The $10 million system was installed in a Seattle warehouse last July after a delay of about two years. It was supposed to decrease billing errors, improve customer service and the accuracy of inventory records, and create a safer workplace by reducing employee lifting.

But the system failed to operate reliably. By October, the agency was falling behind on shipments by 4,000 to 6,000 cases a day, said Rick Phillips, the board's acting administrative director at the time.

"Someone needs to be accountable for this. Someone needs to be fired, if that's what it takes," said Marsha Richards, spokeswoman for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a conservative watchdog agency.

Pat Kohler, the liquor board's new administrative director, said the difficulties are not unusual for such a complex system and the bugs are being fixed.

The 68-year-old liquor agency, a monopoly that regulates and distributes hard liquor to merchants statewide, is so profitable it returned $209 million in excess funds in the most recent fiscal year.

The warehouse was finished in 1999 but could not be used because of holdups in bidding, buying and testing the handling system. The liquor board has been shelling out $74,202 a month — a total of $2.2 million so far — to rent a temporary warehouse in Auburn, 20 miles south, to help with distribution while the system problems are ironed out.

Other unexpected costs include $78,440 to pay workers to keep up with faulty computer commands and $102,500 extra paid to trucking companies to operate out of two warehouses.

No penalties have been assessed against Alvey Systems of St. Louis, Mo., which has received $7.4 million of its $10 million contract to install the system. Ken Thouvenot, Alvey vice president of project management, said it takes time to get the complex system running.

By late January, liquor board spokesman Bob Riler, said the system was moving 17,000 cases a day. Alvey hoped to meet the contract level of 21,250 cases during performance tests under way this week.

Yahoo!

-- Anonymous, February 09, 2002