StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions
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look after both the spirits business and lottery operations including monthly meetings with our Commission. On the spirits side, the state has a strong relationship with separate private sector partners for wholesale operations management and retail consumer sales. My goal is simply to focus on the basics of com- merce to create a stronger, healthier business for all stakeholders in the state. Here is a brief summary of some of the things we are doing to ensure achievement of this goal. First, we are trying much harder to eliminate out- of-stocks in the warehouse and the agency store shelves. This requires closer attention to volume forecasting and inventory management, particularly on our monthly sales specials. This can happen when we are communi- cating frequently with the brokers and staying on top of sales trends. But this opportunity is also influenced by retail store space management. We owe it to our agency stores to list what their consumers want so that we please the most consumers possible. This is where the tried and true "80/20" principle comes in. We are encouraging all our stakeholders to focus their resources on the 20% of the SKU's [stock-keeping units] that drive 80% of the business. By focusing more attention on both forecast- ing and space management on these items, we win with consumers and yield better returns on inventory invest- ment. Second, we are striving for more and better spirit retail merchandising programs. To deliver this we are spending more time listening to our retailers and plan- ning with the distillers and their brokers. This sounds quite obvious, but it requires tremendous time and commitment to do well. In our state, it also requires us to work more effectively with our legislature to modify some regulatory constraints that are depriving our con- sumers of basic value to which they are entitled. Third, we are just beginning to think about on- premise brand merchandising opportunities. This will be a big culture shift in our state, but a necessary one, because great spirit brands are built in the on-premise channels. For us, this has regulatory implications as well as distiller and broker planning energy and resources. Fourth, Maine still lacks a pricing formula which is something we are committed to adopting in the near future. This raises an issue of significant concern to us, given our stated goal at the beginning of this article which is the aggressive pace of distiller price increases. Our concern is that we doubt the consumers' ability to pay because of the weak economy, jobs picture, and weak personal discretionary incomes. It would be very unfortunate if pricing actions produce unintended neg- ative effects on general demand. History has shown how easy it is to stifle impulse purchases, reduce on-premise occasions, and motivate consumers to trade down to lower-priced beverage alternatives. We believe the big opportunity right now is for innovative, high quality, brilliantly packaged and designed value brands. 12 Superior consumer value is one of the "basics" that will receive more support in the state of Maine. I will conclude with a few comments on privatiza- tion. As stated above, our system in Maine already uses private sector partners for warehousing, shipping, and all spirits retailing activities. Like any business system, ours can certainly be improved; however, it is broadly meeting the needs of multiple stakeholders. As a result, our intention is to improve what we have rather than start over with a completely different business model. We are having a pretty good year in the business and look forward to many more in the future. Stephen Larson Administrator Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division IOWA term projects were completed including launching online reporting of beer and wine taxes, initiating a com- prehensive alcohol compliance program, and providing an alcohol server eLearning training course. All of these and more were accomplished while having another record-breaking year in sales and funds generated for the State. This past year the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division (IABD) focused on implementing the vision laid out in the agency's four-year busi- ness model and strategic plan. Many large, long- Increase compliance and regulatory clarity As part of the strategic plan, IABD has been devel- oping technology and educational programs that will result in increased compliance with the regulations that are the framework for the agency's mission and the sale of alcohol to consumers. In accordance with that goal, an electronic application for reporting beer and wine taxes was recently implemented. The reporting and pay- ment process is completed through the existing eLicensing program, which wholesalers already use to renew licenses. Test groups gave very positive feedback; the process is user-friendly and self-explanatory. One key component to increasing compliance is to also increase regulatory clarity. IABD has finished a complete review of all its administrative rules. Staff has now begun the process of revising existing and writing new rules where necessary. Restructuring of IABD for efficiency and greater return on investment IABD's Regulatory Affairs Bureau has initiated a comprehensive alcohol compliance program to increase StateWays s www.stateways.com s September/October 2012