For most of history, producing cannabis has largely been a non-scientific, undocumented process. Today, cannabis is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. That growth is driving technological innovation in a race to maximize yields, quality, and profits. Cannabis has been reborn into a world of technology and science.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is critical in today's highly competitive world of cannabis production technology. Data can make or break your cannabis business. Over- or under-usage of fertilizers and pesticides can greatly affect yields. Over-consumption of electricity can be quite costly.
Whether you are running a dispensary, cultivating cannabis, or processing cannabis into concentrates, it is essential to record data in an industry that has little margin for errors. High startup and input costs, compounded with expensive running costs, do not allow cannabis startups to run in the dark any longer. With a true all-in-one ERP system, it's now much easier to report on efficiency from seed-to-sale. Data collection science and yield analytics are imperative to not only maintain sustainability of your operation, but to achieve regulatory compliance.
An ERP information management system integrates areas such as cultivation management, planning, processing, purchasing, dispensing, inventory, sales, marketing, finance, and human resources. A good ERP system can assist you in making critical business decisions, allowing you to predict and plan your production instead of reacting to problems when it may be too late.
As more states legalize recreational and medical marijuana, the business becomes even more competitive. The Wall Street Journal reports that cannabis retail prices are dropping fast, thereby slimming profit margins. If you haven’t factored this into your business plan it could be devastating. For any cannabis grower, data and analytics could be a saving grace.
Cannabis production has become one of the most energy-intensive agricultural industries. Running electrical lighting, ventilation, heating, and hydroponic systems to maintain optimal growing conditions is not cheap. In Colorado, indoor operations’ electrical bills can often hit five figures or more per month.
Using cannabis tracking and cultivation management software, you will get insight into key areas that are sucking up your resources or reducing your yield, whether it be lighting technology that could be updated to increase yields, or over-fertilization of plants which could be harming them and reducing yields.
Commercial nutrients and fertilization are not cheap either. Nutrient charts provided by cultivators provide general guidelines to feeding schedules. Environmental factors, nutrient needs of various cannabis strains, and other concerns can greatly affect a crop's need for feeding. Staying ahead of pests is also paramount to maintaining a successful and profitable grow operation. A small pest infestation can have a huge impact on your cannabis crop, greatly affecting your final yield. A good data tracking system can alert you to a potential infestations early and save you from a devastating loss.
Statistically speaking, very few cannabis cultivators track yield data. Cannabis Business Times reports that the majority of cultivators are not recording data such as yield per watt of light or yield per square foot of cultivation space. That means that the operations that do track yield data will have a competitive advantage..
With laws and regulations changing regularly, being compliant with your jurisdiction or state laws is imperative for sustaining business uptime. Business uptime improves your chances of being successful in a fast growing and changing legal environment.
Labeling, testing, and delivery systems are mission critical for compliance, quality assurance and winning the support of suppliers and customers. Robust software systems are needed for your business to make sure you are focusing on maintaining your operation in this fast-changing and highly competitive cannabis market.
A good software product should also integrate with your state’s regulatory system and provide timely updates on any changes in regulations preventing you from paying fines and needing expensive legal assistance.
Software can be an expensive part of running any business. A tried and tested ERP systems should save you time and money, allowing you to accumulate and analyze data in order to make critical business decisions in order to maximize yields and profits. On the other hand, implementing the wrong software solution can be a very expensive mistake.
To put it bluntly, in the day and age of advanced technology, there is no excuse for not running efficient enterprise resource software. It would be a big mistake to enter the cannabis industry firing from the hip.
About Viridian Sciences Seed-To-Sale Software
Founded in 2013 and probably the youngest seed-to-sale ERP cannabis tracking software company, Viridian Sciences is used by growers around the globe, with over 2.5 million dollars of software sales of its ERP products. Built on the established and reliable SAP Business One platform, Viridian Sciences’ solution is designed to keep any growing operation running smoothly and maximizing yields while maintaining strict compliance demands.
We fully believe the real power is in the data. With an unlimited amount of possibilities, we can help you look deeper into the data behind your business through built-in reports, custom reports, Excel access, SQL access and more.
Whether you are a producer, processor, or retailer of cannabis products, Viridian Sciences has a solution for your business.
