mobility, the IoT and beyond. These teams stretch across a handful of tech generations — from cobalt to cloud — offering a unique perspective on the evolution and future of technology. With an emphasis on continuous improvement, they work alongside clients in a virtuous cycle of testing, iterating and innovating.
Co-owner of Ignite Brewing Company
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