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Proof Drinks are the UK’s largest independent spirits distributor. Since 2010 they’ve specialised in importing, distributing, selling and marketing premium drinks brands such as Brockmans, Pallini, Elijah Craig, Ramsbury, Don Papa and Duppy Share.
We sat down with Proof’s Head of Grocery, James Cartwright, to discuss how Proof use elm to give portfolio brands 24/7 visibility of their EPOS data.
James: “Reporting was hugely manual. Every Monday we spent four to five hours pulling data from multiple retailer portals, formatting it for different brands, and sending bespoke reports. As distributors we only get one supplier code, which meant I had to extract all the data myself and then split it out brand by brand. It was repetitive, slow and resource-heavy.”
James: “Four hours every Monday adds up quickly. Over a month that’s over two full working days spent purely on reporting. When brands wanted data or had questions, I’d have to respond directly, which meant long feedback loops. Each brand wants something different so it was very hands-on. We were also missing granular visibility on store-level issues and promotions.”
James: “elm automatically consolidates all our EPOS data into one platform. I can see an overview of all brands instantly, while each brand can log in at any time and view only their own data. Instead of copying and pasting between portals and spreadsheets, the data refreshes daily. I no longer have to handle requests from brands as support goes through elm’s customer success team. The dashboards are more powerful and easier to use than what brands were getting before.”
James:
- “Reports that used to be weekly are now on-demand, 24/7.
- Brands receive direct support through elm’s ticketing system.
- Account management is simpler and more efficient, with fewer emails and spreadsheets.”
James: “Definitely. We used elm to compare promotional periods and pricing changes for instance. It highlighted when a promotion underperformed, we made updates, and sales recovered. It also shows whether problems are retailer-specific or across the board.”
James: “Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. People find the interface intuitive. It delivers information in a consistent way, which is key for me managing multiple accounts. If brands want a bespoke chart, they can build it with the custom dashboard builder, though 99.9% of what they need is already available in pre-defined charts. Different access levels are very useful — brand managers get granular detail, owners get the high-level view. The different sign-ins and permissions add real value beyond reporting.”
- 26 working days per year reclaimed from manual reporting
- Reports moved from weekly delivery to on-demand dashboards and daily EPOS data, accessible 24/7
- No more manual splitting of retailer data across brands
- Faster, more accurate decisions on promotions and pricing
- Clearer account management with direct brand support
- Strong adoption thanks to intuitive design and customisability
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