Success is what we all strive for in life, whether it be at home or in the workplace. As the old farmer saying goes, what we sow is what we reap. Tracing cannabis from seed-to-sale is not only a legal requirement in most states, but also a valuable tool for analyzing a cannabis company’s most important asset: data.
Fortunately for cannabis-touching businesses, including both marijuana and hemp, we have Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software - a valuable tool to compile data into understandable reports that help create a better understanding our working environment.
Many states have broadened and liberated cannabis laws and implemented regulations that span from seed-to-sale. This means cannabis growers and sellers need to document every step of their product’s journey - from planting a seed, to harvesting a plant, to selling your final product on the medical marijuana market. When using ERP software, this traceability is transformed from a limitation into a powerful means of maximizing production and profits.
For the most part of the last century, cannabis has not been scientifically documented or tracked due to legal limitations and paper trails, not to mention the added workload of penciling in every detail of your cannabis lifecycle.
Software can be a big expense, but when used properly to track data related to various aspects of growing, it becomes an investment. With a robust seed-to-sale tracking system, growers are able to compare costs associated with each step of the growing process, from the yield right down to individual plants, prompting proactive, money-saving, profit-raising action.
The legal cannabis market is one of the most energy-intensive industries, costing some large cultivators six figures a month. Water, nutrients, lighting, equipment, these are all expensive. A good seed-to-sale software solution lets growers wring out every dime by facilitating monitoring of energy consumption monitoring, environmental conditions, water consumption, nutrient and pesticide use, crop diseases, individual strain yield and profitability, lab test results, and more - again, right down to an individual plant level.
Apps such as Viridian Science utilize some of Google’s most advanced routing algorithms (Traveling Salesman) in order to help plan a route with the least amount of distance between each delivery from start to finish, ensuring more efficient and effective delivery services, and saving time and money. It can also help to manage other distribution logistics such as customer management, delivery route management, fleet management, driver assignment, and more. Features such as management of inventory, price list, and sales people help to increase sales and revenue.
At first blush, you wouldn’t think that the regulatory compliance aspects of seed-to-sale apps could also increase profits, but it does. First, it streamlines collection and reporting of data, saving time. Second, being compliant can save a grower from having to pay expensive fines and legal costs associated with non-compliance.
Costs Savings Realized By Using a Seed-To-Sale ERP
According to a report published by the Drug Policy Research center, for a hypothetical hydroponic set-up in a 5’ x 5’ area, the consumables (growing medium and nutrients) totaled on the order of $300 per harvest.1
Well-run this setup can produce 4 harvests per year and might yield 10 pounds. The longer the operational life over which the initial investment could be amortized, the lower the total cost. Within two years at four harvests per year, the cost could be $116 per pound.
If an operation produces 250 pounds per harvest, that’s 1,000 pounds of sellable cannabis, each year at a cost of $116,000. Now, let’s assume that by running the operation with a seed-to-sale software program a grower can increase yield by 5%. That would provide a total savings of $8,000 each year on growing medium and nutrients alone.
Also, keep in mind that would very likely increase yield. In the above example, given a price per pound of $1500, that’s $375,000 value. If yield was increased by 2.5%, that’s an increase in value of $9,375. Added to the savings on supplies, that’s $17,350 per year.
That’s a lot of money. BUT, that doesn’t include water, electricity, pesticides, and so on. Similar savings can be achieved in each of these area as well. Then there’s potential prevention of losses resulting from crop diseases. When you add it all up, it turns out to be far, far greater than the cost of the software. Savings can be in the area of hundreds of thousands for a large grower. Of course, these results will vary from operation to operation.
On top of the savings a great ERP can vastly improve company culture and job satisfaction by creating a smooth-running operation, which prevents stressful situations and takes the guesswork out of employee accountability.
About Viridian Sciences Seed-To-Sale ERP Software
Viridian Sciences offers the world's leading enterprise resource planning technology, a robust all-in-one seed-to-sale software solutions for the cannabis industry. Built on the framework and security of SAP Business One, you can be assured that your company remains secure and compliant. Our software enables your canna-business to run efficiently with automated inventory tracking, seed-to-sale reporting, financial accounting, grow management, quality control, and many other essential tools to help you succeed, such as features that help with regulatory legal requirements.
