Delivering the Goods

With a tight, government-mandated deadline and strict regulatory compliance requirements, the introduction of ANBL’s new line of business faced daunting challenges. Thinkmax stepped up to redefine how ANBL delivers the goods.

ANBL is a provincial crown corporation responsible for all liquor retailing in the province of New Brunswick. When it was delegated the additional task of supervising sales of an entirely new line of business, it found itself having to embrace revolutionary new ways of retailing. It needed a complete unified retail platform supporting online and in-store sales and integrating multiple business aspects — including finance, operations and supply-chain management. The whole package had to be delivered according to tight timelines, rigorous compliance rules, and the agency’s traditional social responsibility mission.

> 6 months

Implementation of the platform

4 million

of page views within the first month

5%

increase of online sales within the first month

Thinkmax implemented a comprehensive, unified solution employing Microsoft Dynamics 365 combined with Optimizely (Episerver) in Microsoft Azure cloud. Our package aligned customer interactions with back-office processes to empower buyers and drive operational efficiencies. It presented ANBL with a cloud-based platform of exceptional elasticity and functionality, which could be implemented within the project’s 6- month timeline while keeping infrastructure investments to a minimum. It equipped stores with modern processes and tools, and supported sales representatives with advanced digital skills and a new retail mindset. It empowered consumers with flexible purchasing options (e.g. buy online, collect in-store) and curated information on safe consumption, legalities and lifestyle choices. It helped ANBL understand consumer intentions and objectives and personalize content for individual visitors through advanced AI.

ANBL was facing strong pressure to launch and support a complete new line of business in less than 6 months. The challenging timeline to meet imposed federal government legal deadline combined with advanced retail omni-channel requirements made it critical for us to choose the right platform and partner to achieve such an endeavour. The Optimizely (Episerver) platform combined with the Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Retail capabilities enabled us not just to meet our deadlines but also to face extreme peaks during launch.

Dwayne Chase

Director of Information Technology

Alcool NB Liquor

Dynamics 365 & Optimizely (Episerver)