Articles

Montreal - Since early February, the Societe des alcools du Quebec (SAQ) can rightfully claim to be a pioneer in the field of electronic commerce in alcoholic beverages. Indeed, it now makes all of its wine, beer and spirit purchases on-line through two portals, i.e. the public Global Wine & Spirits portal and its private SAQ B2B portal, and suppliers reacted positively. To take advantage of this transaction process, all a supplier needs is Internet access.

For several months now, the SAQ has done most of its purchasing on-line. By getting beer suppliers on board in early February, it can now conduct all of its transactions electronically, making them easier and more efficient than before.

Mr. Louis L. Roquet, the organization's president and CEO, points out that "the SAQ is proud to be the first business specializing in the distribution of wine, beer and spirits to make all of its purchases on-line. We also realize that this approach, which several other corporations are about to take, would never have been possible without the active involvement of all our suppliers. The Global Wine & Spirits and SAQ B2B portals are now fully integrated into our internal management systems and provide several producers, as well as the SAQ itself, with a window of opportunity on a large number of other markets."

Despite a number of initial misgivings, the SAQ's 2,000-odd suppliers appreciate this first alcoholic beverage e-business network. The new integrated process makes it possible for partners to keep each other constantly apprised of any requirement or service that is not being looked after and to take prompt corrective action.

Since May 2001, over 8,821 products from 40 countries have been available on the GWS and SAQ B2B portals, where 2,022 suppliers are registered. To date, the SAQ has placed 9,000 orders with 1,093 of these suppliers.