4. Expanded Feature Catalog (What Distributors, Their Customers and the FDA Ask For)

These are the features the recommended wedge's buyers ask for or will need, each classified with the same honesty as the catalog's own list. Being in demand doesn't mean you should build it. Several are already done well by someone else.

Legend: TS = Table stakes, D = Differentiator, X = Distraction, L = Liability. Priority: P0 = v1, P1 = next, P2 = later, — = don't build.

4.1 Receiving (where records break)

Feature	Demand signal	Category	Priority	Notes
Scan GS1-128 case labels on a phone camera to capture product, lot code and pack date	High if cases carry them. How many do at small distributors is unverified (10.4).	D	P0	Test on real cases in the first two sprints.
Photograph a packing slip or supplier invoice, extract lot codes with OCR and a capped AI model, confirm by hand	High where suppliers print lots on paper	D	P0	Human confirmation on every line. Never auto-accept.
Match received lines to the QuickBooks bill	High. It's what links a lot to a supplier and a cost.	D	P0	Read-only on QuickBooks, plus a memo field.
Missing-lot alerts and supplier chase letters ("these 14 suppliers never send lot codes")	High	TS / D	P0	The readiness sprint's gap list, automated.
Import supplier CSVs and ReposiTrak exports	Medium, growing	D	P1	ReposiTrak is free to wholesalers (F5). Ride it.
Food Traceability List classifier (which of my items are covered?)	High, and a top search question	TS	P0	Also a free public tool for SEO.

4.2 Shipping and customers

Feature	Demand signal	Category	Priority	Notes
Attach lot codes to QuickBooks invoice lines	High	D	P0	FIFO suggestion by default; staff can override.
Lot codes on the invoice PDF, plus a CSV or link per delivery	High. Chain and grocery customers are already asking (F4).	D	P0	The weekly reason to use the product. Carries a "records by [product]" footer.
Broken cases and "eaches" (a case split across several customers)	High for produce distributors	D	P1	The FDA is discussing inferred lot codes and ranges (F3). Ship within 2 weeks of guidance.
Customer data portal (customers look up lots themselves)	Medium	D	P1	Standard plan feature.
EDI advance ship notices to large retailers	High for suppliers to big chains, low for your buyer	X	—	SPS Commerce, TrueCommerce, ReposiTrak.
GS1 label printing	Medium	TS	P2	Only if pilots repack. Partner rather than build.

4.3 FDA readiness

Feature	Demand signal	Category	Priority	Notes
One-click electronic sortable spreadsheet for a product, lot or date range	Required by the rule (F2)	D	P0	The product's reason to exist. Match the FDA's published column layout exactly.
Traceability plan template the customer edits and signs	Required by the rule	TS	P0	Template only. The customer owns it.
Monthly timed mock recall, emailed to the owner	Medium, rising near the deadline	D	P0	Proof for renewals and customer audits.
Recall notification to affected customers (who got lot X?)	High in an event, rare otherwise	D	P1	Draft the emails; the distributor sends them.
Audit log of every change	Expected in any records system	TS	P0	Protects the customer and you.
Plain-English FDA update after each quarterly engagement	Medium	TS	Marketing	A newsletter, not a feature.

4.4 Channel and team

Feature	Category	Priority	Notes
Consultant console (one login, many client distributors, white-label plans and reports)	D	P1	Pivot A lives here.
Roles for receiving, sales and owner	TS	P0	Keep to three roles.
Xero connection	TS	P2	Only if US prospects ask.
Produce ERP connectors	X	—	ERP customers aren't your buyers.

4.5 From the original kitchen idea

Feature	Category	Priority	Notes
Temperature, cleaning and cooling logs	X	—	Not required by the rule; commodity elsewhere.
Wireless probes and sensors	X / L	—	Hardware logistics.
HACCP plan generator	L	—	Owned by the business and its qualified person.
Allergen and label management	X	—	Kitchen and manufacturer territory.
Consumer QR codes and farm stories	X	—	Nobody in the buyer's business pays for it.

4.6 Net effect

Of about 30 features considered, about 9 belong in v1, all around one chain: receive → link → ship → export. Everything from the original kitchen idea is cut. The product is small on purpose. Its value is that the FDA's spreadsheet comes out right from QuickBooks data, first time.