California beer distributors efficiently service the largest beer market in the nation delivering 297 million cases annually *(Adams Beverage Group Handbook Advance 2005). California beer wholesalers have annual sales of approximately $8.5 billion*. The average California beer wholesaler has a workforce of 138 employees; some wholesalers have as many as 600 employees while others have as few as 7 employees. Beer wholesalers provide their employees premium wages and compensation packages which include 401K plans, health insurance, and incentive bonuses.
The average California distributorship's payroll is $6.5 million annually and an employee benefit package of $1.68 million. Most California beer distributors are independent, family-owned and operated businesses, carried on by descendants of their post-Prohibition founders. California beer wholesalers are heavily invested in our state. They own massive temperature-controlled warehouses located throughout California and own and operate large vehicle fleets that are based and licensed in the state. The average California beer wholesaler has a fleet of 85 side loader delivery trucks plus long haul trailers, vans and sales cars to meet the needs of our large and small retail customers.
California beer wholesalers operate under contracts with brewers and importers. Brewer contracts place stringent requirements on wholesalers governing everything from integrity of the product to the painted graphics on our trucks. Wholesalers purchase beer from these brewers and importers. Before any beer is sold at retail, the brewer is paid in advance for the beer by electronic transfer from the wholesaler. This reduces the brewers' capital requirements and transfers the risk of retailer non-payment to the wholesaler. Beer wholesalers maintain the beer at their warehouse until it is marketed and sold to licensed retailers.
California's beer wholesalers employ a diverse workforce consisting of pre-sales (to take orders from accounts), drivers (to deliver the product), driver/salespeople (to sell new products to accounts during deliveries), marketing professionals (who act as the wholesaler's brands on the ground marketing team to generate repeat and new sales), merchandisers (who rotate product on the retail shelf and ensure product quality), warehouse employees (who fill orders and load trucks), mechanics (to service and repair the wholesaler's fleet of delivery vans and trucks) and management, administration, accounting, human resources and logistics personnel. Beer wholesalers provide their employees with a full range of benefits including: competitive salaries, health care insurance and retirement plans.
Our warehouse personnel are responsible for taking inventory daily - often several times each day! Beer inventory is labeled using bar code technology. When taking inventory, warehouse employees use a special electronic device that reads the bar codes and keeps track of stock. When beer is being prepared for delivery, each purchase order is attached to its own pallet. The beer is then loaded in the delivery trucks by order on each pallet. When trucks return from delivering, inventory is taken again prior to unloading the beer back into the warehouse.
Because warehousing and delivery are done by local beer wholesalers, retailer inventory is efficiently maintained. Beer wholesalers ensure beer freshness for consumers through timely deliveries (usually same or next day), rotation of beer on the retail shelf and removal and destruction of out-dated beer.
Beer wholesaling is rapidly developing into a high-tech industry. More and more distributors monitor their inventories through computerization. Many distributors use onboard GPS tracking devices to know the precise location of each delivery truck and to advise them on area traffic patterns and routing. Sales are placed and tracked on hand-held computers which are now standard operating equipment in this business.
