Expenditures will have to grow less quickly than revenues, the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, warned us the day after the presentation of his latest budget. What’s more, ministries and state corporations, notably the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ), will have to carry out an “optimization” exercise in order to help curb Quebec’s deficit.
Our proposal in this regard is very simple: that Quebec order an end to the project to expand the SAQ distribution center in Montreal, work on which was interrupted in January following the intervention of indigenous groups concerned about the presence of an old cemetery on the coveted site.
First authorized at 45.8 million in 2021, the budget for this project was uncapped up to 137 million by the government last May. And this, before even a single shovelful of earth is lifted.
Remember that this sum only provides for the “walls” of the next automated distribution center: if we include the robotic system which will be responsible for processing orders, the sum of 300 million seems more appropriate to us.
All this for what ?
To centralize, in this single Montreal warehouse, the preparation and shipping of all Quebec purchases made online, regardless of where they come from.
Thus, for a citizen of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean or for a resident of the North Shore, the order for a single bottle of crème de menthe placed on SAQ.com will be processed in Montreal then shipped, by truck, to ‘to the destination – without any regard to the fact that the same bottle is already found in each neighborhood branch, throughout Quebec.
The environmental nonsense is striking, at a time when Quebec is struggling to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, particularly those emitted by road transport.
Nonsense on a financial level too: for several years, SAQ employees have asked orders placed online to be prepared in the branch. The request is currently under discussion at the negotiating table: the in-store collection time will be much faster than the three to five day delay caused by shipping orders from Montreal.
The president and CEO of the SAQ, Jacques Farcy, knows very well the advantages of preparing and picking up orders in the branches: at the SQDC, where he implemented this system, the waiting time is… 60 minutes.
To justify its automated center project, the SAQ management talks to us about a “vision of the future”. At 300 million, the future seems expensive.
Especially since the financial results of online transactions are far from meeting expectations: barely 3% of the SAQ’s total sales. In-store customers tell us: delivery times and lack of customer service are the primary reasons for disinterest in online purchasing.
And a 300 million automated superwarehouse would magically solve these problems?
We seriously doubt it.
While the savings made by putting an end to this pharaonic project are very real.