The Michigan Liquor Control Commission took measures this week to streamline the ordering process for its 14,000 liquor licensees across the state.
On Tuesday, the MLCC announced the launch of its new Online Liquor Ordering (OLO) system, which is designed to cut down the time and effort associated with the current ordering process that has been in place for decades.
While the old system required licensees to input the code and quantity of each liquor they wanted to order, the new OLO system provides a search function where users are able to search products by name or type.
The new online system also allows users to copy previous orders and add multiple users, whereas the old system only allowed for one user.
“There was no search functionality (with the old system) or anything like that,” Rishi Makkar, manager at International Beverage in Grand Rapids, told MiBiz. “You had to know what you wanted.
“(The new system) has functionality built into it,” Makkar added. “You can search items by name and by type and stuff like that. They’re working on improving on it, which is important. It’s far from perfect, but it’s a giant leap in the right direction. That feedback is continuous and I think they’re listening to that and evolving.”
The commission conducted testing and training with MLCC staff, liquor licensees and the state’s authorized distribution agents’ (ADAs) technical and customer service teams. The MLCC also provided licensees with advance notification and registration instructions prior to the rollout.
The MLCC has made a training manual and videos available on its website.
“Any time there is a new system, there will be some hiccups, both from the development side and the user side,” Makkar said.
However, Makkar said the streamlined ordering system will ultimately lead to better efficiency and ultimately a better customer experience.
“These enhanced capabilities certainly bring our liquor ordering system into the 21st century for our licensees and will better meet their business needs,” MLCC Chair Pat Gagliardi said in a statement. “Also with OLO, we now have a platform to build on that will give us the ability to add other functions that will serve us well into the future.”
