Platform essentials — customers & farmers
Core product
These are the capabilities we treat as non‑negotiable for a trustworthy farm‑to‑door marketplace — built around Tue/Fri drops, produce lists, partner farms, and clear roles for households and growers.
Customers — essential
Everything below should feel obvious in basket, checkout, orders, and produce lists — no guessing about timing or what happens after you pay.
- Cut‑offs & next delivery window — Always show “order by X for Tuesday/Friday” on basket, checkout, and dashboard so nobody guesses if they are in time.
- Substitution & exclusions — Per‑item prefs (“never onions”) or swap suggestions when stock shifts; ties directly to produce‑list flow.
- Order tracking — Clear states: placed → packed → out → delivered, with optional ETA for trust.
- Delivery / pickup clarity — Address validation against delivery‑zone logic, fee line‑item, and “farm pickup vs doorstep” when both exist.
- Receipts & issue reporting — One‑tap wrong/missing/damaged with optional photo plus refund or replace path (reduces support churn).
- Farm transparency — On product and order: which partner farm; optional batch/harvest date or certification note.
Farmers — essential
Partner tools should mirror customer cut‑offs and prevent overselling as SKU depth grows beyond showcase highlights.
- Harvest availability & caps — Per SKU/day: available qty, sold out, optional max per customer to avoid overselling at scale.
- Order packing view — Today’s route/list by delivery day: line items, qty, customer notes; room to mark packed or scanned later.
- Payout / settlement snapshot — What shipped, what is owed, period summary — visibility before payouts are fully automated.
- Lead time & cut‑off alignment — Farmer‑facing mirror of customer cut‑offs so growers know when lists freeze.
- Weather / disruption flag — Delay or low‑yield notice that can trigger substitutions or customer messaging (pairs with weather context on the dashboard).
- Simple CRM for wholesale / box buyers — Repeat customers, standing orders, or minimum‑order hints per farm.
Shared — both sides benefit
Infrastructure that reduces tickets and builds habit for members while keeping growers in the loop.
- Messaging or templated SMS — Delays, substitutions, and delivered confirmation without chasing email threads.
- Notifications — Email or push for cut‑off reminders and delivery day.
- Analytics‑lite — Farmers see demand by SKU/week; the platform sees conversion and churn signals to prioritise product work.