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 a thorough evaluation, the organization chose to partner with Ruan, a respected leader in the transportation, warehousing, and logistics industry 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,” said 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 are transferred to the 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,” said 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,” said Wadle.
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. Ruan also provides training and development, state-of-the-art technology, complies with all regulatory and safety requirements, and implements equipment and maintenance strategies to keep ABD’s operation running efficiently and safely.
“We chose Ruan for their high standards of service and safety along with their longstanding Iowa ties. We couldn’t be prouder of our partnership with Ruan,” said Larson.
About the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division
The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division serves Iowans through responsible and efficient licensing, regulation and distribution of alcohol. For more information about ABD, visit https://abd.iowa.gov.