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- Digital Wine Ventures has partnered with Australia Post to launch its same day delivery of wine – Winedepot
- Winedepot is set to transform the global beverage market, reducing freight costs and delivery times
Digital Wine Ventures has partnered with Australia Post to launch Winedepot.
Winedepot is a specialised wine distribution platform aimed at servicing and transforming Australia’s multi-billion-dollar wine industry.
It will allow retailers to drop-ship orders directly to their customers from four depots in Australia. This will significantly reduce delivery times, freight costs and the possibility of breakages – making distribution much more efficient for everyone.
Digital Wine Ventures is the first company to try and digitally connect Australia’s $6 billion wine industry.
CEO Dean Taylor’s aim is to identify and invest in technology ventures that will digitally transform the global beverage market. Launching the Winedepot platform has been defined to do exactly that.
“What we are trying to provide is, I guess in many ways the fulfilment platform for the Wine Industry to provide that same level of service that Amazon does for its consumers,” Dean said.
Dean is no stranger to the wine business – he’s been at the centre of several heavy hitting wine startups including Wine Ark, Cracka Wines, and My Wine Guy.
Wine Ark was born 20 years ago and rapidly expanded under Dean’s management. Wine Ark is now Australia’s largest wine storage provider, and notable for offering climate controlled wine storage and inventory management services.
Whilst he modestly says attributes his initial success to being at the ‘right place at the right time,’ Dean’s vision and determination are what led to the success of Wine Ark and his seven other ventures including Winedepot.
Over the past decade, the wine industry has seen a shift in the way consumers purchase wine. Dean has recognised the infrastructure flaws in the wine industry such as lengthy, unreliable delivery and dated warehouses which are costly and lacking in technology.
“Australia produces $6 billion of wine each year. However, it’s just a small part of the $300+ billion global wine market. We believe that our platform has the potential to release an enormous amount of value not just here but globally,” he said.
Dean’s vision looks well beyond Australia’s shores. The CEO has his sights set on targeting the China market who reportedly face a similar wine supply chain issues Australia does.
Dean’s focus is to utilise the Winedepot platform in the China market to make it simpler, cheaper and easier for wine producers and retailers to fulfil customer orders and build long-lasting relationships.
Under the agreement, Winedepot will establish its first four depots within Australia Post’s existing distribution centres located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
“Our partnership with Winedepot provides the wine industry with a specialised distribution service that will not only save money but also improve the consumer delivery experience,” Head of Growth Products at Australia Post Paul Hersbach said.
Each depot will hold a range of suppliers’ inventory on consignment and can be accessed by sales channels. Orders will be made through the platform and routed to the depot closest to the delivery address. Here, they’ll be picked, packed and drop-shipped to the end customer.
“Every Australian consumer will soon expect fast and free delivery. Any business not offering the same will simply lose market share,” Dean said.
