Fulfilment or warehousing company with alcohol licence

[cjm1982]

Hi,

I know there are a few threads knocking about on fulfilment companies and a few people on here who work for them, so I'm just wondering if anyone has any recommendations of fulfilment companies that are licenced to store and dispatch alcohol?

I've found a couple that aren't particularly close to me. Ideally I'd like a facility in the north west but this isn't essential. More important is that they are flexible on order volumes and happy to deal with small scale ecommerce retailers.

 

[RedOnion]

Interesting question!

I have insurance to store alcohol, but never got as far as looking into licences. I don't store alcohol as currently no customers selling it, but would be interested to know more.

 

[Iain Hill]

Hi,

I have had lots of correspondence with our local council about this. My understanding is that as the fulfilment company are unable to control the point of sale, the licence cannot be in the name of the fulfilment company. But a premisis licence is required with the name of your company at the address of the fulfilment centre.

I do work for a fulfilment company and my attention was brought to clause 3.8 which I will copy below, sorry as it is long....

"Section 3.8 . The place where the order for alcohol, or payment for it, takes place may not be the same as the place where the alcohol is appropriated to the contract (i.e. the place where it is identified and specifically set apart for delivery to the purchaser). This position can arise when sales are made online, by telephone, or mail order. Section 190 of the 2003 Act provides that the sale of alcohol is to be treated as taking place where the alcohol is appropriated to the contract. It will be the premises at this location which need to be licensed; for example, a call centre receiving orders for alcohol would not need a licence but the warehouse where the alcohol is stored and specifically selected for, and despatched to, the purchaser would need to be licensed. These licensed premises will, as such, be subject to conditions including the times of day during which alcohol may be sold. The premises licence will also be subject to the mandatory licence conditions."

This then obviously has financial implications. More than happy to talk through or if you have any questions just shout, as we do have experience in this.

Many Thanks,

Iain

 

[Parabellum]

Hello,
Interesting discussion above.
Can anyone provide any leads on fulfilment facilities/warehouse that are properly licensed that can pick and pack wine?
Thank you in advance

 

[Iain Hill]

Hi Parabellum,

As per my last post the license cannot be in the fulfilment companies name, however it does need to be in your name (assuming that you are controlling point of sale). You would need a premises license with the address being at the fulfilment company/warehouse.

Some fulfilment companies will help you with this, which I am more than happy to do, so feel free to PM me if interested.

Many Thanks,

Iain

 

[FuturePro]

Warehousing and Dispatching Wines
I have experience of handling wines and spirits. There are a number of accreditations needed depending on where the orders are being dispatch to.
I hold a Personal Licence which is a prerequisite for the Premises Licence.
This is of course a separate issue to providing a duty bond.

PM or call me if you would like to discuss in more detail.
Best regards
Mark

 

[AndreaHampshire]

Hi, I know this is an old thread but I am looking for a fulfilment company that can fulfil Spirits orders - from the above I understand I would need to apply for a premises licence with my/my company name but with the fulfilment company address - I have seen various offers of help with this - if you are a fulfilment company with experience of this and can still help/advise please feel free to PM me.

 

[FuturePro]

Hi Andrea, We have the licenses to Pick Pack and distribute alcohol (spirits, beers etc). This is something we currently do.
You are most welcome to contact me by email, PM or call me on 0118 907 6262.

 

[Lawson@CBF]

Hi Andrea,

I can help if you haven't sorted it already. We store and process a lot of wine and spirits for fulfilment through ecommerce and wholesale channels. We are also the only fulfilment warehouse we can find in the country that offer software tools for all stock controls, reporting and API connections to all the major online retailers for free. Be careful about additional charges to setup accounts and monthly fees for services other than storage.

Happy to schedule a call or have you speak to one of our warehouse managers to enlighten you further.

I hope that helps.

 

[Iain Hill]

We are also the only fulfilment warehouse we can find in the country that offer software tools for all stock controls, reporting and API connections to all the major online retailers for free.

You make some valid points Lawson@CBF in that you need to be aware of all costs of wherever you are sending your goods and always ask whether there are set up fees or monthly management fees. I would however be interested in how you can claim that you are the only fulfilment house to provide the tools quoted for free?

 

[Lawson@CBF]

You make some valid points Lawson@CBF in that you need to be aware of all costs of wherever you are sending your goods and always ask whether there are set up fees or monthly management fees. I would however be interested in how you can claim that you are the only fulfilment house to provide the tools quoted for free?

Thanks Iain. I'm sure there are others but we haven't come up against any that haven't tried to hide the costs elsewhere showing storage, pick/pack or postage slightly higher. We are truly transparent.

Fulfilment as you know isn't about 'How big is your...warehouse is', it's about customer service that's why we have a 30 year track record and great client retention. Our clients use all the group services including our printing presses our dedicated graphic/web team and our freight forwarders with over 400 drivers on our books to make sure we deliver whats right for our clients.

We have a free photo studio for product shot use and different ambient temperature areas for different ranges of goods.

The industry has a strange way of using the cloud to create smoke and mirrors to enhance offering when a lot of fulfilment companies don't actually have their own warehousing, they seem to farm out the work with a margin and no control over processes. This is no good for the sector or the clients.

I hope we can work together in the future.

 

[Iain Hill]

That is a good point raised, I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for fulfilment that they visit the warehouse first. As you have mentioned I am also aware of other "fulfilment centres" which just farm out the work with an additional margin.

 

[FuturePro]

We actively welcome potential customers to visit us, walk around our warehouse buildings and meet of teams. We carry out e-commerce fulfilment for wine, beer and spirits brands.
So I agree its important to check Licenced Premises, and see for yourself work in progress.