Tracking & managing coffee equipment: Why profitability is about more than sales

Ask any roastery or café owner, and they will reaffirm that equipment is one of their most costly, and therefore important, assets. Acquiring professional-grade espresso machines, grinders, roasters, and batch brewers requires significant upfront investment, especially as brands seek to scale.

Whether it’s through product diversification or taking on new wholesale clients, coffee businesses often prioritise revenue generation when expanding their operations. Throughout this process, however, it can be easy to overlook the value of their equipment, which is one of their main drivers of sales.

The larger a business becomes, the more challenging it is to keep track of its assets, whether owned, serviced, or loaned – increasing the risk of revenue loss. Even with basic tools like spreadsheets and notepads, it can be difficult to detect inefficiencies and mishaps until customer metrics start nosediving and costs begin to pile up.

If roasters and coffee businesses want to stay on top of tracking and managing their equipment, they need to invest in specialised and efficient systems.

I spoke to Istvan Fodor, the head of operations at Julius Meinl North America, Taylor Fulmer, Distributor Technical Team Lead at Lavazza Americas, and Ivan Thomas, the technical service manager at Toby’s Estate, to find out how they have leveraged the CYA Cover Your Assets asset tracking and management system to support business growth and efficiency.

You may also like our article on why roasters need to be strategic with menu prices now more than ever.

Why coffee equipment is an asset

Commercial-grade, premium equipment is expensive and a significant investment for coffee businesses – roasters and cafés especially. The functioning of the entire business rests on the optimal performance and efficient operation of espresso machines, grinders, and batch brewers.

Roasters, in particular, require even more specialised equipment, like large-sized roasting machines, sample roasters, and ventilation systems. Upfront costs can quickly add up, but without this machinery, brands wouldn’t be able to stay in operation.

Ultimately, this means coffee businesses need to invest in their equipment: Effectively managing reactive (performed when a problem is identified), preventive (performed to prevent failures and downtime), and predictive (monitors the condition of the equipment) maintenance. 

This holds for all equipment used by a roaster or coffee shop – including water filtration systems and cold brewing gear. These accessories aren’t just costly, but their proper functioning is indispensable for the business’ success.

Knowing where your equipment is

While many coffee businesses buy their machines from suppliers, which often provide ongoing support as part of a package deal, keeping track of maintenance and service is challenging. 

Moreover, once a brand scales and spreads across geographies, tracking equipment can quickly become impossible if there aren’t efficient systems in place.

“We have over 3,000 different assets across outlets in Australia. Our grocery account is in Sydney, and we have over 730 accounts across the country, including in Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia,” says Ivan Thomas, the technical service manager at Toby’s Estate Coffee. “Tracking them is hard. We have to maintain historical data from in-house technicians and track all the services we cover. 

“Then our subcontractors send us invoices, so we have to keep records of their work as well.”

Old-age pen and paper systems can easily create a number of problems. If just one person forgets to note down a maintenance job, the paper trail becomes obsolete and inaccurate – increasing servicing costs and time spent servicing equipment.

Even digital systems can cause issues if they’re not optimised to track and manage equipment. Without automated recurring maintenance reminders and notifications, users still need to input data manually, eating into time and costs.

“Lavazza has more than 20,000 assets throughout the field, which all have their life cycle management needs,” says Taylor Fulmer, the Distributor Technical Team Lead at Lavazza Americas. “Previously, we used an SAP system, but it’s not designed for asset tracking. 

“Keeping track of equipment as it moves through the supply chain from customer to customer can be a huge challenge to the point where you start to lose assets.”

Investing in efficient tracking & managing systems is essential

Tracking and managing all equipment – whether loaned or owned – is essential for maintaining a clear overview of assets. In the dynamic coffee industry, equipment is frequently swapped, upgraded, or enhanced with add-ons, so every piece has to be monitored diligently to ensure timely maintenance and track its service history. 

Many larger-sized roasters will loan equipment to customers, especially wholesale clients, to ensure consistent quality and delivery of their products. Businesses like cafés, bakeries, restaurants, and hotels may also lend equipment to partners to expand their coffee offerings. 

“Loaning equipment fosters a strong relationship between us and our customers; it builds mutual trust and long-term collaboration,” says Istvan Fodor, the head of operations at Julius Meinl North America. “We make sure our customers have the right equipment tailored to their individual needs for serving great coffee. 

“In exchange for the use of our equipment, the customer commits to purchasing a specified quantity of coffee monthly, contributing to our revenue generation.”

Tracking all loaned equipment, as well as its maintenance history, must be done meticulously to deliver consistent, quality results and prevent any losses.

But not all systems are created equal

Coffee equipment tracking and management solutions, like CYA Cover Your Assets, need to be designed not just to account for the fundamental needs of coffee businesses but also to address the demand to build operational efficiency and grow profits. 

They should be accessible and straightforward to use, especially as a business grows and adds more assets to its operations. At any point, a coffee roaster or business needs to be able to see equipment location, service history, future maintenance, age, and client history.

The CYA system, developed by coffee industry veterans, works both on desktop and mobile formats, allowing users to capture the data points needed to verify asset locations and all services associated with them. The mobile version allows technicians to capture important asset and service data in the field. Equipment is tagged and scanned from a phone to store its GPS location with a time and date stamp, with asset records linked to the location – tracking any movements in the supply chain. The web app allows for in-depth analysis that can lead to action.

“We value how CYA’s digital tool has streamlined our equipment tracking, bringing greater structure and organisation to both our asset management and technical service processes, like installations, maintenance, and service calls,” Istvan says. 

“The improved visibility of our activities allows us to measure progress consistently and gain valuable insights into customer profitability over time.”

All service actions are captured, building “proof” of maintenance to provide reference points that businesses can analyse to create customisable reports identifying delays or inconsistencies to improve efficiency. 

“Additionally, the tool helps us filter and prioritise service requests, ensuring we address the most critical needs promptly while managing resources efficiently,” Istvan adds.

Putting profitability first

In recent years, rising inflation and coffee prices have forced roasters and other coffee businesses to tighten their belts across the board, making profitability more of a priority than ever before. 

Although often overlooked, equipment plays a huge role in revenue generation, and roasters need to do all they can to have eyes on the location and service history of their most important assets. But for a brand that manages hundreds, or even thousands, of espresso machines, roasters, and grinders, this is an impossible task.

Investing in efficient tracking and management systems then becomes essential to optimise efficiency, streamline otherwise complicated operations, minimise unnecessary expenditure, and eliminate human error.

Research shows that locating even one piece of lost equipment can save a company between US $600 and US $20,000, depending on its value. Minimising the time spent manually searching through records also reduces business costs, potentially saving thousands per year.

“Having CYA’s web-based and mobile app platforms helps our employees, as well as technicians, be involved in the process,” Taylor explains. “It also geo-links every asset to a customer, which ensures that all of them are in the right place. 

“Confirming everything across the 20,000 assets we have, plus the assets we add each quarter, can be tedious. But CYA gives us peace of mind, making everything convenient and efficient.”

The coffee industry is dynamic and ever-changing, meaning it’s common for equipment to be returned or reshuffled as businesses change. When this happens, previous service records are still required to understand the equipment’s history. 

High-performing equipment tracking systems like CYA can maintain these records even when the equipment is refurbished or changes hands. Recurring interventions and appointments, like changing water filters or grinder burr sets, can also be automated in the system, extending equipment lifespan and protecting warranties.

Investing in a business’ future

Increasing profitability is a priority for a coffee business of any size. But as brands seek to expand, whether vertically or horizontally, they need a credible paper trail to prove their balance sheet.

“At any point, we can pull paperwork from, say, two years ago for any specific machine from the CYA system and share it with the technician or the customer,” Taylor says. “Doing this for over thousands of assets across all of our locations seamlessly is outstanding.”

Moreover, proof of asset location and service history can expedite customer payments, securing revenue generation and creating a more stable business. In turn, customer satisfaction is likely to increase, further solidifying a brand’s reputation.

Equipment is integral to the success of any coffee brand, yet its value as a key asset is often overlooked. With the industry becoming more automated, investing in specialist tracking systems means coffee businesses can manage their equipment more efficiently.

Enhanced visibility of equipment facilitates a shared responsibility for asset management, encouraging collaboration and empowering staff and technicians to fulfil their roles in the process.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on what happens when wholesale roasters’ clients outgrow them.

Perfect Daily Grind

Please note: CYA Cover Your Assets is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

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