2023 BEST PRACTICES AWARDS
Virginia ABC ’ s top 40 products are pulled for store shipments via an automated system . All other products are pulled manually in the distribution center ’ s case pick area . Patrick Ochei ( foreground ) and David Wasilewski work in the case pick area of Virginia ABC ’ s distribution center .
Back row : Donnie Ellis , DevOps Engineer ; Luke Trent , Senior Software Engineering Supervisor ; Frank Monahan , Special Agent in Charge , Bureau of Law Enforcement ; and Jessie Austin , IT Systems Engineering Supervisor . Front Row : Paul Williams , Chief Information Officer and Tom Kirby , Chief , Bureau of Law Enforcement .
work alongside people in distribution to collaborate and come up with solutions to different problems . Their work had an incredible impact across so many aspects of our organization .”
Although Team W . O . W .’ s work ended at the end of 2022 , the processes it implemented remain in place and have created a massive operational and cultural shift within the agency .
“ Everything this team accomplished now serves as the building block of how we continue to operate every day ,” Moore said . “ It was so instrumental having representatives from so many different parts of the agency involved , from finance to human resources to enforcement to distribution and more . We now have processes and accountabilities that directly benefited from the viewpoints of many different stakeholders .”
Catricia Gray ( foreground ) and Rashead Turner pull individual bottles in the distribution center ’ s bottle pick area to pack and ship to specific stores .
corded a jump from 30,623 shipped cases per day to 37,346 over the previous year , and an average of 118 cases packed per hour as opposed to 70 cases per hour the year before .
“ I ’ ve worked in the retail industry for more than 30 years , and seeing the many accomplishments of this team is by far the highlight of my career ,” said Jennifer Burke , Director of Retail Operations . “ So many people contributed to this process , and we were working across teams . We had people from the retail side come in to
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DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE ONLINE LICENSING SYSTEM To enhance customer service and convenience , Virginia ABC launched a new online licensing system in 2022 to replace six antiquated systems . Previously , people could only apply for banquet licenses online . With the new system , Virginia ABC Licensing ( VAL ), licensees can apply for , renew , modify , and surrender any license online . Additionally , VAL processes all fees and fines online , eliminating the need for people to drive to an ABC regional office to complete financial transactions . VAL also incorporates hearings and appeals processes into the online system .
Banquet licenses were the first to be processed using VAL , and retail and industry licenses became available several months later . By the end of the fiscal year , VAL was used by 71 % of individuals requesting a banquet license . It currently has a 26 % average adoption rate for retail and industry licenses , although that number continues to grow .
The implementation process encountered multiple challenges , including disruption during the pandemic , complex data migration , and the state ’ s general assembly mandating new requirements to licensing systems when VAL was halfway through development . But the agency persevered , obtaining buy-in from a variety of key stakeholders to help move the process forward .
“ We met with a lot of associations and trade groups to raise awareness , created tutorials , and traveled around the state to offer beta testing , information sessions , and trainings ,” said Frank Monahan , Business Sponsor of VAL . “ We also had some things come up post-launch
StateWays | www . stateways . com | Fall 2023