Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/759555
december 2016 / the tasting panel / 73 can work with companies to keep portfolios up-to-date, assist with applications and resale certificates, consolidate customer information, build sample lists and quickly create customized materials to bring to a tasting. Sherman and his team also recently rolled out features to order directly through their system, along with mobile ordering, and features for importers and suppliers. "I used to comb through portfolios with a highlighter and ruler," laughs John Burns Paterson, Wine Director for Prime Meats, Frankies Spuntino 457 in Brooklyn and Frankies Spuntino 570 in Manhattan. "SevenFifty has completely changed how I run the wine program. Now, I will taste with a rep in the morning, go onto SevenFifty, jot down notes and save the list to shop off of later." Additionally, he notes how easily he can digest the information and how much time it saves him in a given day. While the SevenFifty team dealt with a lot of apprehension before the launch about how technology could hurt the rela- tionships this sector is based on, those who use it encounter quite the contrary. "We don't sell through deals," explains Ken Fredrickson, MS, founder of Tenzing Wine and Spirits. "We tell the story of the producers and take their story to marketplace—SevenFifty helps us do that. It allows us to be more visible to buyers, enables our sales guides to plan specifically for individual accounts and the feedback can be logged directly into the system. It's data at your fingertips." With all of this available information and ability to commu- nicate between the tiers, buyers and distributors can focus on the actual relationship instead of the tedious administra- tive work that has plagued each side for decades. It will have you saying "Finally!" quicker than you can find a listing in an old paper price book. JOHN BURNS PATERSON, Wine Director for Prime Meats, Frankies Spuntino 457 in Brooklyn and Frankies Spuntino 570 in Manhattan "SevenFifty changed how I run the wine program. I used to call distributors and get their answering machines to try to get product information and place orders. Now, I can easily comb through the database and see everything that is available and which sup- pliers have what—you can quickly link the products with their vendors. It has freed up time that I can now devote to those personal relationships with our 40 to 50 vendors." KEN FREDRICKSON, MS, founder of Tenzing Wine and Spirits "When I founded Tenzing, we wanted to be the best run small distributor, and we knew that relationships and being service minded are the keys to success. Because of this aspect, I was skeptical of SevenFifty at first, but now I pitch it hard wherever I go. Not only can we lever- age our existing relationships by having a smooth flow of communication, we have found new business from this super affordable platform. It also allows for transpar- ent reporting and tracking within a company, and the business functionality in terms of credit applications and license look-ups is great. The industry might be shy about technology, but we need it." What Users Are Saying "We saw the biggest issue in our industry as the lack of access to information," says Sherman, CEO of SevenFifty. "None of the basic product information, including pric- ing and who distributes, existed online. Our goal was to aggregate all of this info." MAGES COURTESY OF SEVENFIFTY