BinWise, Inc. has developed a new product, BinWiseEnterprise, for restaurant owners and operators with multiple locations.

BinWise, Inc., the leading cloud-based software managing restaurant beverage programs, is excited to announce the launch of BinWiseEnterprise on January 31. The product will provide restaurant owners and operators with a bird’s eye view of summary financial data for all of their restaurants on a consolidated dashboard.

BinWise has developed a dashboard of consolidated sales, perpetual inventory, purchases made by restaurants as well as dollars spent by vendor, and other key metrics such as top categories sold, and price range of sales. Restaurant owners can view this information over customized date ranges, compare restaurants side-by-side, and investigate any red flags that arise.

“More than 65 percent of our current customers are restaurant groups with multiple restaurants,” says BinWise President and CEO Doug Hickey. “We believe this is a powerful tool for restaurant managers and owners seeking to run an efficient and successful business. To have this much information at your fingertips is priceless.”

Beverage Directors and Sommeliers will be able to make more intelligent purchasing decisions through the top categories sold and price range feature. Knowing which wines sell best in each restaurant and market will allow buyers to keep a tighter inventory.

“We’re giving the power back to the buyers,” says Hickey. “With the ability to view the purchasing percentage from specific vendors and distributors at a macro and micro view, restaurant buyers will have more visibility into how much they are spending and discounts received.”

Through an overview of consolidated sales and purchasing, restaurant managers and owners will now be able to more closely oversee how their beverage program is run and manage cash flow.

“With over $2.5 million in wine and liquor purchases across five locations and a wine club program, I needed a system that would give us the whole picture while being able to dive into the details,” says Chad Mackay, President and COO of the El Gaucho Hospitality group. “BinWiseEnterprise is the solution we’ve been looking for. This should be the gold standard for restaurant owners that are looking to maximize their return on investment and provide them with the insights to achieve breakthrough in their business.”

BinWise clients spend a per restaurant average of $60K per month through the RealWineLists purchasing platform, and a per purchase order average of $1K. Alcohol sales are the highest source of revenue for restaurants, accounting for up to 75 percent of profits. With BinWiseEnterprise, restaurant owners can now manage its most profitable asset.

“We started using BinWise’s RealWineLists at inception in 2007,” says CFO of Mina Group, Paula Kaduce. “We believe the new BinWiseEnterprise product will help us run our business more efficiently by having a visualization of our company’s financial health on one dashboard. It’s an innovative concept for restaurants and will soon become an industry standard.”

About BinWise, Inc.

BinWise is the only way to smoothly run a successful beverage program in a single application. The company’s first product, RealWineLists, was created by wine professionals for wine professionals. The cloud-based software links purchasing, barcode inventory management, point of sales and real-time wine lists, available on pdf, html or iPad, on one platform.

BinWise provides transparency to restaurant beverage management and is being used by restaurants, hotels, corner bistros as well as Wine Spectator Grand Award winning restaurants. Restaurant groups currently using RealWineLists are the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, Mozza Group, Alta Marea Group, Rosewood Hotels, CorkBuzz and A16. Clients use BinWise to manage not only wine, but also beer, spirits, cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, cigars, food and glassware.

BinWise was funded in March 2012 by ACP, a private equity firm based in New York and is based out of the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco.

BinWise, Inc. partners with top California wine producers to launch innovative product placement dashboard, BinWisePlacement.

BinWise, Inc., the leading cloud-based software managing restaurant beverage programs, is excited to announce the launch of the product placement dashboard on January 31. For the first time, wineries will have real time visibility of their on-list products on a cloud-based platform. BinWisePlacement will be the first of many world-class products geared towards improving efficiency of ordering wine.

“We believe this new technology will allow wineries to more closely manage brand awareness, streamline the three-tier system and provide an open line of communication with key restaurant accounts,” says BinWise President and CEO Doug Hickey. “It’s going to be a game changer.”

BinWise has carefully selected its launching partners from some of the top wineries in the U.S., which include Iron Horse Vineyards, Rudd Winery and Miner Family Wines.

"Knowledge is power,” says Joy Sterling, CEO Iron Horse Vineyards. “I think it is very powerful to know how we are positioned on the top wine lists in the country.”

BinWisePlacement is the only product showing publicly available real time wine list placement data on a single dashboard. BinWise collects public data through its restaurant product RealWineLists, and filters it into a powerful marketing tool for wineries. Participating wineries will receive visibility over on-list and off-list products; a producer profile, which will be featured across the BinWise portal; and real time customer contact information.

“This will be unprecedented knowledge and access,” says Rudd Winery VP of Marketing and Sales Drew Hendricks. “No more pulling multiple depletion reports to find out where your wine is listed. I look forward to using this tool to better communicate about Rudd to the top buyers in the country.”

Up until now, wineries have received monthly depletion reports from distributors which are based off of sales and often outdated. BinWise is revolutionizing the way wineries market and communicate to restaurant buyers through BinWisePlacement.

“BinWisePlacement will help us be more responsive to restaurants' needs, which will make us a better partner,” says Miner Family Winery Owner & Operator David Miner. “Through better communication, we will be able to keep our inventory at more appropriate levels.”

BinWisePlacement will be available to wineries on January 31, and is currently being tested in beta with winery launching partners.

“Being one of the launch partners heightens our visibility in a select community of tastemakers,” says Sterling of Iron Horse Vineyards. “And it provides a forum for sharing our entire portfolio. It's a wonderful two way street."

About BinWise, Inc.

BinWise is the only way to smoothly run a successful beverage program in a single application. The company’s first product, RealWineLists, was created by wine professionals for wine professionals. The cloud-based software links purchasing, barcode inventory management, point of sales and real-time wine lists, available on pdf, html or iPad, on one platform.

BinWise provides transparency to restaurant beverage management and is being used by restaurants, hotels, corner bistros as well as Wine Spectator Grand Award winning restaurants. Restaurant groups currently using RealWineLists are the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, Mozza Group, Alta Marea Group, Rosewood Hotels, CorkBuzz and A16. Clients use BinWise to manage not only wine, but also beer, spirits, cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, cigars, food and glassware.

BinWise was funded in March 2012 by ACP, a private equity firm based in New York and is based out of the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco.

BinWise, Inc. congratulates Wine & Spirits Best Sommeliers of 2012 Morgan Harris, Chris Gaither and Thomas Pastuszak for their achievement.

BinWise, Inc., a cloud-based software company providing a restaurant beverage management system based in San Francisco, is excited to congratulate three of its customers for winning the Wine & Spirits Best Sommeliers 2012; New York City-based Corkbuzz Wine Studio Manager and Sommelier Morgan Harris, San Francisco-based Spruce Head Sommelier Chris Gaither, and New York City-based NoMad Wine Director Thomas Pastuszak.

“It is all about the company you keep,” says Doug Hickey, CEO and President of BinWise. “We couldn’t be more proud of Morgan, Chris and Thomas as they are true leaders and visionaries in the industry. We are thrilled that they are part of the BinWise family.”

The Bacchus restaurant group, which includes Spruce, Café Des Amis and Village Pub, were early adopters of BinWise.

“It was a great honor to represent many of my peers by receiving such an award,” says Spruce’s Gaither. “There are so many great Somms out there, I'm really blown away!”

NoMad, a sister restaurant to Eleven Madison Park, opened in March 2012 using BinWise to manage its beverage program. Eleven Madison Park implemented BinWise shortly thereafter.

“I was humbled to be announced as one of the Wine & Spirits Best Sommeliers 2012,” says Corkbuzz’s Harris.

Corkbuzz Wine Studio is a wine bar, restaurant and wine school in New York City’s Union Square cofounded by Master Sommelier Laura Maniec. Corkbuzz implemented BinWise’s RealwineLists on-line application to manage the beverage program six months after opening, in July 2012. The restaurant previously used an Excel document to manage inventory, Adobe InDesign to manage the wine list, and a paper trail to manage invoices and purchasing.

“It was a lot of things to keep in line with a lot of different systems,” says Harris. “But with BinWise, you can do everything on one platform. It’s absolutely the next wave of technology in the wine biz.”

Harris attributes much of his success at Corkbuzz to the time savings and tighter inventory control since converting to BinWise to manage the beverage program. “If you ever have intentions of being a wine director of large programs, being able to regulate the program remotely is super important,” he says. “And with BinWise, you can view your program in a complete way that isn’t serviced by any other technology.”

About BinWise, Inc.

BinWise is the only way to smoothly run a successful beverage program in a single application. The company’s first product, RealWineLists, was created by wine professionals for wine professionals. The cloud-based software links purchasing, barcode inventory management, point of sales and real-time wine lists, available on pdf, html or iPad, on one platform.

BinWise provides transparency to restaurant beverage management and is being used by restaurants, hotels, corner bistros as well as Wine Spectator Grand Award winning restaurants. Restaurant groups currently using RealWineLists are the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, Mozza Group, Alta Marea Group, Rosewood Hotels, CorkBuzz and A16. Clients use BinWise to manage not only wine, but also beer, spirits, cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, cigars, food and glassware.

BinWise was funded in March 2012 by ACP, a private equity firm based in New York and is based out of the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco.

BinWise, Inc. partners with Code38 to reach Sommeliers and wine industry professionals in a 30-day Facebook contest.

BinWise, Inc., a cloud-based software company providing a restaurant beverage management system based in San Francisco, is excited to announce the Facebook Code38 Wine Key Sweepstakes, a month-long campaign directed towards Sommeliers and wine industry professionals. In an effort to increase awareness of technology available to restaurant beverage programs, BinWise has strategically selected a partner with complementary goals.

“I'm excited that BinWise chose Code38 as a partner in this effort,” says Code38 founder and designer Jeffery Toering. “Many of the restaurants who use BinWise to manage their beverage programs also use the Code38 Wine Knife, so there is an obvious synergy between us.”

Code38 will be producing a customized Code38 Stealth exclusively for the BinWise contest, which will be optioned with the new TiCN foil blade yet to be released to the market. Other features include the fortified TiCN coating chassis and matte textured lifter. The Code38 has been designed for high performance and to essentially become an extension of the hand while conducting professional wine service.

"Not only is the Code38 the best wine key in the world but it’s also the most efficient,” says Rajat Parr, wine director of the Mina Group. “A Sommeliers dream…” As an early user of both BinWise’s RealWineLists on-line application and the Code38 wine opener, Parr embraces innovation in the beverage industry.

To show appreciation for Sommeliers who work hard during the holiday season, BinWise will be running the Code38 Wine Key Sweepstakes just in time for the occasion; from 9 am PST on November 15 to 5 pm PST on December 15 on the BinWise Facebook page. There is no purchase or payment necessary to enter or win the contest. Applicants will be asked to “Like” BinWise before completing the contest form. The winner will be selected and announced on December 17th based on their response to the following question:

“How can technology improve the restaurant-vendor relationship in the beverage industry?”

Full terms and conditions for the Code38 Wine Key Sweepstakes are outlined on the BinWise Facebook sweepstakes page hosted by North Social.

About BinWise, Inc.

BinWise is the only way to smoothly run a successful beverage program in a single application. The company’s first product, RealWineLists, was created by wine professionals for wine professionals. The cloud-based software links purchasing, barcode inventory management, point of sales and real-time wine lists, available on pdf, html or iPad, on one platform.

BinWise provides transparency to restaurant beverage management and is being used by restaurants, hotels, corner bistros as well as Wine Spectator Grand Award winning restaurants. Restaurant groups currently using RealWineLists are the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, Mozza Group, Alta Marea Group, Rosewood Hotels, CorkBuzz and A16. Clients use BinWise to manage not only wine, but also beer, spirits, cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, cigars, food and glassware.

BinWise was funded in March 2012 by ACP, a private equity firm based in New York and is based out of the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco.

BinWise is a privately held software as a service (SaaS) company based in San Francisco. It was founded in 2007 by wine and computer science professionals who were passionate about the wine and restaurant industry.

BinWise created an on-line product, RealWineLists, that powerfully manages all the functions of a beverage program by linking purchasing, inventory management, and point of sales systems. Its technology links the customer’s wine list, inventory, purchasing and point of sale with groundbreaking efficiency and accuracy. The Company’s impressive customer base includes The French Laundry, Michael Mina, Per Se, 11 Madison, Tribeca Grill, and Restaurant R’evolution among others.

“We are pleased to have the ACP team as our partners,” stated founder Grant Gilligan, a former sommelier who achieved notable success in the industry prior to his development of RealWineLists. “I believe their guidance will prove instrumental to the success of the Company and of the RealWineLists platform.” Grant added that “the financing not only helps us further innovate our best-in-class product, but more importantly establishes a partnership that can and will provide a valuable network of resources, both physical and intellectual. In our search for financing we sought a partner that could help create long-term value and direct the Company through various obstacles and opportunities. We believe we have that in ACP.”

Chuck Auster, Managing Partner of ACP, said “BinWise is positioned to not only make world-class products, but to revolutionize the entire restaurant and wine industry.”

Simultaneous with the Series A financing, the Company appointed Doug Hickey and Isabelle Hong as CEO and CFO, respectively. Doug has an extensive background in operating Internet software companies. Most recently Doug was Managing Partner at venture capital firm Hummer Winblad. Prior to Hummer Winblad, Doug was CEO of Critical Path, a leading provider of Infrastructure-as-a-Service. Prior to Critical Path, Doug was President & CEO of Global Center where he spearheaded the Company’s rise to become the first and largest provider of advanced web hosting. Doug was also President & CEO of MFS Datanet the leading provider of data related services to internet service providers and leading corporations around the globe.

In his new role as CEO of BinWise, Doug commented, “I’m excited to lead such a bright and enthusiastic group of people. We look forward to further developing the BinWise platform and creating a world class company for customers and investors alike.” Isabelle joins the BinWise team with over 15 years of finance and business operation experience including the last 10 years in CFO roles with technology companies in cloud hosting and managed services for MMOGs, open-source software for web & cloud applications, SaaS for healthcare, and software for IT system optimization.

The company was founded in 2007 by wine professionals whose passion for the industry helped create solutions for the distribution and tracking of wine, beer and spirits. The Company set out to achieve the impossible – create a way of linking purchasing, inventory management, point of sales and beverage lists on one platform. Its first product, RealWineLists, is an on-line software application that does just that. RealWineLists provides transparency to beverage program management and has been used by restaurants, hotels, corner bistros as well as Wine Spectator Grand Award winning restaurants. With the incredible success of RealWineLists, BinWise is currently developing a series of world-class products, which will be released later this year. BinWise is headquartered in San Francisco, its employees are passionate about the restaurant and wine industry. www.binwise.com

Auster Capital Partners is a private equity and investment advisory firm with expertise in telecommunications, managed services, cloud computing and information technology sectors. ACP seeks to invest in private companies that have strong value propositions and proven management teams. Its advisory business provides transactional expertise offering due diligence, deal structuring and a variety of services which includes outsourced deal management, financial restructuring and capital raising. Auster Capital Partners was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey with offices in London, England and an affiliate office in Santiago, Chile. The website for the company is at www.austercapitalpartners.com.