Background
Cave de Famille is a French fine wine business founded in 2013, born from a passion for wine and a vision to create a flexible model that allows clients not only to buy and store wine, but also to sell it as their tastes evolve. Originally focused on French private clients, the company has since evolved, serving a 50/50 mix of private collectors and trade buyers across France, Europe, and Asia.
With a lean team and a strong multi-channel model spanning on-trade, off-trade, and international private sales, Cave de Famille has embraced technology as a vital part of business growth.
Platform Selection
The decision to move to Wine Hub came after nearly a decade of working with systems that couldn’t fully meet the needs of a growing fine wine business.
“Initially I used Excel spreadsheets and email,” said Founder Jean-Christophe Coisy. “We then started with our first system, but it was not dedicated to wine and that was an issue because with wine there’s so much information you need to have specific to that business so you can’t use a common tool, or if you do use it you have to pay so much money to develop it for your own purpose. So it’s not good for a small business.”
Cave de Famille later moved to a specialised French wine platform, but limitations quickly surfaced, “It was pretty good as it was developed completely for the wine industry, but was old technology. It was not possible to link it to eCommerce or to any form of other data we need like Liv-ex or Wine Searcher. Also it was hosted on a local server, so you couldn’t use it as a SaaS solution, which was complicated when you were abroad to see a client or supplier and it was not possible to access your information.”
It was against this status quo that Jean-Christophe and the team began looking for a wine-specialist SaaS platform that could support a multi-channel model. “We were looking for a wine-specialist SaaS solution and someone recommended Wine Hub. We had a chat and saw the solution and it answered many of our questions. It had no break in the data flows.”
We decided to switch to Wine Hub and we are very, very happy with it. You spend less time in your day to day operations in all administrative aspects and you can focus on the most important part of the business — your clients and suppliers.
Migration and Onboarding Success
For Cave de Famille, the move to Wine Hub was more than a system change — it was a rare opportunity to take a step back and rethink the fundamentals of the business.
“Moving to the Wine Hub was very good, it gave us the opportunity to rethink our business, to work out what was our strategy, who are our clients, how do we want to reach them, what more could we provide,” explained Jean-Christophe.
The team was prepared for what it takes to deliver a data migration. “When you’re already an existing company you have past data and existing clients and suppliers. You also have a way of using your past system which means you’re going to have to change to a new way of running your business.”
Taking time to do it right was key. “Between our very first meeting and the kick-off it was a few months, but it was really important because we cleaned our past data, which was a mess.” That careful planning paid off. “This migration period gives you the opportunity to train in the system in order to be fully ready when you push the button so you can start on the first day and avoid any kind of mistake.” For Jean-Christophe, the value of the process went well beyond technology. “It’s probably the most important time you can spend on your business. It gives you the opportunity to implement a good strategy. Planning is vitally important to give you a good perspective of what’s needed for the next 3 to 4 years of your business.”
Solution
After making a strategic shift to Wine Hub to streamline operations and scale more easily, the platform now underpins Cave de Famille’s day-to-day workflows and has supported a major transformation in efficiency, customer experience, and future-readiness. Jean-Christophe confirms the move was a clear turning point, reflecting, “We decided to switch to Wine Hub and we are very, very happy with it.”
Multi-channel selling without the risk
Operating across private and trade sectors in France and internationally, Cave de Famille needed a system capable of supporting complex, multi-channel operations. Wine Hub made this possible.
“Every workflow is more accurate, faster and with less errors,” says Jean-Christophe. With Wine Hub acting as the central source of inventory truth, the business can confidently list stock across multiple platforms — including their eCommerce site and Liv-ex — without duplication or error.
“If you don’t have a direct link with your system you can sell something twice and it’s a major issue for your customer and you,” he explains. “But with Wine Hub there is a direct link to all sorts of channels, including Liv-ex. You can offer your product to several channels with full confidence.
Integrated, cloud-based infrastructure
Having previously been on an on-premise solutions, Cave de Famille found moving to a SaaS solution has made working remotely — and internationally — far easier and more efficient. Travelling abroad to visit clients and suppliers has become simple given the team can login from anywhere through a browser.
With Wine Hub you gain time in every aspect of your business. Every workflow is more accurate and with less errors. You can offer your product to several channels with full confidence, including Liv-ex.
Speed, accuracy and time saved
Operational reliability was a major factor in the switch. “Any error represents 10 times the amount of time you end up spending on a subject compared to having a system that runs well and is reliable,” reflected Jean-Christophe.
With integrated processes and automation, Cave de Famille now moves faster across every area of the business. “It’s faster! It’s faster in every respect” declaims Jean-Christophe. “From buying, dealing with suppliers, selling. Errors have reduced, workflows are more reliable, and internal efficiency has increased significantly.”
The impact has been tangible, with sales doubled and costs halved. “The improvement in business is at least multiplied by two… and in terms of day to day costs that can be divided by two as well. You gain on both sides — you gain in business and clients, but you also gain in efficiency.”
More time for what matters
Jean-Christophe highlights one of the most valuable benefits of deploying Wine Hub: time. Automation has freed up resources to focus on customer service and commercial opportunities.
“You spend less time in your day to day operations in all the administrative part and you can focus on the most important part of the business — your clients and suppliers.”
“You can spend more time buying, for instance when buying existing cellars, Wine Hub makes the quotation process faster, uploading a collection into the is system faster, then offering it to other clients is faster.”
Conclusion
Jean-Christophe recognised that legacy systems and workarounds couldn’t support the increasing complexity of the wine trade — from stock accuracy to integrated digital selling — and made a strategic shift to Wine Hub to streamline operations and scale more effectively.
Cave de Famille’s move to Wine Hub has delivered a step change in efficiency, accuracy, and commercial agility. With a fully integrated, industry-specific platform now at its core, the team is free to focus on growth, relationships, and delivering exceptional service.
Full interview
Watch the full 20 minute interview with Jean-Christophe Coisy to hear their business journey, scaling from private collectors in France to operating across many channels, selling to trade and private clients on a global scale.