# Farmers-Market Marketplace — Product Planning Meeting

**Date:** July 30, 2026  
**Time:** 10:00–11:00 a.m. ET  
**Location:** Video conference  
**Facilitator:** Maya Chen  
**Note-taker:** Jordan Bell

## Attendees

- Maya Chen — Product Manager
- Jordan Bell — Operations Lead
- Priya Shah — Engineering Lead
- Luis Martinez — Vendor Success Manager
- Hannah Brooks — Customer Experience Lead
- Theo Grant — Marketing Manager
- Erin Walsh — Finance and Compliance

## Agenda

1. Review feedback from the spring pilot
2. Confirm marketplace launch scope
3. Discuss vendor onboarding and verification
4. Finalize ordering, pickup, and cancellation policies
5. Assign launch-readiness tasks

## Discussion Notes

### Spring Pilot Feedback

- Shoppers liked browsing products from multiple farms before market day.
- Several customers assumed inventory was guaranteed even when vendors had enabled substitutions.
- Vendors reported that updating quantities item by item took too long, especially on harvest mornings.
- Pickup signage was inconsistent across market locations and caused congestion during peak periods.
- Mobile checkout completion was lower than desktop completion.
- Customers frequently requested filtering by organic certification, pickup location, and dietary category.

### Launch Scope

- The initial public release will support preorder and market pickup only.
- Delivery and shipping will remain out of scope until pickup operations are stable.
- The marketplace will launch with three participating markets and approximately 35 vendors.
- Products may be sold by unit, bunch, package, or fixed weight. Variable-weight pricing will not be supported at launch.
- Shoppers will use one cart and one payment, even when ordering from multiple vendors.

### Vendor Onboarding and Verification

- Vendors must provide business contact information, payout details, applicable permits, and proof of insurance.
- Market managers will confirm that each applicant is an approved vendor at the selected market.
- Vendors may save reusable product listings and update price, quantity, and availability each week.
- A spreadsheet import will be offered for vendors with larger catalogs.
- Training will include a live webinar, a recorded walkthrough, and a one-page opening-day checklist.

### Ordering and Pickup Policies

- Weekly ordering will close at 6:00 p.m. the day before each market unless a market manager sets an earlier cutoff.
- Vendors must confirm or adjust inventory by 8:00 p.m. on the cutoff day.
- Customers will receive a consolidated pickup confirmation after all vendors respond.
- Vendors may offer predefined substitutions, but customers must explicitly opt in.
- Customers may cancel for a full refund before the ordering cutoff.
- After the cutoff, refunds will be issued only for unavailable or unfulfilled items.
- Pickup reminders will be sent the evening before and two hours before the market opens.
- Unclaimed orders will not be automatically refunded.

## Decisions

- Launch preorder and pickup at Riverside, East Junction, and Cedar Grove markets.
- Target a soft launch on September 12, followed by broader promotion on September 19.
- Use a single customer checkout with separate vendor-level fulfillment records and payouts.
- Require explicit customer consent for substitutions.
- Display estimated quantities as “limited availability” rather than showing exact stock below five units.
- Standardize pickup signage and table layout across all launch markets.
- Add filters for market location, product category, organic certification, and dietary tags.
- Postpone delivery, loyalty rewards, variable-weight pricing, and vendor messaging until after launch.
- Review marketplace fees after eight weeks of transaction data.

## Action Items

| Owner | Action | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Priya | Finalize multi-vendor checkout and vendor-level order routing | August 14 |
| Priya | Investigate mobile checkout drop-off and propose fixes | August 7 |
| Luis | Confirm the initial vendor roster and collect outstanding documents | August 10 |
| Luis | Draft the vendor onboarding guide and opening-day checklist | August 12 |
| Jordan | Document pickup flow, staffing needs, and escalation procedures for each market | August 14 |
| Jordan | Order standardized pickup signs and table markers | August 21 |
| Hannah | Draft customer-facing cancellation, substitution, and unclaimed-order language | August 7 |
| Hannah | Prepare support macros for missing items, late vendors, and pickup disputes | August 21 |
| Theo | Build the soft-launch communications plan and vendor promotion toolkit | August 18 |
| Erin | Confirm refund, tax, payout, and record-retention requirements | August 12 |
| Maya | Publish the final launch scope and maintain the deferred-features list | August 3 |
| Maya | Schedule launch-readiness review with market managers | August 24 |

## Risks and Open Questions

- Two vendors still need updated insurance documents.
- Cedar Grove has limited space for a dedicated preorder pickup area.
- The team needs to confirm whether customers can add items in person without affecting preorder fulfillment.
- Finance will verify how taxes should be handled for prepared foods versus unprocessed produce.
- Engineering will assess whether spreadsheet imports can be validated before products go live.
- Operations will define a weather-cancellation process for outdoor markets.

## Next Meeting

**Launch Readiness Review:** August 24, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. ET