Attorney General
A new liquor distribution centre in Delta will allow the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) to improve service for wholesale customers, including the hospitality industry and private liquor stores.
The 37,161 square-metre (40,000 square-foot) facility at 7003 72nd St. is almost twice the size of the facility it will replace, which was built in 1964 at Broadway Avenue and Rupert Street in Vancouver. Construction and remodelling of the new distribution centre, including a new, modern warehouse management system and equipment, was completed within the $57.1-million budget.
“Every day thousands of wholesale customers, mostly private businesses, rely on the Liquor Distribution Branch to deliver products reliably and on time,” said David Eby, Attorney General and Minister Responsible for the LDB. “This new, modern centre will mean better service to the LDB’s wholesale clients and the people it serves.”
Each year, the LDB fills more than 335,000 wholesale orders from nearly 10,000 customers throughout the province.
“Aside from being larger, the new distribution centre in Delta also has significantly more yard space, allowing us to stage trailers we can’t currently accommodate in shipping or receiving,” said Blain Lawson, general manager and CEO of the LDB. “Even in peak season, it will allow us to stock 15 days worth of product, a vast improvement over the current five days, so we can better manage and access product and get it to our customers more efficiently.”
Each day, staff at the expanded distribution centre will receive about 60 truckloads of product, pick and assemble an average of 60,000 cases and 10,000 individual bottles and send out over 200 deliveries to wholesale customers around the province. The larger hospitality customer pickup area will be able to handle up to 100 pickups per day.
The transition from the old facility to the new one will continue during the next several weeks. About a third of the wholesale customer base is already operating out of the Delta facility. Once the transition is complete, the distribution centre in Delta will operate 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday.
