LCBO appreciates the patience, partnership, and understanding that all suppliers have offered us following the April 1 update to our systems and processes.

Since launch we have made material progress and we are happy to share that  our systems remain stable and the LCBO is processing and delivering orders on a daily basis. As we continue to work through a full order flow cycle, we expected to gain visibility to some glitches and impacts on the supplier experience. Some issues were expected; others unexpected and linked to system access or data accuracy/processing.

We’d like to share more information on some issues that you may have questions about:

• Narrowcast / SoD reports: We paused our weekly Narrowcast reports due to incorrect and missing data for purchase orders. We are working through some inconsistencies in data in the Narrowcast inventory reports, and we continue to troubleshoot the narrowcast PO report and will confirm once we are confident in the solution. We anticipate having an update on Sale of Data reports shortly.

• LCBO Gateway access: Some users are still waiting for access to LCBO Gateway or are only partially set up (i.e. agents who represent multiple vendors may not have access to all vendors yet). The LCBO Gateway Support Team is working to address these requests as quickly as possible. Some useful reminders:

     • If a supplier has already submitted a support request for access, we appreciate their patience.

     • An optional LCBO Gateway drop-in support session will be hosted on April 24.
       Register here (200 participant limit), and an email invitation will be sent on April 23.

  • • 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 is a change that is creating some initial concern and 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.
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  • • Bulk Purchase Order (PO) confirmations in LCBO Gateway: We understand that the inability to bulk upload POs within LCBO Gateway has been identified as a challenge by many suppliers. As was discussed during stakeholder sessions before launch of FSM, the system does not include this capability. Given the feedback received, we are exploring options to streamline the confirmation process.
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  • • Order flow delays: Some POs are being received, but are not being processed properly, which means delays getting inventory into our systems and then to LCBO retail stores and wholesale customers. Therefore, a supplier may notice that their PO status was cancelled and then renewed. A manual solution is in place while we work to solve the root issue; however, some delays should be expected with invoicing and payments. We appreciate everyone’s patience.
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  • • Financial processes: Payments have been flowing with a high level of accuracy; however, targeted groups experienced minimal payment delays and/or inaccurate documentation, most of which have been addressed in SAP to avoid future issues. We continue to manage other case-by-case financial process issues. Suppliers can email Accounts.payable@lcbo.com for support as needed.

  • • LCBO.com: We continue to work through isolated incidents regarding Vintages on LCBO.com. We are making progress to correct Vintages years, scores and accolades on affected product pages. There are also instances of inaccurate inventory availability for Vintages New Release SKUs and are prioritizing having a solution in place as soon as possible.

  • • Expanded product details: Additional product information for all newly approved product submissions is temporarily being collected via online form (separate from NISS). This additional information will support QA regulatory reporting and enhance local product classifications, as well as capture supplier’s wholesale pricing estimation. To help you prepare and gather the additional product information in advance of filling out the form, a reference guide was recently shared. We also updated the language and definitions in the form based on your feedback.  
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  • While this is not an exhaustive list, we hope that this update has been helpful. We thank you again for your support during the transformation. Your LCBO representatives are available for additional support.
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  • Thank you.