Liquor may be quicker - but not if you're in Alberta.
Deliveries of wine and spirits to retailers across the province now take about a week longer than they did earlier this year, in part due to an unprecedented increase in demand for adult beverages.
Mix that in with a shortage of workers and you have an industry that of late, has been shaken, not stirred.
But in spite of this, store shelves should be well stocked for peak holiday sales, industry officials say.
"Right now we have a backlog of orders," says George Rodziewicz, spokesman for Connect Logistics Services Inc., the sole liquor distribution agent authorized to distribute spirits, wine, coolers and imported beer in the province. "It's seven to eight days from the time the product is ordered."
Before May, orders went out within one to two days from the time they were placed.
From its base in St. Albert, just north of Edmonton, Connect handles distribution of all adult beverages except domestic beer across the province.
Instead of buying liquor products from independent wholesalers, liquor licensees must order their liquor products through Connect according to rules set down by the province's liquor regulator, the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC).
"We're working to reduce that delivery time," says Rodziewicz, pointing out that Connect is now processing orders seven days a week.
"For the last three weeks (as of the end of November) we've been assembling an average of 300,000 cases per week. Last year at this time we were (at) 225,000 cases. That's a 33-per- cent increase in terms of the weekly volume that is shipped out. In this business, that is very significant."
Connect's stock level is also up, says Rodziewicz.
The 430,000-sq.-ft. warehouse used to hold an average of 1.5 million cases of product, but inventory is now at 2.4 million cases with an extra 270,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space in use in neighbouring Edmonton.
Connect also says the labour shortage it experienced with its own staffing levels is now under control.
"We feel we're up to speed. Retention is an ongoing issue, but for now we feel have the number of staff to do the job," says Rodziewicz.
"Starting in May of this past year, two factors affected our service levels. One was a labour shortage hit our operations. The other was that we forecast a six-per-cent increase in volume and it's actually been between a 13- to 14-per-cent increase."
The doubling of demand for adult beverages is being attributed to the red-hot economy and the resulting population surge.
"I don't think anyone saw it coming," says Rodziewicz. "We forecast six per cent, which we thought was a reasonable forecast, so that also stretched our resources."
To keep its staff, Connect has increased the incentives its workers are offered. After two weeks, salary levels increase from a base rate of $14.50 an hour to $15.82 an hour. There are also quarterly incentives - a retention bonus of $500 for every quarter. And if a worker is still there after a full year, there is an additional $500 bonus for a total of $2,500 in retention bonuses.
Even so, frontline retailers are still waiting for answers.
Paul Dhillon, owner of the Stampede Liquor Company in Calgary, filed a lawsuit against the government in August because of the delivery problems.
Despite meeting with government officials, Dhillon says the impression he received was that they weren't being taken seriously.
"Nothing was done from the minister's office, so we had no choice but to start litigation," says Dhillon. "A lot of smaller and medium-sized retailers have already lost the summer sales, now they will lose the Christmas sales."
"We as entrepreneurs of Alberta have worked hard enough for last 10 years to make the industry what it is today. Our argument is it is not our fault.
"If this problem is not resolved before Christmas, they have to put some kind of formula in there where the industry will be compensated for its losses. We aren't looking for any handouts, we are looking for whatever is reasonable for losses we have incurred so far."
As of late November, his liquor deliveries are arriving about 12 days late.
Rob Filipchuk, owner of Cristall's Wine Market in Edmonton, says he has not wasted his time complaining, except to Connect.
"The minister and the AGLC are very well aware of the problem," Filipchuk says. "We complain where something will be accomplished, which is directly to the warehouse."
Facing delays of seven to eight days per order since May, Filipchuk says he has worked around the delivery setbacks.
"We've stocked up. This problem has been around since May and we have adapted to it. It takes a little more work on our part, holding more inventory to compensate, but our shelves have never been more full. I'm sure the majority of people have not managed to adapt. They may not have the financial ability or the warehouse space to adapt," says Filipchuk.
Filipchuk notes it helps that retailers now don't have to pay for their orders until they're shipped - previously payment had to be made when the order was placed.
"It's a relatively recent rule that they're not publicizing," he says.
Liberal MLA Maurice Tougas, the Opposition's gaming critic, says complaints about slow liquor deliveries have calmed down recently. But he has toured a number of retail establishments and found that there is still a lot of concern.
"We've been hearing about this since the summer," says Tougas, who represents the riding of Edmonton-Meadowlark.
"We started getting calls about liquor distribution saying that the system was basically broken, people were not getting the stock they hoped to get and that it was coming late."
But following a recent tour of Connect, Tougas says he believes the company is "making an honest effort to improve things."
"(But) if the situation is not improving substantially, we'll have to keep putting the pressure on them."
Edmonton-based Alberta Liquor Store Association, which represents more than 600 retailers across the province, says it has been working very closely with the AGLC and Connect in order to ensure a consistent and predictable supply of product.
An AGLC review of the warehousing distribution situation will be undertaken next year, says organization president John Szumlas. "We're canvassing our members for suggestions that are realistic and can be put in place."
AGLC spokeswoman Robyn Cochrane says it's too early to say what that review will look like, as officials are still finalizing the details.
But she did say delays experienced in the second half of 2006 will be part of the review - as will the question of whether the existing model addresses current population levels and the increased demand for liquor.
Despite all the problems in the system, there will be enough product for the upcoming festive season, Szumlas says. By this point, he adds, most retailers have already "layered in" extra inventory for holiday celebrations.
"It's safe to say that all Albertans are aware that our economy is sparking on all 16 cylinders and that there's an influx of more residents into our province," he says.
"Was it anticipated? Absolutely. Was it anticipated to the magnitude of a 13-per-cent to 16-per-cent increase? At the end of the day, no one is really looking for excuses. We're looking for opportunities to address the problems and move on."
(Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)
