The website was launched in November, 2002 with 16 orders placed. The free service has been growing in popularity and averaging 1,600 orders per month as more licensees become familiar with the program.
"Michigan business owners and managers placed a record 2,000 orders via the Internet last month. We expect that figure to continue to grow as more licensees realize how easy and convenient this service for ordering liquors and checking product availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," Hollister said. "I applaud the Liquor Control Commission and Michigan Department of Information Technology staff for offering this exciting service so the state of Michigan can better serve its customers."
Chairwoman Judith Allen added that the Liquor Control Commission has been receiving rave reviews for the service from customers. " Licensees indicate they like being able to see their order on the Internet," Allen said. "They say seeing the order in print before it's placed helps reduce ordering errors. Licensees also like the ease of placing just one order for all their products."
Licensees placing an order via the website receive an email confirmation of the order, including transaction confirmation numbers, delivery dates, a listing of items ordered, and price. No payment information is required or taken by the Internet ordering system. They pay by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT), check or cash at delivery time as usual. This makes the system even faster and easier to use than other types of ordering.
"One of the advantages of the online service is that licensees can immediately see what inventory is in stock, so they can easily make substitutions or other changes if needed," Department of Information Technology (DIT) Director Teri Takai said. "The DIT team implemented the newest technology available in order to provide this feature to ensure that customers receive the latest information on product availability and delivery to better serve their inventory needs."
Licensees who use the Internet ordering system can go back into the system throughout the day the order is placed and make updates to that order. Items can be added, deleted or changed throughout the order day.
"This is a great example of using technology to make government more accessible to the
citizens of Michigan," Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm said. "Our administration will continue to explore ways in which we can make government services more streamlined and easier for the public to use."
Licensees are required to use a password to begin using the system and there is no cost for use of use the online system.
