Established in Napa Valley, California in 2002, today Benchmark Wine Group (BWG) is one of the leading buyers of fine wines in the US, and one of the largest wine retailers by dollar value. With a particular focus on rare and hard-to-get wines, they supply other retailers, restaurants and private collectors all around the world. We spoke with David Parker, their CEO, to understand how Liv-ex has helped them do this more efficiently.
Need: New ways to source wine
For many years, Benchmark Wine Group used the Liv-ex platform to acquire a broader range of wines, especially European wines and recent releases which can be hard to source locally.
Liv-ex, the global marketplace for the fine wine trade, has over $100 million of buying opportunities for 20,000 different wines and spirits across the world. All members trade anonymously with 630+ other merchants spread over 47 different countries.
However, as a technology-driven business, BWG wanted an even more efficient way to trade.
Solution: Automation - the most efficient way to source wine
By connecting their e-commerce website with Liv-ex, BWG were able to offer their customers direct access to the global fine wine marketplace. The business could now buy wines being offered on Liv-ex, with prices ranging from $40 to $20,000 per bottle, without having to hold stock and tie up capital. They could do this with confidence and safely because Liv-ex guarantees the condition and availability of stock. The wines are committed to the client as soon as they place an order.
”“When buying on Liv-ex, you have guaranteed stock. We can offer more products to our clients than we have in our physical inventory.”
David ParkerCEO, Benchmark Wine Group (BWG)
David views Liv-ex as a natural extension of his philosophy: “To deal in rare wine, which has limited availability, you must be highly automated and efficient to get hold of it in the first place. You must also be certain you do have it before offering it to your clients. Liv-ex helps us to do both.” BWG also use price data APIs to quickly and easily get trusted Liv-ex data into their internal system, and to have the ability to act fast when opportunities arise.
”“Finding the product at the right price is ¾ of the job. If you find it right, you can sell right.”
David ParkerCEO, Benchmark Wine Group (BWG)
Besides automation, BWG have also matched their products to LWINs, the universal language for wine and spirits. This helps them better understand and trade within the universe of possible collectible wines.
Results: An extra $100,000 worth of wine sourced a month
Today, around 70-80% of their trades on the platform are automated.
After adopting automation, BWG now source wine for over $100,000 per month
”“I am now sourcing more than $100,000 worth of wine a month from Liv-ex, and this is growing at a rate of 20-30% per month.”
David ParkerCEO, Benchmark Wine Group (BWG)
Not only has this helped BWG source wine more efficiently, but their customers also value the wider selection of wines Liv-ex provides.
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