Retail Portal/ACH Tel-Sell

April 20, 2020

Dear Valued Retailer Partner:

These have certainly been unprecedented times, and first of all, we want to thank you for your business and working with us through these difficult times. 

Secondly, we have taken this time to look forward to opportunities for us to manage our business more effectively in situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.  Although we hope this does not happen again, it is important we are prepared to continue our business and communication with customers in the situation that we cannot do so with regular methods.

 1. Retail Portal Online Ordering System

Through the pandemic, it has become apparent that Lakeshore Beverage needs to provide a method for our retail accounts to order product in a contact-free method.  To meet this need, Lakeshore Beverage is investing in a new on-line ordering system – “Retail Portal”.  The system will be up and running in a few weeks. 

We are requiring all of our retail customers to sign-up for this system, so in the situation that we cannot make regular in-person sales calls, it will provide retailers a method to order product in a contactless manner and ensure the safety of our team members and customers. 

There are many benefits to using the Retail Portal.  Retailers who sign on will have access to:

• 24 hour on-line purchasing capability with product search (by name, type and package or draft), product descriptions and product features for all Lakeshore Beverage products (beer, cider, wine, liquor and non-alcoholic products)
• View and print past invoices
• View next scheduled delivery date
• View previous orders
• Modify open orders

In addition, we will send retailers email communications to alert you about new products, marketing ideas and provide insight into products that are “coming soon!”

Your Lakeshore Beverage Sales Representative will be reaching out to get you signed-up for Retail Portal, or if you would like to sign yourself up, please fill out the form here: https://lakeshorebeverage.formstack.com/forms/retail_portal_signup

Once the Retail Portal is up and running, you will be sent an email to complete your opt-in to the system. 

2. ACH/Electronic Payments

Finally, we encourage all retail accounts to sign-up for ACH/Electronic payments to allow for contactless, automated and electronic invoice payment.  The below ACH/Electronic payment providers are approved by both Lakeshore Beverage and the Illinois Liquor Control Commission.  These options are both free to retail accounts (up to 10 locations), and more information and sign-up information can be found below; however if you have any questions regarding either of these systems, feel free to reach out to Stephen Hayden, Lakeshore Beverage Accounting Manager at Stephen.hayden@lakeshorebev.com

Fintech

• For more information, visit https://www.fintech.com/retailers/
• To sign-up, visit https://ezenroll.fintech.net/Retailers/Autopay/Index

I-Control

• For more information, visit https://www.icontroldata.net/alcohol-payments/retailers
• To sign-up, visit https://www.icontroldata.net/alcohol-payments/eft-direct

Thank you for your attention to these important matters.  Although our hope is that business returns to the norm soon, it is important that we think ahead to maximize our ability to best serve you in the future if similar situations like this happen again. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Best regards,

J.R. Hand
CEO/President