Rent a keg – Ship and forget

For years, the beer industry has been challenged with keeping track of keg assets, aware that distance from the brewery increases the likelihood of losing expensive stainless steel kegs. Market expansion becomes a more expensive proposition when one factors in the cost of lost or stolen kegs.

Options like one-way plastic kegs that limit these losses have been available, but product quality, safety, and sustainability concerns persist while stainless steel kegs remain the “gold standard” as the preferred draft beer container that protects both beer quality and the environment.

But innovative technology has created a solution for “borderless kegs” that transfers the attrition risk, so keg liability for the brewer disappears altogether. Global Keg has changed the paradigm with the world’s largest pool of stainless steel rental kegs, the majority of which are the highest quality German-made kegs. This asset-pooling model rooted in technology opens the door and reduces the risk for expansion to any market worldwide.

Each SmartKeg^TM barrel is uniquely identified with an RFID tag so its movements can be tracked and traced globally. Brew type, fill date, expiration date, and location are available to the brewer to help proactively manage distribution, inventory, and quality control. This “Smart” technology allows breweries to strategically expand into new markets without worrying about keg return.

The Orlando-based keg-rental company provides the brewery stainless steel kegs that have been emptied, cleaned, checked for damage, guaranteed “fit-for-use” and are ready to sanitize upon arrival at the brewery. As each keg is filled and scanned, beer type and brewing date are captured before it leaves the brewery and is tracked/traced wherever it travels.

When the kegs are empty, Global Keg picks them up anywhere in the world and returns them to the closest of their reclamation centers located in over 40 countries that create jobs and stimulate local economies. By not waiting for a specify quantity of empty kegs to collect for return to a distant centralized location, the global company accelerates reverse logistics (SmartReturnTM) and shortens pick-up time to more efficiently increase asset turn and utilization.

This model is basically a ship-and-forget approach for any brewer or importer/exporter in any location worldwide. Major brewers have been drawn to the simplicity and efficiency of this turnkey keg management system that eliminates keg liability, includes return logistics, frees up capital, and represents the most sustainable solution available.

Global Keg is now applying this proven asset-pooling model to plastic pallets (SmartPalletTM) that leverages the same technology, creates supply chain efficiency, and delivers on sustainablilty objectives. According to founder and CEO Bob Moore “We’ve done it successfully with stainless steel kegs and have developed a similar supply chain solution with a plastic pallet engineered specifically for the beer industry, launching in the US and arriving in Europe soon."