All clear on the shelf

SRB app strengthens the presence of Brau Union brands in grocery retail and optimises sales and marketing

Whether Gösser, Zipfer, Puntigamer, Schwechater, or Wieselburger – Brau Union Österreich is present with strong beer brands across the country. The local market leader relies on a long brewing tradition, local identity, and high quality. To consistently uphold this standard at the point of sale, the company sought a solution that systematically strengthens brand presence in retail, reduces out-of-stock situations, and simultaneously supports the sales team digitally. Together with the SRB Consulting Team, the Sales Execution App, known as S.E.PP, was developed to realise Brau Union's vision of modern and efficient market engagement. An AI update in 2025 made the now-proven app future-ready.

A cold beer among friends, the well-deserved pint after work, or the first sip with a good meal – such moments make the heart of a true beer lover race. However, what often seems obvious requires a perfectly orchestrated interplay of brewing art, modern production, quality management, logistics, and sales. Especially for the market leader in Austria, Brau Union.

Many steps are necessary before individual bottles, multipacks, or crates reach the sales floor of the local grocery retail. Accordingly, many gears must turn to ensure that all consumers receive their favourite beer exactly when they want it. Empty shelves, on the other hand, would be detrimental. Such scenarios must be avoided, as Nils Honetschläger, D&T Manager Commerce at Brau Union Österreich, notes: “This not only harms our sales and that of our customers but ultimately also our image.”

Sales Optimisation as a Goal

Accordingly, it has been and remains his wish and endeavour to continuously optimise sales and marketing channels while measurably increasing brand presence and visibility in retail. Reliable data instead of gut feeling is his approach here. Possible out-of-stock situations should be recognised more quickly, causes made more transparent, and sales and marketing supplied with current data from the respective market. At the same time, the sales team should receive a mobile solution that makes all important information available in an intuitive app everywhere and user-friendly.

It was particularly important to Nils Honetschläger that the app could also be used offline to counter potential mobile dead zones in basements, warehouses, or remote areas. This means: data should be pre-loaded onto the mobile device, processed locally in the market, and – once a connection is restored – synchronised in the background with the SAP CRM. To avoid annoyances and efforts, intelligent conflict and error handling was developed.

“We are not only concerned with efficiency but also with lived responsibility and our quality standards towards trading partners and consumers,” Nils Honetschläger explains.

Mobile Solution Now AI-Supported

As there was no mobile application in the SAP standard that adequately covered the sales team's requirements, Brau Union looked around and found SRB Consulting Team. The Vienna-based SAP specialist with a long and reliable partnership tailored an extension based on the existing SAP CRM backend for Brau Union.

The concrete result was an iOS app that combines customer lists, visit planning, key topics, KPI collection, PoS materials, product and promotional information, as well as reports on on-site visits in one interface. The focus was on ease of use with the logic familiar from modern web shops.

What began in 2013 with the first test versions of the lovingly named S.E.PP Sales Execution App has continuously evolved over the years. Initially, major releases were rolled out approximately every six months, later on an annual basis. Most recently, Brau Union evaluated several AI solution providers with a clear goal: the next innovation step into the future through photo-based recognition of facings, meaning the visibility of Brau Union products on the shelf, to automatically and AI-supported capture the Share of Space, Net Numeric Distribution at brand and individual item level, and other KPIs. The advantage: manual counting of these facings is eliminated, allowing the sales team to gain time for effective customer care. Additionally, Brau Union receives an even better data basis for assortment and placement decisions.

Implementation and partnership on equal terms

The SRB Consulting Team managed the project end-to-end – from consulting and process design to app development and integration into SAP CRM, as well as rollout support and ongoing development. Challenges such as large offline data volumes, performance optimisation on mobile devices, changing iOS versions, and a special support setup without personal tracking were tackled in close collaboration with Brau Union.

Notably, many key individuals remained on the project over the years and through role changes, which ensured stability and mutual trust. "We consciously chose a local technology partner who can provide both app development and CRM customisation from a single source and strengthens value creation in the country with regional expertise. And we have not regretted it," summarises Nils Honetschläger.

More visibility, better data, lived values

The success speaks for itself. User acceptance of S.E.PP in the field is high – a result that is also due to the integration of early user feedback, design workshops, and a consistent focus on usability. Field visits are now better prepared and data-driven, the work and recording of all activities on-site are even more efficient today thanks to AI support, and service quality is higher. For the headquarters, S.E.PP provides a uniform, up-to-date data basis to identify brand performance, weaknesses, and potentials in the markets and derive concrete measures.

Accordingly, Nils Honetschläger looks back positively on the project. And he also feels perfectly positioned for the future, as he summarises: "S.E.PP has not only become a daily companion for our sales team but a true partner that has significantly contributed to securing our success as market leader both on the shelves and on paper. And I am sure that we will continue to enjoy this app in the future."

About Brau Union Österreich

Brau Union Österreich offers over 100 different beer and beverage specialties with 15 brands and unites 12 brewing locations across Austria. The high-quality range includes widely distributed top brands such as Gösser, Schwechater, and the wheat beer brand Edelweiss, as well as brands with strong regional significance like Zipfer, Puntigamer, Wieselburger, Kaiser, Schladminger, Reininghaus, Villacher, and Fohrenburger, up to international premium brands like Heineken and Desperados, and the cider brands Strongbow and Stibitzer. 2,600 employees across Austria ensure that around 49,000 customers from retail and gastronomy, as well as millions of beer lovers throughout the country, are well taken care of. The company has repeatedly received national and international awards for its innovations. In 2016, Brau Union Österreich was also awarded the "GREEN BRAND" label for the first time according to the strict international criteria of the eponymous organisation and has been able to confirm this sustainability seal during regular revalidations since then. Since 2003, Brau Union Österreich has been part of the international HEINEKEN Company. More about Brau Union at www.brauunion.at.

Challenges

• Ensuring a prominent brand presence at the PoS and avoiding out-of-stock situations
• Generating reliable, up-to-date market data to optimise sales and marketing
• Need for a mobile, offline usable solution for the sales team
• Demand for an individual, integrated solution based on the existing SAP CRM

Solution

Individually developed Sales Execution App (S.E.PP) based on iOS

Results

• S.E.PP developed and successfully implemented as the central iOS application for the sales team
• High user acceptance thanks to simple operation
• Better prepared, data-driven field visits
• More efficient recording of all activities on-site
• Uniform, up-to-date data basis for managing brand performance