CSNC EXCLUSIVE: LCBO to revamp ordering system
Following frustrations and complaints from c-store owners across Ontario about the bureaucracy of resolving missing items in beverage alcohol deliveries, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario has told Convenience Store News Canada that changes are coming down the pipe.
“We will be making improvements to the interface for our B2B returns and claims submissions,” the LCBO said in an email to CSNC, adding more details will be forthcoming this year.
LCBO’s online ordering system, GMS (Grocery Management System), supports more than 4,500 grocery and c-store customers province-wide. Since launch, however, some common gripes have emerged.
Nicholas Smusz, who manages with his brother-in-law an Ultramar gas station in Quinte West, Ont., says they has no issue finding products and prices on GMS. When problems do arise, they happen at the delivery stage, he says, with a lack of clarity and transparency, and undo onus on c-stores.
A month or two ago, for instance, the gas station had ordered two cases each of Inniskillin and Jackson-Triggs wine, which are both owned by Arterra Wines Canada. “But only one case of each was delivered, and on the bill of landing it showed just the one case each, too” says Smusz, noting a third-party delivered the order by truck.
As he had been told by their account manager, he logged back onto GMS to record what he had received, but couldn’t. “Every time we logged in there, it said ‘Two cases of each received.’ We couldn’t change it to one no matter what we did. It was brutal.”
Their next step was to file a claim with the LCBO, but because he didn’t do so within a 72-hour period following delivery, “it wasn’t approved.”
Because the LCBO holds the funds via customer credit card upon order, the Ultramar’s credit card bill came due for the roughly $500 in product he didn’t receive before he was ultimately reimbursed.
“I don’t understand why we have to reach out to claims if we don’t receive our full order,” says Smusz. He adds it’s also unclear whether c-stores are still being charged higher delivery fees, even when their orders are only half the expected size.
Smusz acknowledges there is a “learning curve” on both sides, given beverage alcohol was fast-tracked in Ontario. And he is happy to report that the category is moving well at the Ultramar, which is in a high-traffic location on the way to Sandbanks Provincial Park. The category clears about $11,000 per month in sales, and Smusz expects that figure to jump when the weather gets warmer.
Last week during the Beverage Alcohol Panel discussion at The Convenience U CARWACS Show, panelists echoed this sentiment.
The panelists, including Thea Bourne, retail program manager at BG Fuels; Marietta Cini, Hasty Market’s vice president of operations and sales; Emily Sparrow, project lead and category manager alcohol - Ontario and Quebec, Petro-Canada, a Suncor business; and Manish Thakker, co-owner, Vani’s Convenience in Brampton, Ont., acknowledged early challenges, but noted that all stakeholders were learning on-the-go, including the LCBO as a wholesaler. The group was optimistic about the category’s solid performance to date and future opportunities.
In its email, the LCBO noted the agency has embarked on a multi-year program called Future State Modernization to support the long-term, sustainable success for the organization. “We are continuously looking at ways to improve the experience based on customer feedback,” it added.
