For the Cannabis industry, it cannot be business as usual. To grow and thrive you have to be innovative and move with the market trends. Most importantly you have to keep your information safe. Finding innovative end to end solutions that you can use long term will be crucial. Year over year the Cannabis industry has grown leaps and bounds. It went from an estimated $1.5 billion in 2013 to $2.7 billion in 2015, with the projected revenue of the whole industry hitting $35 billion by 2020. Carving out your niche, streamlining your processes, and staying compliant in this dynamic industry is the only way to keep your business thriving.
The booming Cannabis industry is similar to the western frontier in the 1800’s when Cowboys found gold. However now it is not gold everyone is after but a space in the market and legalization in every state which is affectionately called “The Green Rush” which began in 2012. The legalization of marijuana, twenty two States and Canada, and growing, gives way to a whole new economy and opens doors for entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists, and Big Business. This new economy will not only fill the pockets of many business owners but will create jobs in places that would have been otherwise forgotten. To date, there is no perfect model on how Cannabis businesses will navigate these uncharted territories of regulation, optimization, and reporting. If entrepreneurs are planning to enter this business with the old brick and mortar mindset, they are preparing themselves for failure. Implementing effective business strategies and marketing requires complete, real-time information for all levels of your business. This is where Cloud based ERP solutions deliver world class systems that take care of the data, financial reporting and compliance needs so you can focus on your product yields and consumer demand. If you get it right, you can show the world how “The Green Rush” was really won.
To meet the demands of your growing Cannabis business you need access to the right software that will help you view real time trends and data analytics. Cannabis businesses from seed to sale need instant access to relevant data. Having this data will give businesses the ability to respond immediately to the insights that data reveals. Giving you the information you need to quickly respond to daily challenges. Fast-growing businesses need operational, supply chain, sales, and inventory insights at their fingertips to make the best decisions, seize the hidden opportunities, anticipate problems, and delight customers. However most importantly stay compliant with the evolving Government regulations. Armed with a full view of all the relevant data, through a complete ERP systems, companies can be proactive. Cannabis businesses often face tax hikes, strict seed-to-sale tracking, and banks not willing to work with businesses which puts can put an extreme strain on companies. You need a software strategy solution that makes navigating these potential roadblocks easier and allows your business to be flexible to adjust to changing compliance mandates.
It is no surprise that companies increasingly see advanced technologies as the key to their success (see the below chart). The Cannabis industry is no different. In the past over-complicated “real-time” systems historically were beyond the budgets of most company’s budgets. That has all changed with Viridian Sciences software running on a world-class solution SAP BusinessOne. In the Cannabis industry, having agility empowers you to take advantage of new and emerging technologies; particularly those delivered through the cloud. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and the cloud reduce a computing infrastructure cost and maintenance the requirement, which lowers the Total Cost of Ownership and provides the flexibility to adapt and grow as the Industry changes.