Software Error Causes Crisis in Mississippi

marklyon writes "Mississippi's Alcohol Beverage Control division shutdown its distribution center for an indefinite amount of time to fix computer problems today at noon. A software update applied to the inventory and ordering software last week is malfunctioning, causing orders and inventory to be lost or misrouted. 'It's a software problem, and it's an operational problem. We've gotten a lot of product in and we've got it going to the wrong location ... and the location numbers were wiped out,' said tax commissioner Ed Buelow. Buelow said the distribution center will fulfill all orders placed before noon today. He said he hopes the system will be fixed in a few days, but it's possible it could take weeks. Until that time, Mississippi bars, restaurants, and liquor stores will not be able to purchase additional stock. Many retailers are already complaining that they were unable to order sufficient quantities to supply them if the bug takes more than a few days to fix."

Comments

Just In Time inventory

[Asgard]

This is the downside of Just In Time inventory -- the system has little resiliancy to burps in the supply chain. Every step should have enough buffer to handle problems (ie bad weather, computer problems, disasters, etc).

Re:Central distribution, managed by the state?

[nate1138]

Yup, 18 states do it that way. All the booze passes through, gets taxed, and then resold. Alabama is the same way. On the bright side, the state-run stores are open to the public and have CHEAP liquor. Beer and wine, on the other hand, goes direct to the stores (at least in Alabama).