We own our own keg fleet, but we do not serialize kegs. I would like to be able to collect containers using the app as I am making deliveries even though they do not have barcodes and cannot be scanned.
The deliveries section of the app is great, but when I am completing a delivery, I cannot use the “Collect Containers” button, since that requires kegs to be scanned. I would like this button to give me the option of collecting a returned keg without the barcode.
More generally, the assumption that any returnable kegs we own are serialized is very limiting. Since we don’t serialize kegs, we are forced to use “non returnable containers” and this means we can’t have insights into where our kegs are, only how many have been filled. Adding serial numbers to our kegs would not solve our problem because our contract brewers do not log serial numbers when they fill kegs, so it would add an unpalatable amount of work for us to manage tracked containers.
It seems like there is no technical reason why a lot of the same functionality that is built into the existing “Tracked Containers” construct wouldn’t work with a fleet of “owned returnable” containers that isn’t serialized:
- Visualize how many containers are out in trade
- Report on how many containers any specific customer has
- Report on how many containers are in a specific location
- Collect returned containers on the mobile deilvery app
As an example: when I deliver a keg of beer to a bar, and they have an empty keg to return to me (or multiple empty kegs), I don’t care where that keg came from. I can see that it is my keg because it has my branding on it. I don’t care if it’s been sitting in their basement for a year, or if they got it from a different restaurant next door.
As another example: When I take kegs to my contract brewer to be filed, I bring them many kegs at the same time, which they store until ready to fill. They have many more kegs on hand than they need to complete any one racking run. They do not have barcode scanning capabilities and they do not have Breww. I don’t care which keg gets which beer because they are labeled with a keg collar. If I have to tell them which particular kegs to scan, that will slow everybody down significantly, and similarly, if I have to scan the number every keg when it shows up at my storage facility, that is infeasible.