Wirtz Beverage Group
Driving operational efficiency and business performance at Wirtz Beverage Group.
Wirtz Beverage Group, a division of Chicago-based Wirtz Corporation, is one of the leading alcohol beverage distributors in the country. Comprised of a staff of more than 3000 employees, Wirtz Beverage is a multi-state distributor of wine, beer and spirits and ranks in the top tier of distributors nationwide.
In a consolidating industry, Wirtz Beverage has successfully adapted by finding innovative approaches to meeting the industry demands. With a clear vision, the Company is dedicated to adding value to its luxury supplier partners, to meeting the needs of its customers, to protecting the integrity of the three-tier system, and to promoting a community mission of encouraging responsible consumption of alcohol beverage products.
Customer Challenge
The Company’s holdings have grown significantly over the past half century through acquisitions and it currently counts 9 distributors, each with multi-location operations. These distributors operate as individual entities, and as a result, struggle to maximize the potential synergies and best practices that would generate increased performance and revenues for the Company.
Solution
The Company needed to unite its operations, to better improve its communications between the state entities, and to drive increased operational efficiencies and performance within each state. Company executives turned to McKinney Rogers. Previously, the executive team from the Company’s Illinois operations had worked with the consulting group following major industry realignment, and recognized that the McKinney Rogers approach of turning strategy into action was critical for success. “McKinney Rogers is not a team of consultants who come, work on the project and leave. They are passionate about their work and are committed until their customer is satisfied,” Wirtz Beverage Group President Rocky Wirtz explained.
Wirtz Beverage operates in a highly competitive industry environment where a few strong players control the majority of the distribution. Together, McKinney Rogers and Wirtz Beverage determined that to elevate the Company’s positioning in the marketplace, the numerous state distributors would have to work together and grow as a single entity, rather than as isolated silos of success. Through the partnership, Wirtz Beverage and McKinney Rogers jointly developed a series of missions for each leader and operational function, directed by high-performing teams that would align and streamline the Company’s nationwide operations. Specific deliverables included the implementation of a common IT system, establishing state-by-state objectives, analyzing replicable best practices, and developing an online ordering system to add efficiencies to the distribution process.
“Making good decisions and making them happen quickly are the hallmarks of high-performing organizations. The Company needed to improve its organizational effectiveness in order to implement better coordination and quicker response times.” Wirtz commented.
Results
A unified Wirtz Beverage Group corporate team was formed at the Company’s annual strategic conference to serve as a support function for all distributors. The corporate team, led by a senior vice president, is charged with driving integration, establishing innovation and cultivating industry partnerships. Each of the state operations plays a part in this holistic vision and is under the leadership of a senior vice president in charge of driving performance and overseeing the uniformity of activities. Finally, an operating committee was created, which gathers monthly to review and drive the alignment of all operations. This collaborative oversight allows all of the team members to focus 100% on their respective missions.
“Wirtz Beverage Group became more decisive—and can implement strategy more quickly—as they now know where the bottlenecks are and who’s empowered to break through them. They know how to make the right decisions quickly and effectively, and execute them consistently,” noted Damian McKinney, McKinney Rogers CEO.
Of all of the outcomes from the partnership, the numbers speak the loudest. In only one year, the Company underwent great structural change which led, in part, to double-digit growth in profits. Wirtz Beverage Group projections remain positive for the years ahead. “Thanks to our improved organizational development we are confident that we can deliver the performance we have forecast in our strategic plan and remain a national industry leader,” commented Wirtz.