Cannabis operators face continual challenges when it comes to compliance, tracking/tracing, supply chain management, retail partnerships, and even the software they use to manage essential business activities like payroll and banking. When determining the right software and integrations needed for their operations, it can be difficult to find one that is the right fit for your company’s needs, and a bigger challenge still to lock down a provider that plays friendly with cannabusiness, and integrates well with other softwares.
Here’s What All Cannabis Software Integrations Need
Regrow is one such option that offers a complete view into the entire cannabis business operation, with enterprise applications that connect cannabis operators to all their data in a system that automates workflow, tracks chain of custody, ensures SOP adoption, and provides performance analytics for executives to have timely insight in order to make faster decisions from cultivation, inventory management, manufacturing, distribution, and wholesale and retail demand management.
As Rob Woodbyrne, Regrow CEO explains, “Most operators don’t fully understand the importance of integrations between management software. In order to run a business efficiently, your finance system should integrate with your inventory system, which should integrate with your Customer Relationship system and also your Marketing and Analytics system.”
Regrow’s system is designed to help cannabis operators replace spreadsheets and automate their operations. It is a trusted source of truth for all data, as a powerful API hub to connect other systems to, which allows operators to consolidate all data needed to manage their business. Whether that’s a real time view into sales inventory, cultivation planning and tracking, managing SOPs and/or managing compliance across multiple states, operations or Track & Trace systems, Regrow can ensure the cannabis supply chain is being managed efficiently with accountability.
Cannabis Software Integrations Require Upfront Assessment
Finding a software that works with state mandated systems is a surprisingly difficult challenge. As Woodbyrne shares, “Any software that has to interact with Metrc or BioTrack has had tremendous issues. Metrc and BioTrack are mandated compliance systems, and very difficult to work with. Because they are mandated, they don’t spend a lot of time or resources to make their solution easy to work with. Any operator should make sure the vendor can prove their data works with compliance systems like Metrc or BioTrack, before making a purchase.”
Cannabis operators can integrate Regrow with virtually any system or data source with a modern API, as well as some that don’t have modern APIs. It works with systems like most cannabis specific software vendors, such as Metrc and LeafLink, and just about any mainstream solution provider, for example Google, Quickbooks, SAP, Snowflake, Salesforce and Workday, as well as other major lab testing providers, accounting systems, environmental monitoring systems and track-and-trace systems.
Determine The “Success Criteria” for Cannabis Software Integrations
As Woodbryne suggests, the only way to know which software providers are right for your enterprise, is to try it before you buy it. He recommends, “Make sure any software vendor lets you see the solution working, with your data in it, before you commit to pay or subscribe.”
He even recommends a robust fact-finding mission when making these decisions. “Evaluate two or three [software options] side by side, so you can determine where the missing pieces they are avoiding talking about exist,” said Woodbyrne. “Make software vendors do ‘bake-offs’ against each other, and make them do it before you buy or subscribe. Have your team create a scoring system, share it with the vendors, so they know what the success criteria are. Then pick the vendor with the highest score, not the one with the friendliest sales team, although they should have knowledgeable, friendly sales teams as well.”
In addition to finding a software provider who has a friendly and helpful staff, it can also pay off to be personable yourself. Woodbyne recommends, “Be nice to sales people! They are not against you, they are working their butts off to provide you a valuable solution, and it is a hard job. Have fun out there, and let’s grow some weed!”
