The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division (ABD) recently marked its first anniversary with Ruan.
The partnership began on April 15, 2019, with ABD contracting with Ruan for dedicated contract transportation and value-added warehousing.
ABD issued an RFP for transportation and warehousing fulfillment in May 2017, seeking a partner to serve its customers, reduce risk, build flexibility and scale, and maximize profit. After an evaluation period, the organization chose to partner with Ruan, a transportation, warehousing, and logistics provider based in Des Moines, IA.
“We have accomplished many of our goals for the partnership with Ruan, including enabling ABD to focus on our core responsibility of governing the alcoholic beverages marketplace in Iowa while providing the highest level of service to our customers,” says ABD Administrator Stephen Larson. “While we celebrate our anniversary during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 outbreak, it has been reassuring to have a trusted partner like Ruan to help us through this time. We commend the professional drivers and staff for their work in safely delivering the spirits while remaining flexible during a time of surging and increased business across the network.”
ABD enforces state laws and administrative rules related to the manufacture and sale of alcohol products in Iowa. Funds are generated by the sale of alcoholic liquor to off-premises retail licensees, license fees, civil penalties and excise tax of beer and wine. These revenues transfer into the state’s general fund, as well as to public treasuries to support city, county and state programs.
Ruan serves more than 1728 locations and manages approximately 2,300 SKUs.
“We have built a truly transparent and collaborative partnership with the ABD team,” says Marty Wadle, Ruan Senior Vice President of Commercial Solutions. “We look forward to continuing to build upon our first year of success, including implementing our strategic business goals, increasing productivity, and identifying continuous improvement initiatives.”
Ruan manages 18 professional drivers and 35 warehouse personnel, including recruiting and retaining employees. Over the past year, Ruan has retained many of ABD’s employees.
