Blu Coffee Distributors, an importer and distributor of premium Italian coffee and equipment in the Philippines, has implemented NetSuite OneWorld to support its rapid growth. With NetSuite, Blu Coffee Distributors has been able to capitalize on soaring demand for premium coffees across the Philippines by streamlining its business processes.
Founded in 2013, Blu Coffee has expanded from a two-person startup into a thriving business that has roughly doubled its revenue every year and now has more than 50 employees and a reported PHP 100M ($1.92 million USD).
To continue to take advantage of soaring demand for premium coffees across the Philippines, where consumption of roasted coffee grew nearly four-fold between 2010 and 2017 and is expected to increase another 72 percent by 2021, Blu Coffee needed to eliminate the complexity created relying on QuickBooks and Excel as its business management system.
After evaluating different solutions, Blu Coffee selected NetSuite OneWorld over SAP Business One.
The coffee market has taken off in the Philippines
“The coffee market has really taken off in the Philippines,” said Rolando Villanueva, Blu Coffee Distributors founder and CEO, who also owns gas stations, a realty company and other business interests. “I saw this as an exciting opportunity to bring the experience of premium Italian products to coffee lovers across the country. Today we supply more than 1,000 hotels, cafés, restaurants and other businesses. We knew that as we grew and established showroom branches all over the Philippines, we would need a more scalable solution in the cloud.”
With NetSuite, Blu Coffee Distributors manages an expanded footprint of four showrooms in Baguio City, Angeles City, Cebu City and Davao City, along with its headquarters and showroom in Quezon City. Time needed for monthly financial close has been reduced by about 300 percent, while the company now has the insights needed to easily track expiration dates of perishable coffee beans.
B2B commerce portal
To further streamline processes, Blu Coffee Distributors is implementing NetSuite SuiteCommerce to provide a B2B commerce portal that will allow customers to order products online. Blu Coffee Distributors worked with NetSuite Solution Provider PGE Solutions to implement its NetSuite solution.
Building on its success, Blu Coffee Distributors has upgraded to the NetSuite OneWorld global business management solution for two reasons.
One, it lets Blu Coffee easily transact in the Euro and U.S. dollar with its international suppliers. Moreover, NetSuite OneWorld is scheduled to be rolled out at Panville Unique Distributors, a parent company headed by Villanueva that’s comprised of Blu Coffee Distributors, gas stations, a newly formed bagel distribution company and other interests.
With OneWorld, Panville will be able to treat its multiple businesses as subsidiaries for seamless financial consolidation, supporting improved efficiency, visibility and continued growth.
“Companies like Blu Coffee Distributors that identify an opportunity and move quickly to capture the market are increasingly turning to NetSuite to support that growth,” said Hazel del Rosario-Lee, managing director, Oracle NetSuite Philippines. “We’re excited to see their success and look forward to continuing to support them as their business grows and evolves.”
