New beer-flow kit could boost profits

Greene King is rolling out a high-tech beer-flow monitoring system, which it says could increase tenants' profits by "several thousands of pounds a...

Greene King is rolling out a high-tech beer-flow monitoring system, which it says could increase tenants' profits by "several thousands of pounds a year".

The company is the first national operator to roll out the "i-draught" system from Brulines. It is to be installed in 100 systems before Christmas and then rolled out further in the New Year.

I-daught lets tenants see key information such as the amount and speed of beer sold through a particular font, and temperature at the point of dispense.

"It gives them an insight into their trading patterns. They're able to identify easily when staff are most needed, the number of pints being given away and the amount of wastage from individual pints poured," said Greene King Pub Partners managing director David Elliott.

"This information will enable licensees to increase profits by several thousand pounds a year."

Tenants get a weekly report that breaks sales down into hourly slots to show busy and quiet periods, to help licensees plan staffing rotas.

Data on stock wastage can be compared to sales, so licensees can focus on areas for improvement, such as over-pouring or fobbing.

"It's all about making sure each pub gets the maximum number of saleable pints from a barrel," added Elliott.

Licensees who receive the new units will get specialist training from Brulines and Greene King.

Brulines sales director Clive Consterdine said: "Greene King has chosen i-draught and the roll out will allow us to work as a partnership to tailor the system and ensure the data delivers exactly the information they and their licensees need."