Self-Distribution: The Maths of Delivery Runs

Many small breweries try to cut out the middleman by doing their own deliveries. In theory, this means better margins. In practice, it means you're spending your days driving a van around the county instead of brewing beer.

The maths are unforgiving. A delivery round that covers a wide area to serve a handful of accounts burns fuel, eats time, and wears out your vehicle. Every hour you spend loading, driving, unloading, and chasing signatures is an hour you're not brewing, not selling, not doing any of the other hundred things the business needs. And if an account is only taking a cask or two a week, the delivery cost per unit can wipe out your margin advantage entirely.

You'll also need the vehicle, the insurance, the fuel budget, and someone to do the driving — which, in a small operation, usually means you. Self-distribution works when your accounts are clustered locally and ordering decent volumes. It falls apart when you're criss-crossing the region to deliver three casks to a pub that might not reorder for a month.