E-commerce

WineDepot expands to Melbourne, buys distributor Parton

WineDepot Market has launched its direct-to-trade platform in Melbourne – and sealed a deal to acquire Parton Wine Distribution.  

After serving venues and retail outlets across Sydney since May, the subsidiary of ASX-listed Digital Wine Ventures has already brought on board more than 400 brands. WineDepot CEO Dean Taylor said local customers are responding positively to the proposition.

“The evolution of the wine distribution model in Australia is long overdue. Technology has brought vast changes in the way we produce wine and sell to consumers, but in the middle, supply chains and wholesaling are still plagued by inefficiency,” he said.

WineDepot describes itself as an integrated trading, logistics and payment solution designed to streamline wine and beverage distribution. The direct-to-wholesale marketplace allows suppliers to list their products for sale on consumer marketplaces such as Amazon, Ebay and Vivino and provides a smart logistics solution allowing suppliers to fulfill orders from various depots, to allow same- and next-day delivery to most capital cities. In addition, an online ERP system allows suppliers to manage orders, inventories and technology integrations and offers a payment management solution through which suppliers can offer customers credit terms yet get paid three days after sale. 

“The chance to move more of their wine purchasing to a single platform, with a single invoice and single credit account, has been highly attractive to venues and retailers,” said Taylor.

“Customers are trialing the platform and finding a large range of products they already purchase, all in one place, along with a selection of new and interesting wines from some of Australia’s top producers.

“We identified the need for a comprehensive direct-to-trade platform in the local wine market years ago, and launching in our second major city shows we’re closing in on that goal.

WineDepot acquires Parton Wine Distribution, 

Meanwhile, WineDepot yesterday announced it would buy specialist wine and beverage logistics provider Parton Wine Distribution.

Taylor said Parton’s long track record in the industry, 23,000 sqm of warehousing, and 100-strong team would provide a significant boost to WineDepot’s operational capability.

While WineDepot’s outsourcing of third-party logistics was working well, as the business continued to scale it would become necessary to further develop its own capacity to maintain service levels – especially during times of peak demand, said Taylor.

“Having our own dedicated fleet of delivery vans and drivers will ensure we provide an exceptional experience for suppliers using WineDepot Logistics and trade buyers using WineDepot Market.

“In addition, direct management of our own warehouses allows us to offer on-demand picking, late cut-off times and temperature-controlled, cold chain and bonded storage to our customers right up and down the supply chain.”

Richard Raddon, who founded Parton, will join WineDepot’s senior executive team as GM of the logistics division and his son David will become national operations manager. 

Parton’s 150-strong existing customer base will be transitioned across to the WineDepot platform.