Instead of relying on retailer POS/ERP integration, the blog suggests suppliers could gain earlier visibility into consignment sales by capturing weighing-machine barcode data and importing it into systems like Odoo. It ends by asking if anyone has tried this or a similar approach.
For many fruit and vegetable suppliers, consignment sales are a way of doing business. Products are delivered to hypermarkets, displayed on shelves, weighed at the counter, and sold through the retailer’s POS system. At the end of the month, the supplier receives a consolidated sales report and payment after the retailer deducts its commission.
But there is one question that remains unanswered:
Can suppliers actually track those sales in real time?
The common answer is, “Only if the hypermarket allows ERP or POS integration.”
But what if that’s not the only way?
Instead of focusing on the retailer’s POS, what if we looked at the weighing machine?
Every variable-weight product is weighed before checkout, and a barcode is generated containing key product information. If these barcode transactions or weighing reports can be accessed, could they become the foundation for operational visibility?
Imagine maintaining the same product master and barcode references in Odoo, importing weighing or barcode reports periodically, and using catch-weight inventory to estimate product movement and sales. AI could further automate the processing of Excel, CSV or PDF reports received from different retailers.
Would this replace the retailer’s official sales statement?
No.
But it could provide suppliers with much earlier insights into product movement, fast-selling items, inventory depletion and potential reconciliation issues—without requiring direct access to the retailer’s ERP.
We’re curious.
Has anyone in the fresh produce, FMCG or retail industry successfully used weighing machine data, barcode transactions or another creative approach to improve visibility into hypermarket consignment sales?
If so, we’d love to hear about your experience.
Sometimes, innovation isn’t about building another API. It’s about finding a smarter source of data.
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