2022 BEST PRACTICES AWARDS
Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board
BEST DISTRIBUTION / WAREHOUSE INNOVATION : DISTRIBUTION CENTER CONSOLIDATION PROJECT
In 2022 , the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board ( PLCB ) consolidated its network of three distribution centers supplying Fine Wine & Good Spirits ( FW & GS ) stores and licensees down to two , in an effort to provide greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness . “ Historically , we ’ ve had three distribution centers ,” says
by JAMIE STAFFORD
Cliff McFarland , Director of Supply Chain ,. “ One in Pittsburg , one in the Northeast up near Scranton and one in Philadelphia . At the end of the contract , we didn ’ t renew and instead went to market and consolidated distribution hubs .” The PLCB opted for two distribution centers , one in eastern and western Pennsylvania .
The agency ’ s three-year consolidation project commenced in 2019 with the procurement of a new distribution site to replace its facility in southeastern Pennsylvania .
Following a year-long construction period , the new Philadelphia-based distribution center opened in October of 2020 . A new contract for warehousing and transportation services with the PLCB ’ s existing Pittsburgh third-party logistics provider was awarded in late 2021 .
Along the way , the PLCB had to navigate challenges to bring this project to fruition . “ Certainly , with the state of the market and things that are going on with logistics , obtaining all the assets needed to consolidate — adding trucks and trailers to each fleet at the distribution centers — took longer than expected ,” says McFarland . “ We ended up jumping into several rental agreements while we were still procuring long term assets .”
“ Adding enough employees to run the operation was also a big piece ,” he continues . “ On the other side , going from three centers to two , we had a pile of inventory we needed to work through . We didn ’ t want , at the end of the day as the contract was closing , to still hold several thousand cases and pay to ship that around the state .”
According to the PLCB , the consolidation of its distributions hubs has allowed for structural and operational enhancements that enable the PLCB to deliver products more accurately , efficiently and expediently to FW & GS stores ; reduced administrative , operational and service costs ; added automation and integrated technology for packing and shipping processes ; allowed for more supplies in less space to mitigate the risks of shortages ; and achieved more flexibility in receiving product from vendors .
“ Our facilities are state of the art , with a team that really understands efficiency and being able to turn product from the dock back to the store ,” says Andrew Collins , Chief Operating Officer of the PLCB . “ This enables us to move product very quickly into our
facilities and get them into the hands of consumers across the state .”
Collectively , the PLCB ’ s eastern and western distribution facilities now provide 857,000 square feet of warehouse space , and ship more than 18.2 million cases of wine and spirits each year to 587 Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores , 13 Licensee Service Centers , an e-commerce fulfillment center and 650 licensees participating in the Licensee Delivery Program .
22 StateWays | www . stateways . com | Fall 2022