Industry
Beverages / Brewery, Distribution in Food Retail
Brands
15 brands, over 100 beer and beverage specialties
Locations
12 brewing locations in Austria
Employees
2,600
Affiliation
Part of the Heineken Company since 2003
SRB Solution
Sales Execution App S.E.PP (based on SAP CRM, iOS)
As a market leader, Brau Union aimed to systematically strengthen its brand presence at the point of sale and avoid out-of-stock situations in food retail. The SAP standard did not provide a mobile application that adequately covered the sales team's requirements.
A mobile, user-friendly solution for the sales team that provides reliable market data, supports sales and marketing, and works offline to bridge mobile dead zones in basements, warehouses, or remote areas. Integrated into the existing SAP CRM.
The custom-developed sales execution app (S.E.PP) based on iOS, built on the SAP CRM backend. It combines customer lists, visit planning, KPI collection, PoS materials, and reports in one interface. SRB managed the project end-to-end, from consulting and process design to development and CRM integration, to ongoing enhancements.
S.E.PP has been in use since 2013 and has been continuously developed. User acceptance in the sales team is high, visits are better prepared and data-driven. An AI update in 2025 enhanced the photo-based recognition of facings (visibility of items on the shelf), eliminating manual counting and allowing the sales team to focus more on customer care.
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, enabling Brau Union to realise its 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 food 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 disastrous. Such scenarios must be avoided, as Nils Honetschläger, D&T Manager Commerce at Brau Union Österreich, notes: “This not only harms our sales and those of our customers but also, in turn, our image.”
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 identified 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 intuitively available everywhere.
It was particularly important to Nils Honetschläger that the app could also be used offline to counter possible 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 re-established – 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.
As there was no mobile application in the SAP standard that adequately covered the sales team's requirements, Brau Union looked around and found a solution with the 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 simple operation 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, i.e., 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, and the sales force gains time for effective customer care. Additionally, Brau Union receives an even better data basis for assortment and placement decisions.
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.
Especially noteworthy: many key individuals remained involved in the project over the years and through role changes, which ensured stability and mutual trust. "We consciously chose a local technology partner that 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.
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 force but also 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."
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 trade and gastronomy, as well as millions of beer lovers throughout the country, are well supplied. The company has repeatedly won 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 since confirmed this sustainability seal during regular revalidations. Since 2003, Brau Union Österreich has been part of the international HEINEKEN Company. More about Brau Union at www.brauunion.at.
Individually developed Sales Execution App (S.E.PP) based on iOS
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