Potential Hub requirements list: mostly wish, or mostly done?

We in the US have been contacted by a hub that is looking to get started. They have a list of features they are wondering about, and I am not positive where we stand on all of them. Help/comments in https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16OJvB-0upPYGLjsW4UZtYgL3_8_1qSwyLCXuEtLZ60g/edit?usp=sharing would be so appreciated!

Their list is basically as follows (this list is also in the spreadsheet above with room for comments). I have a question back to them about who “purveyors” are.

  • Purveyors can shop by product category
  • Software keeps track of inventory
  • Unified measuring to track inventory (Ex. Bulk carrots sold by lb)
  • Farms individually listed in product category and they can talk about their practices, business, products
  • Option for farms to deliver themselves
  • Option for an aggregated delivery where farms drop off at one location and the transport company picks it up from there and delivers to purveyors
  • Reports for tracking product trends that can be used for growing calendars for following year
  • Financial reports for farms that can be integrated into their QuickBooks
  • Way to tell if purveyors are wanting a product that is not in stock
  • Farms are able to post how long they anticipate to have the product so restaurants can plan menus
  • Pack sheets per farm

These are my opinions IN CAPITALS but open to thoughts from others :slight_smile:

  • Purveyors can shop by product category - YES IF PURVEYORS ARE SHOPPERS
  • Software keeps track of inventory - YES
  • Unified measuring to track inventory (Ex. Bulk carrots sold by lb) - STOCK LEVELS REDUCE AS PURCHASES ARE MADE. I AM NOT SURE OF THE MEANING OF THE WORK UNIFIED HERE
  • Farms individually listed in product category and they can talk about their practices, business, products FOR EACH PRODUCT ON A SHOPFRONT SHOPPERS CAN CLICK ON THE PRODUCER OF THAT PRODUCT TO READ MORE ABOUT THEM, SHOPPERS CAN FILTER BY PRODUCT CATEGORY
  • Option for farms to deliver themselves YES FARMS NEED TO DELIVER TO THE HUBS AND HAVE THE OPTION ADDITIONALLY TO SELL DIRECT FROM THE FARM
  • Option for an aggregated delivery where farms drop off at one location and the transport company picks it up from there and delivers to purveyors YES IF THE FARMS, TRANSPORT COMPANY AND HUB (IS THAT WHAT PURVEYOR MEANS?) CAN ARRANGE THIS AND SORT OUT PAYMNETS THEN THE TRANSPORT COMPANY CHARGES CAN BE ADDED AS AN ENTERPRISE FEE
  • Reports for tracking product trends that can be used for growing calendars for following year YES - EXCEL SPREADSHEETS OF SALES OVER TIME
  • Financial reports for farms that can be integrated into their QuickBooks YES STROUDCO USES QUICKBOOKS ONLINE WITH A ZAPIER INTEGRATION TO LINK TO OFN
  • Way to tell if purveyors are wanting a product that is not in stock NO
  • Farms are able to post how long they anticipate to have the product so restaurants can plan menus NO
  • Pack sheets per farm YES

Thanks Nick! It’s an interesting list, no? I got some clarification and a “purveyor” is a customer at the wholesale/institutional level (store, restaurant, school). This is a newly forming hub and i think they are still playing with how it will all work. It seems like a lot of what they are looking for is best accomplished by processes that use the data and tools OFN provides. I am looking forward to learning more about their vision and figuring out how and where OFN can help.