The cutting edge of sales management strategy is data-driven, and NC Beverage Business Management students are ready to serve.
This term, Beverage Business Management (BBM) students helped trial the development of a user certification training module for Last Call Analytics, an OrderEase company and software sales planning platform developed to serve the beverage alcohol industry.
Part of the Beverage Alcohol Enterprise Innovation and Entrepreneurship course, the integration of this software aimed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world application by putting an entrepreneurial problem relevant to the beverage alcohol industry smack in the middle of the course.
The course is designed to introduce students to the concepts related to starting a business in the beverage alcohol industry, including evaluating the market and determining gaps and opportunities.
The decision to incorporate Last Call Analytics into the course was driven by the aim to establish a certification program aligned with industry standards. Additionally, the BBM program’s collaboration with Last Call Analytics served as a platform for the company to develop and refine a future user certification.
The Last Call Analytics software is an analytics software with integrated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and daily email alerts built for sales managers and frontline sales reps to identify opportunities to improve sales, distribution, and profitability. Matt Bannister, Founder of Last Call Analytics, was able to research and test user training with the class, helping the students navigate the software’s tools and leverage its data effectively for real-world scenarios. As part of the process, students learned the ropes of analyzing beer and wine sales trends, expanding distribution, and managing salesforces, gaining a solid grasp of the software as well as the Canadian beverage alcohol market.
“I think the greatest advantage for students learning Last Call Analytics is equipping them with key industry specific software knowledge and capabilities before they enter the workforce,” remarked Bannister. “Having this expertise on their resume will not only give them a competitive edge in the job market and enhance their employability but help the industry as a whole become more data driven.”
Associate Dean Maija Saari championed the idea of incorporating the software after being connected with the Bannister last summer through NCLEC General Manager Steve Gill. Within minutes of watching a demonstration, she recognized its potential benefit to students in the School of Wine, Beer, and Spirits. Peter Rod’s program in Beverage Business Management was a natural fit to explore user training together. Peter Rod, Program Coordinator and Professor of the BBM program, emphasized the importance of integrating industry-standard software into the broader sales curriculum. By incorporating Last Call Analytics, students not only learned how to use the software but also tackle realistic challenges they will encounter in their careers.
Students used Last Call Analytics to target specific variables such as geographic location and product types for conducting strategic analyses and forming data-driven projections.
“We hope to create a long-term relationship with Last Call Analytics and include the software in our curriculum in future semesters,” said Peter Rod, Program Coordinator and Professor, Beverage Business Management program. “It will be an important credential to enhance the employability of our graduates as this software is used by more than 100 top beverage alcohol companies in Canada and the United States.”
In the first half of the course, students familiarized themselves with the software’s interface, functionality and overall industry knowledge surrounding data, terminology and the LCBO and The Beer Store. The second part of the course was less prescriptive and more creative. Students were challenged with solving real-world scenarios, imagining themselves as business analysts for beverage alcohol companies to present analytics and projections for specific categories.
Beyond understanding the Last Call Analytics platform, this experience helped students exercise a diverse set of skills such as performing category analysis, applying critical thinking and logic, and practicing organization. The hands-on use of the software was an important method to transition from theoretical to practical learning and supplement the heavy theory among the program’s other courses. Not only did students get to learn about the industry, but they got to experience it firsthand and gain a glimpse of what they will encounter in their future careers.
The students were quick to adopt the tool and use it to create data-informed arguments in other courses.
For their Capstone projects, students teamed up to pitch innovative products for Niagara College Learning Enterprise Corporation (NCLEC), spanning beverage alcohol or No Low beverage alcohol. Leveraging Last Call Analytics for real data enabled students to generate realistic concepts directly applicable to the beverage industry, rather than presenting something hypothetical.
Throughout the course, Bannister also brought in several guest speakers including esteemed industry professionals from Henry of Pelham and Happy Dad. Their insights not only enhanced students’ understanding of the software application within the industry, but also provided them with industry connections as they prepare to enter the workforce.
Looking ahead, Rod hopes to continue exposing students to Last Call Analytics and explore other industry-specific software tools to further enhance experiential learning in the BBM curriculum.
“As this was just the first use of Last Call Analytics in the BBM curriculum, we have lots of reflecting to do to ensure even better use of this opportunity in future,” said Rod. “I am very hopeful this becomes a permanent part of the curriculum to better enhance the quality of education and employability of our students.”
