The Operational Problem
Originally developed in 2013 for the Farr family, the By Farr website needed to do more than present wines beautifully. It had to reflect the way the winery actually operates - balancing brand storytelling with strict commercial controls around releases, availability, and loyal customer access.
The core challenge was translating family-defined sales rules into a smooth buying experience while keeping fulfillment fast and accurate. Each release could carry unique limits by variety and vintage, Club Farr needed invitation-only onboarding, and the team needed cleaner handoff into warehouse dispatch.
Why Off-The-Shelf Failed
Off-the-shelf ecommerce tools could not enforce By Farr's allocation model reliably or support their dispatch workflow end-to-end. Standard plugins handled simple stock counts, but not nuanced purchase limits per vintage, variety, and customer type, or structured consignment handoff to a fulfillment partner.
What We Engineered
Programmable Soda engineered a custom rules layer across product, account, and checkout workflows so every release could be governed precisely. We implemented flexible controls for variety and vintage purchase limits, then paired that with a bespoke Club Farr membership system supporting invitation logic, approvals, and member lifecycle management. To strengthen ongoing engagement, we also built an in-house email marketing platform so the Farr family can send tailored campaigns to highly specific customer segments. We then integrated the store with the fulfillment management company to transmit consignment-ready order details quickly and consistently, dramatically reducing manual dispatch admin. The project was supported by bespoke wine bottle photography and premium image retouching, ensuring the digital experience matched the quality expected of the brand.
Systems Integrated
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Custom Allocation Rule EngineEnforces release-specific limits by variety, vintage, and customer type during checkout.
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Club Farr Membership WorkflowsInvitation, approval, and member management rules aligned to the winery's operating model.
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In-House Email Segmentation PlatformBuilds targeted campaigns to selected customer and member segments without third-party constraints.
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Fulfillment Management IntegrationSends consignment details directly to the fulfillment company so orders are packed and dispatched faster.
Business Outcome
By Farr now runs online releases with far less manual intervention and much tighter control. The fulfillment integration alone saves an estimated 10 to 15 hours per week compared with the previous process, while improving speed and consistency of order dispatch. The team can manage complex sale conditions confidently, communicate to precise member segments, and present each vintage with imagery that reflects the premium standard of the winery.
“The platform now mirrors how we actually release wine - controlled, premium, and far easier for both our team and our fulfillment operations.”
