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 3, 2026

Sale of Data reporting:

• To finalize Sale of Data reports for weeks 1 through 10, we are undertaking the following activities in parallel:

1) Validating that the report is consuming the right data from new LCBO systems.

2) Continuing to re-process and close any outstanding orders in our systems. Without closed orders, data in the report will not provide a complete picture of sales.

• We expect to have these activities completed by the end of next week, and following some final quality checks, we are aiming to distribute reports by July 17.

• Validation of reports for weeks 11 and beyond will be ongoing, and we will release them as soon as we’re able.

• As previously shared, we will be issuing refunds to relevant subscribers for the delayed P1-3 reports. The LCBO will be in contact with subscribers to process the applicable refund(s) in the near future. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Payments:

• Next week we expect to resolve a system issue causing Ontario sales tax (HST) to be incorrectly applied to payments made to non-Ontario suppliers.

• Ongoing payment corrections will be made for impacted POs received before the fix (date to be confirmed next week), and suppliers will be notified accordingly. We will continue to support foreign suppliers with appropriate documentation to prove that any HST paid will be deducted.

We encourage you to reach out to accounts.payable@lcbo.com with any questions or concerns.

Existing products:

• We continue to work through the backlog to add existing products to catalogues, but suppliers can expect to take longer than usual (up to 2 weeks). Thank you for your patience.

• We are aware that some wholesale customers are receiving an error message stating “restricted products” when placing an order. Over the coming weeks, they should experience less instances as we implement a resolution.

New products:

• Since April 1, we have brought ~5,100 new SKUs to market (across direct delivery, general list, Vintages, and Specialty Services products); however, it is taking longer than usual due to the large volume of new products awaiting setup.

• Within general catalogues, we are prioritizing seasonal products (i.e. Craft Beer program, Holiday Gifting), as well as products on upcoming paid programming, Vintages releases, and Events. We anticipate that the majority of new generally listed products will be added to our systems by the end of July.

• 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.

• The majority of new Specialty Services suppliers have been onboarded, and related SKU setup is underway. With additional resources and tools to help expedite this process, we anticipate that the majority of new SSE products will be added to our systems by July 10.

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 continue to monitor discrepancies in our online inventory and actual inventory/product availability and are prioritizing this issue for resolution.

Transportation/Carriers:

• Inbound shipments to LCBO are moving and the backlog is actively being reduced. Since April 1, more than 97% of general list orders (cases) have been picked up.

• Some inbound-to-LCBO delays have been traced back to incorrect pickup addresses in our records.  We reached out to authorized agents (via pickuplocation@lcbo.com) to confirm incoterms and the pickup location for each of their vendors (by SKU). Thank you for your timely response. If an agent is still working on updating their data or they are missing any information, please email pickuplocation@lcbo.com.

• Specialty Services orders are being processed. Since April 1, 93% of POs (cases) have picked up and moving through the network toward our distribution facilities. Some consolidation orders are experiencing delays, and an existing backlog continues to result in delays of several weeks.  We are working closely with our carrier partners to execute interim workarounds to keep product flowing where required, and are reallocating internal resources to work collaboratively with carriers on ensuring proper order flow (i.e. orders are sent, received, confirmed etc.). ETA on product arrival may be unavailable as we work through the existing backlog, but our priority is to move all freight as soon as possible.

Reminders

Narrowcast

Some key changes to the Narrowcast inventory report you should be aware of:

• If an agent only has one product, the report will only display locations that have inventory. Those without inventory are omitted.

• If an agent has multiple products, the report will show the locations that have inventory for those products, and it will also show the location columns for those items without inventory, but it will be blank.

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:

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. 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: To support reconciliation efforts, we’ve outlined different approaches to access payment and PO information depending on when the order was placed.

• For orders placed April 1 onwards, all order details can be found in Gateway. When an invoice is queried, the PO number can be found under the PO number field, which can be used to query order details within Gateway.  The exception to this is deliveries made directly from source to LCBO retail stores. 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.

• For orders prior to April 1, PO numbers for each payment can usually be found in the reference field on your payment advice, however we are aware that in some cases the PO field is not populating and are working on a resolution. Should this be the case, you can login to Gateway to reconcile payments with POs.

For direct deliveries from source to LCBO retail stores, the details for these orders are only available via Accounts Payable (accounts.payable@lcbo.com).  Copies of chargeback invoices dated up to March 31 can also only be retrieved by Accounts Payable.

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

Expanded product details: Additional product information for all newly-approved product submissions are temporarily being collected via an online form (separate from NISS). We recognize that collecting expanded product details from suppliers often requires multiple follow-ups from LCBO to validate and confirm accuracy, which may add to timelines. 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.

Carrier visibility: As part of our transition to SAP, and move to align functionality with industry standards, vendors 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. We appreciate that this change is creating some initial concern about delays, particularly when new carriers are involved and onboarding/setup is required. Our expectation is that as we work past launch considerations, this will become a much smoother process.