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Software Error Causes Crisis in Mississippi

Posted by michael on from the you-are-mortal dept.

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."

6 of 380 comments (clear)

  1. Just In Time inventory by Asgard · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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).

  2. Re:Central distribution, managed by the state? by nate1138 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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).

    --
    Where's my lobbyist? Right here.
  3. get drunk, screw up the software by circletimessquare · · Score: 3, Funny

    screw up the software, can't get drunk

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  4. In other news.... by freeze128 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Mississippi's divorce rate jumped to a whopping 72% this weekend. But on a higher note, there were no DUI's...

  5. Re:That's it. The kegger moves to ... by seanadams.com · · Score: 3, Funny
    At least it's not that hard to fix... just look for the comment that says:
    /* drunk now - fix later */
  6. Ontario has the same thing, it's pro/con by cookie_cutter · · Score: 4, Insightful
    We have a similar thing in Ontario, Canada. It has some interesting characteristics:

    Because the province buys all it's alcohol as a single buyer, it can demand, and gets, really awesome pricing deals; I believe about the lowest anywhere.

    However, the consumer doesn't see much of this benefit directly, because the price is jacked up so that it isn't really cheaper than any other place. Of course, the difference goes to the tax coffers, paying for social programs like medicine and education. I think it's a good deal.

    Also, I've never heard of any disaster like this one happening here. The cause isn't state control, it's having a single point of failure.