After the failed experiment of Prohibition in the early 20th century, the 21st Amendment was passed to repeal the 18th Amendment as well as grant the power of alcohol regulation to the states. Within this power is the three-tier distribution system, where alcohol suppliers are required to sell their products to a wholesaling company, who later sell to a retailer. This system makes alcohol easy to regulate as well as encourages competition within the alcohol market. Today however, companies are finding ways through new legislation and court cases to bypass this three-tier system by shipping their products directly. This gives these companies a competitive advantage against others that have to sell their products through the three-tier system, and as a result the three-tier system is slowly starting to fade away.