Additional Night Shift warehouse employees include Henry Collins,
Warehouse Manager; Larry Taylor, Warehouse Manager; Lewis
Myers, Warehouse Manager; and Dewayne McCardle, Warehouse
Production Manager.
10-year old conveyor belt system. A total of $1 million
was designated by the state legislature to cover the cost
of the initial phase of the upgrade, and an annual $1-$2
million in funding is anticipated to support this project
over the next several years. However, Holeman points
out that the expected funding is not guaranteed.
They gave us $1 million this year, but we have no
way of knowing for sure if they'll give us that amount
next year," Holeman explains. "That uncertainty makes it
difficult to accurately project and plan for upcoming
enhancements to our operations."
In addition to the planned conveyor and system
upgrades, the ABC's long-term planning calls for an
expansion of its warehouse facilities in the next five years
to keep up with the division's expected 3%-4% annual
growth, in addition to increased product demand.
Currently, the ABC is located on a 21-acre property
which houses administrative offices and its sole 211,000square-foot warehouse. The warehouse features a
35,000-square-foot climate controlled area for storing
the most expensive wines. Ideally, the ABC's location
would allow for an additional expansion of the warehouse on the existing property, giving the agency more
room to stock higher quantities of products, and also to
stock different types of products. Permittees are constantly requesting new product offerings in order to
meet the demands of their customers, yet the ABC is
forced to delist thousands of SKUs per year due to
inventory limitations.
Funding for a warehouse expansion is also up in
StateWays I www.stateways.com I January/February 2014
the air. Holeman says that the
ABC has been trying to convince
the state legislature to approve a
25-cents-per-case bailment fee.
Funds obtained via the tax would
be set aside to help finance the
agency's much-needed upgrades
and expansions. To date, however, the agency's attempt to generate support for that fee has been
unsuccessful.
It's unfortunate, because if we
get that, I think the growth rate
will be much more consistent,"
she says.
The future of the ABC's growth
and success will partly depend on
whether it receives these budget dollars from the legislature. Until then,
the agency will continue utilizing its
best practices to serve the people of
SW
Mississippi.
A dry/wet map of Mississippi's counties. Almost
half the counties in the state are dry.
19
