CARMEL, Ind.–SteadyServ Technologies (www.SteadyServ.com), an emerging technology company, announces the iKegÔäó system, a mobile, SaaS-based inventory management solution for the beer industry. SteadyServ is now accepting partnership agreements with beer distributors and pre-orders from retailers, which sell draft, as well as, bottled and canned beer. iKeg accurately measures and reports the real-time inventory of draft kegs and automates the order and fulfillment process for draft beer, as well as, bottled and canned beer as well.
“Our industry has been doing business the same way for a very long time. Until the emergence of technologies such as SteadyServ, which provides several new approaches to the distribution and customer relationship processes”
“Beer sold in retail establishments accounts for a 21 billion dollar industry, yet the industry still relies on the inaccurate process of ‘shaking the keg’ — the same method used since the inception of the product,” says co-founder and CEO, Steve Hershberger. “Not only do bars, restaurants and distributors lose millions of dollars each year on this guesswork, but beer-drinking consumers are frustrated with being denied their favorite beers due to poor inventory management. SteadyServ will alleviate this archaic process at every point in the supply chain to forever change the way beer is distributed and consumed.”
SteadyServ enters the market with the nation’s premium brands in support, including a leading American Brewer, in initial collaboration with its corporate Innovations Team. Additionally, SteadyServ is rolling out the iKeg system in partnership with distributors such as Monarch Beverage, located in Indiana, which is the largest single-location distributor in the United States and Premium Beverage Distribution in Ohio.
“Our industry has been doing business the same way for a very long time. Until the emergence of technologies such as SteadyServ, which provides several new approaches to the distribution and customer relationship processes,” said John Xenos, General Manager of Monarch Beverage.
The iKeg system is comprised of three parts — the hardware, software and mobile app. The hardware combines a removable sensor ring attached to the bottom of the keg and a corresponding RFID tag. Once the tag is scanned, the cloud-based software receives the data from the sensor, tracking how much beer remains, type of beer, age and when it was delivered. This information is then paired with how much safety stock remains, the next delivery date, previous order information, event information, and past and future beer consumption trends.
Both distributors and retailers use the mobile app as a way to easily access information, manage settings, and oversee the entire inventory ordering process. Consumption data is tracked to provide retailers details about its customer base, which beers are selling best in the area, and which taps will give them the best return. iKeg uses M2M (machine-to-machine) communication technologies to ensure the system is secure, reliable, and highly scalable. Setup and systems management is simple and uses its own secure wireless network to incorporate high-level security to ensure distributor and retailer orders and information systems cannot be compromised.
iKeg also provides a set of robust embedded social media tools retailers can use to promote current inventory via social media channels such as pushing out a message every time a new keg is tapped, how many pints of a popular draft is left, etc., communicating information that was previously unshared with patrons.
SteadyServ is now taking pre-orders from distributors and retailers. For more information about SteadyServ, or to pre-order the iKeg system, visit http://www.steadyserv.com.
About SteadyServ
Headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, SteadyServ was founded in 2012 by Steve Hershberger and Steve Kremer. CEO Hershberger, an experienced software and technology entrepreneur, has assembled a strong team with extensive experience in software design and engineering, craft brewery marketing and operations, hardware engineering and manufacturing, mobile technology, finance, and business operations.