Ponzi Vineyards

Drives Business With Sage 300 ERP

Now in its second generation of family ownership, Ponzi Vineyards produces 15,000 cases of wine each year from 100 acres of vineyard. With five different vineyards and 24 different jobs in each vineyard, tracking costs associated with vineyard tasks can get quite complex. Ponzi relies heavily on its accounting system to gather all the detailed information needed to price wines both profitably and competitively.

“Our Sage 300 ERP* accounting system worked well for 15 years—and continued to do so,” says Michel Ponzi, owner of Ponzi Vineyards. “But we wanted to improve our operation in several areas in ways that just could not be achieved under DOS. The most efficient point- of-sale systems, for example, were Windows®-based—and even more important, to create a presence on the web would have been extremely complex without Sage 300 ERP.”

Sage 300 ERP: An Easy Choice
Ponzi evaluated several other accounting solutions that were designed specifically for wineries and found that “while they did some individual tasks well, such as barrel or vineyard management, they did not offer an end-to-end, fully integrated solution that handled every phase of accounting from the vineyard right through to our retail and web stores.” Even the generalized accounting solutions, Ponzi learned, did not offer the comprehensive approach that Sage 300 ERP did with its integrated point-of-sale solution.

After his research, Ponzi’s decision to move up to Sage 300 ERP was simple. “It was clear to us that Sage 300 ERP still leads the industry for functionality, features, performance, flexibility ease of use, and cost-effectiveness,” says Ponzi.

Faster Point of Sale Streamlines Customer Service
One of the benefits that Ponzi appreciated about Sage 300 ERP was the availability of its best-of-breed point-of-sale solution developed specifically for a retail environment. “One of our goals in upgrading to a Windows-based accounting system was to streamline transactions in our retail stores,” Ponzi says. “With our older DOS application it could take two to three minutes to make a sale, and we knew we had to cut this down significantly or risk losing customers. With Sage 300 ERP, transactions now take less than 15 seconds— both customer satisfaction and sales have increased dramatically.”

Challenge
Ponzi Vineyards needed to launch a web store, speed transactions in its retail outlets, and gain comprehensive end- to-end control over all steps in the wine production process.

Solution
Sage 300 ERP provides Ponzi Vineyards with the tools to effectively streamline customer service, increase its web presence, and monitor customer loyalty.

Results
Sage 300 ERP online helps the winery have control over its business processes, improve customer satisfaction, and boost sales within six months of web store launch.

Web Store Boosts Sales
Ponzi Vineyards has also boosted sales through implementation of a web store hosted at Sage 300 ERP. Sage 300 ERP enabled Ponzi to establish its web store quickly and easily. And with Sage 300 ERP hosting its website, Ponzi did not incur any capital expense to launch its web store. Equally important, the company does not face the challenges of maintaining and administering the web store within a secure and reliable environment.

“We wanted to be represented on the web as a real business, with real product, professional presentations, and reliable access to current inventory data,” Ponzi says. “Sage 300 ERP lets us achieve those goals.”

Customer Tracking Increases Customer Loyalty
Ponzi Vineyards even uses its accounting solution to track customer sales and increase customer loyalty. “A record of every customer who purchases our wine, whether in our retail outlets, our web store, or over the telephone is stored in Sage 300 ERP,” Ponzi explains. “This lets us deliver personalized attention to a growing number of repeat customers, giving them the service they deserve.” Ponzi relies on customer tracking to provide its very best customers with VIP treatment, such as winery tours, wine-tasting dinners, or discounts.

A Firm Grip on the Entire Company
All of these benefits add up to peace of mind and improved business process management. “The most important success that Sage 300 ERP has delivered to me is better control over the company,” Ponzi says. “I come to work in the morning and know that the reports I need will be ready and accurate so I always have a firm grip on what’s happening all over the company. I feel like I’m able to see the entire company better than I did before, and this is particularly important as we continue to grow.”