The Client, a leading U.S. brewer with a national distribution footprint, faced rising transportation costs, operational complexity, and capacity pressure across two brewery locations. At the time, their network delivered approximately 400,000 barrels annually to distributors, yet long-haul shipments from the western brewery to Midwest markets were creating structural cost inefficiencies. At the same time, the Client needed to preserve freshness, service levels, and production flexibility while determining whether additional volume could be shifted to a lower-cost brewery without disrupting operations.
First Key conducted a detailed brewery network optimization analysis supported by site-level operational assessments. We evaluated plant capability, available capacity, distributor locations, route mileage, transportation rates, shipping patterns, and SKU transfer requirements. First Key developed and validated network models to identify which distributors could be served more economically from the eastern brewery and tested whether the proposed changes were operationally feasible. The recommended network redesign reduced logistics costs while maintaining product freshness, preserving service levels, and creating additional flexibility for growth.
• Total annual transportation costs were projected to decrease by approximately $550,000, representing a 12% reduction in network transport costs.
• The analysis identified an opportunity to shift approximately 17,000 barrels of annual production to the lower-cost eastern brewery.
• Twenty-four distributors were recommended for reassignment to a lower-cost source of supply.
• Total route miles were projected to decline by approximately 145,000 miles annually, improving network efficiency and supporting scalable growth.
