Future State Modernization Ongoing Improvements

Future State Modernization R1B (April 1): Ongoing improvements

This page provides updates on key ongoing improvements related to the launch and update of several LCBO systems on April 1, as part of LCBO’s Future State Modernization. It includes the work underway to resolve any issues, assuring suppliers and agents have the latest information. This page will be updated at a minimum on a weekly basis. If you experience issues, not reflected on this page, please continue to connect directly with your LCBO representative. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we all adapt to new systems and processes.

Issues status: As of July 24, 2026

Sale of Data reporting:

• Sale of Data reports for weeks 1 through 10 have been added to the LCBO Sale of Data website. While we have conducted extensive testing and validation of the reports, we encourage all subscribed trade partners to review the data carefully and report any anomalies or discrepancies to saleofdata@lcbo.com. Your feedback will help us to ensure the continued quality and accuracy of the reporting.

• We are working to make reporting for weeks 11 through 13 available by the week of August 10, and will provide updates as needed.

• For those with outstanding SOD payments, we will be reaching out to you to collect payment (incorporating the P1 to P4 discount) to ensure you get your data in a timely manner.

Payments:

• Overall, payments continue to flow with a small number of outstanding payments waiting on disbursement from LCBO. If you are experiencing any payment-related issues, please email accounts.payable@lcbo.com and include relevant details.

• As a reminder, we are continuing to issue payment corrections to non-Ontario suppliers who received payments including Ontario HST (applicable to POs received before July 16). Impacted suppliers will be notified accordingly, and we will continue to support foreign suppliers with appropriate documentation to prove that any HST paid will be deducted.

Product onboarding:

• Good progress has been made onboarding new products (8,700+ since April 1) but we continue to have work to do to reduce products awaiting set up (i.e. backlog), and overall timelines.

• Specialty Services products from April have mainly been cleared, and new tools are being implemented to expedite this process on an ongoing basis.

• When it comes to general list items, there is a combination of factors leading to a backlog:

• Since April, suppliers have been completing an ‘Expanded Product Details Form for all newly approved products to gather additional information not captured in NISS, an interim measure until product submissions move into LCBO Gateway.

• This requires additional time for suppliers to complete, and the process slows down when incomplete information is submitted to the LCBO. We remind suppliers that a timely response to product submission questions, including EPDF, leads to a faster overall process.

• As a reminder, to help you prepare and gather the additional product information in advance of filling out the form, please refer to the reference guide.

• Meanwhile, LCBO has increased resources to focus on backlog items. We are also looking at opportunities to refine processes, while continuing to ensure that strong data governance standards are upheld.

• Seasonal products (i.e. Craft Beer program, Holiday Gifting), as well as products on upcoming paid programming, Vintages releases, and Events are being prioritized.

• We recognize that we need to modify and streamline the product set up time, and we are working towards that as a matter of urgency. Again, we appreciate the patience shown by our suppliers.

• As a reminder, as applicable, we will be:

• refunding prorated P1-P3 costs for any missed programming, or programming that could not be fully executed.

• extending listing sell-through timelines to ensure SKUs are not delisted because of listing delays.

• forcing store load-ins or not charging for expired inventory in LCBO warehouses due to delays in seasonal listings.

If you have questions related to impacts on product release dates, new POs, or planned promotional activity, please contact your category representative.

LCBO.com / wholesale.lcbo.com:

• We are aware that there have been instances where products listed in wholesale catalogues do not match what’s available/searchable on wholesale.lcbo.com. Wholesale customers should experience less instances of mismatches as we implement a resolution.

• We continue to monitor inventory between the new and legacy systems. A small number of inventory variances are being investigated, and the team is taking appropriate steps to mitigate any potential impacts to order fulfillment.

Transportation/Carriers:

• Order pickup performance remains strong, with the majority of orders successfully picked up. While pickup rates remain high, we continue to focus on returning to our target of all orders being picked up on time.

Hospitality licensees shopping in store:

• We are pleased to confirm that a solution to streamline the in-store checkout experience for hospitality licensees is now active in all LCBO stores, eliminating the manual price override process that had been in place since April 1.

LCBO Gateway support:

• This week, we launched LCBO Gateway SmartAssist, an AI-powered chatbot designed to provide fast, consistent answers and/or step-by-step guidance for common Gateway questions and processes. SmartAssist sources information from existing documentation and support resources found on Doing Business with LCBO.

• SmartAssist can be accessed by authorized LCBO Gateway users through Doing Business with LCBO, or from the Updates & Alerts app in Gateway itself.

• More information about SmartAssist can be found on Doing Business with LCBO.

Reminders

Need support?

• Payment-related items or advices: accounts.payable@lcbo.com

• Pricing questions: pricing@lcbo.com

• General listing-related questions: merchandising.support@lcbo.com

• Transportation questions: Transportation@lcbo.com

• LCBO Gateway:

• POs, Invoices/Payments, Access Changes, Technical Issues: Log a 'Support Request' in Gateway.

• Access requests/MFA issues, email lcbogateway@lcbo.com

Specialty Services

• Product inquiries: psrequests@lcbo.com

• Agent inquiries: psinfo@lcbo.com

• Agent order submissions: orderrequests@lcbo.com

• Consignment invoice requests: privateorderingpicks@lcbo.com

LCBO Gateway enhancements:

• We have received feedback from suppliers on proposed enhancements to Gateway. One of these enhancements is the ability for bulk purchase order (PO) confirmations/downloads. We are pleased to share that we expect to have a solution in place to enable the bulk upload/download of POs by mid-August. This will streamline the order confirmation process. More information will be shared in the coming weeks.

• While our focus remains on highest priority issues that impact our supplier and customer experience, other Gateway enhancements will be considered as able. We will keep you updated if and when changes can be made.

Reconciliation of payments:

• All order details can be found in LCBO Gateway. When an invoice is queried in the Invoices app, you may click into the PO (PO Number column) and the associated payment (Payment Document Number column) to view both the PO and payment details that each invoice is associated with.

• The exception to this is deliveries made directly from source to LCBO retail stores (details can be provided by accounts.payable@lcbo.com). Details of payment are available in Gateway but cannot be downloaded. The process remains the same as our legacy systems where details of the receival can be found on an invoice level including LCBO store number, item number, case cost, and case quantity. Improvements are expected later this year.

• If you need additional questions or clarification after reviewing Gateway, you can contact accounts.payable@lcbo.com.

Carrier visibility:

• As part of our transition to SAP, and move to align functionality with industry standards, suppliers do not have visibility into assigned carriers within LCBO Gateway at the time of PO issuance. LCBO engages suppliers and logistics providers separately, and the carrier will contact suppliers for scheduling.