The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) says it plans to begin providing cannabis producers with more specific cannabis sales data, including access to store-specific information. 

In an announcement posted on the OCS’ B2B platform on June 25, the Crown corporation says it will be offering its cannabis producer-partners “greater visibility into the specific authorized stores that are purchasing their products through the OCS,” which includes the types of products each of these stores order from OCS each day at the SKU-level and the number of units ordered from OCS by each retailer, by SKU, each day.

These are changes many Canadian cannabis producers have been asking provincial cannabis agencies, like the OCS, to provide for some time. Such figures will allow producers to better understand what products are selling better in what parts of the province, providing an opportunity for more targeted sales measures. Alberta and BC have provided similar data programs for producers/suppliers. 

The OCS is gearing up to roll these changes out in the “coming months,” a development that will build upon the existing Supplier Data Program. This, in turn, will assist cannabis producers/suppliers with sales and operations planning, leading to improved inventory availability, fulfilment, and delivery service levels for Authorized Retail Stores.

The OCS offers two levels to its supplier data program. Level one allows OCS suppliers to access insight into their products’ sales performance across the province. A level two data subscription also provides access to more broad sales figures about other producer/supplier sales. These new changes would occur only under level one.

Suppliers will only receive detailed and specific SKU and store-level wholesale sales data for their own products. This information will only come from the OCS, not from any retailer point-of-sale metrics or retailer inventory data. Suppliers also cannot provide the store-level wholesale sales information from OCS with anyone outside of their organization. 

Providing suppliers with this sales data will also build upon the OCS’ Flow Through distribution channel, ensuring suppliers can better forecast sales demands. Flow Through allows retailers to order products the OCS does not typically carry in the world’s largest cannabis distribution warehouse.

The OCS is seeking industry feedback on the changes to its supplier data program through July 9, 2024. 

Featured image via potguide.com

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