As announced yesterday, the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) is pleased that job action has halted. The LDB remains hopeful while the parties continue to work towards a resolution and looks forward to welcoming back employees to our distribution centres and wholesale customer centres.
This update is intended to provide some guidance on what customers and suppliers can expect over the next several weeks as it will take some time for service levels to return to normal. Communications with detailed information specific to customers and suppliers is available for downloading below.
To facilitate a smooth return to normal service levels in an expedited manner, the distribution centres will focus first on shipping the outstanding orders currently assembled in the distribution centre and fulfilling customer orders that were received prior to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, August 17. We aim to start shipping these outstanding orders today and customers will be notified by email when their order ships from the distribution centre.
Once the outstanding orders have been completed, the distribution centres will start assembling and shipping new orders that are received. To ensure we can get product to customers as soon as possible, it is likely we will need to deliver outside of normal delivery windows. We thank you in advance for your patience and kindly request that customers remain flexible for order deliveries. This strategy will allow for the most efficient supply of product to customers and we will advise when we return to standard service.
Other temporary impacts
Until further notice, single bottle pick is suspended. Our teams will be focusing singularly on meeting volume demand and single bottle pick will not be available for ordering; and any orders already submitted will not be fulfilled.
While we will attempt to deliver non-stock wholesale product (NSWP) as soon as possible, it is likely there will be delays during this initial restart phase.
Customers may submit returns but thank you for understanding that it may take some time before any returns are reviewed and processed by WCC Vancouver.
Ordering
Web Store is now available to wholesale customers to place orders and view inventory levels.
Given the anticipated high volume, users may experience some delays when placing orders and processing transactions. We appreciate your patience and understanding and kindly ask any users who experience challenges to try using Web Store again before contacting the WCC.
WCC will now accept wholesale customer orders by email and telephone but processing times will be delayed due to anticipated high volume. Therefore, for eligible customer types, we would like to encourage customers to use Web Store for ordering and inventory visibility.
We greatly appreciate your continued patience and understanding as it will take some time for liquor wholesale operations and service levels to return to normal. We are working closely with our carriers and industry partners to allocate additional resources to support a smooth and expedited resumption of operations.
If you have any questions, please contact the Wholesale Customer Centre at wholesalehelp@bcldb.com or call 604-775-0681 or 1-888-775-0681.