ISV: Dry Point Distillers

Challenge: Needed a point of sale to process transactions

Solution: Nobly EPOS

Products: Nobly EPOS, iPad, Heckler Windfall iPad Stand, Star’s TSP143III

Dry Point Distillers is a craft micro-distillery in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The company started as a hobby and evolved into a business that produces top-notch spirits and cocktails, served at a hickory bar in Dry Point’s small tasting room in Mesilla. The craft distiller produces spirits in tiny batches, all made by hand, incorporating local farm-to-table ingredients like honey mesquite pods, fresh red chile from the valley, and prickly pear fruits from local ditch banks.

Dry Point Distillers pays homage to its New Mexico roots, using locally sourced ingredients and naming its products and cocktails for the surrounding area, including Mesa Vodka, Monsoon Gin, and Dry Spell Bourbon Whiskey.

THE SITUATION

The father/son duo of Stefan and Chris Schaefer, a former fire fighter for the U.S. Forest Service, began producing spirits with only a fuel alcohol distilling permit and five-gallon pot still. With the help and guidance of his cousins from a nearby bar and distillery, Chris began experimenting with fermentable products to refine the process that would eventually become his business.

Although Chris and Stefan had honed their craft-spirit process and perfected it, the duo was new to running a business. Dry Point Distillers opened in October 2018 and immediately became a hot spot—it’s normal to see every seat filled in the 15-person tasting room. The small distillery also supplies wholesale products to local liquor stores and a second location is under consideration.

The Schaefers quickly recognized that a cash register wasn’t

going to give them the automation and functions they needed to process transactions, maintain accurate inventory counts, and track customers in the busy tasting room.

THE SOLUTION

Realizing they needed a point of sale system, Chris turned to the internet to find a company that could help them install a single terminal at the right price point. After researching several vendors, he found Nobly POS, a U.K.-based company with offices in the U.S., Uruguay, and Australia. The company focuses on point of sale solutions for small, independent businesses around the world, which made it the perfect fit for the Dry Point Distillery.

Nobly’s attractive, tablet-based solution includes the features the distillery was looking for, including CRM, inventory tracking, workforce management, onboarding, and support, minus the hefty price tag. After an online demo, the Schaefers felt confident enough to sign on the dotted line.

Dry Point Distillers’ new point of sale system includes Nobly EPOS, a cloud-based POS software solution designed for the hospitality industry, an Apple iPad, and a Heckler Windfall iPad Stand, a stylish but heavy steel enclosure that keeps the iPad secure. Nobly also supplied the Star Micronics TSP143III receipt printer.

The TSP143III series offers a simple and extremely reliable tether connection for iOS devices via USB connectivity, while simultaneously charging the device that it is connected to. The TSP143III uses the Apple Lightning cable for “plug and play” setup.

Nobly POS assisted the distillery owners with getting their database set up, entering inventory, and training the staff. The system was so simple, it took three hours for the owners to fully understand its features and only 30 minutes to train the staff.

THE RESULT

After several weeks with their new system, Dry Point Distillers has benefitted from newly streamlined operations, and labor and inventory management. The company’s staff is processing transactions faster and managing their inventory more effectively. Reviewing sales numbers and identifying the most popular shifts, drinks, and products is easy using the system’s reporting options. Back office tasks like payroll are faster with the system’s time clock and tip functions.

The Schaefers have been able to drastically reduce the amount of time spent counting bottles and merchandise, so they can focus on their spirits and the customers who stop by to enjoy a cocktail and taste the latest offerings.

“The solution allows us to follow a customer-centric business model and focus more of our attention on providing our customers with exceptional customer service.”