Article
Cannabis Seed-to-Sale Software: Process Automatization Benefits
Author
Ivan Muts
Published
August 25, 2022
Time
10 mins to read
Table of Contents
The driving force behind the technology is the satisfaction of business needs. Since the cannabis industry evolves around compliance with laws, it seeks more than a tool for managing daily tasks. Seed-to-sale software is a bright example of technological advances helping businesses grow. It is a universal tool that works for a range of cannabis-related enterprises. Learn more about who can benefit from it and how to acquire a custom-made software solution that perfectly fits your needs.
What is seed to sale?
Seed-to-sale tracking system ensures the regular update of all data related to plants, their development, by-products, and distribution. It is software that supports the grower from A to Z.
A product goes a long way from cultivation to points of sale and its lifecycle has to be not only monitored but documented. Every item utilized or destroyed has to be traceable. Multiple factors regulate the functioning of the cannabis business. In most cases, the foundations are decided by the governmental norms that set constraints and demands for every cultivator and distributor. Meeting those requirements is easy when every stage of growing the plant is tracked by reliable software.
The key benefit of seed-to-sale software is comprehensive control over all the processes and precise reporting. Strict laws in the sphere of growing cannabis do not leave room for mistakes. If one tag is missing, the whole batch can be compromised. In addition, the data collected by the program gives a helicopter view of the business and shows work-on points. Marketing specialists and CEOs can use it to plan strategies and make educated business decisions.
Beneficiaries of seed-to-sale software
Seed-to-sale supply chain includes several beneficiaries like cultivators, manufacturers, processors, dispensaries, retailers, and consumers. They are united by one aim to track and trace the goods. With intelligent software, they get smooth interaction between each other and high responsiveness to the law changes.
Seed-to-sale software features
Seed-to-sale software is an all-in-one system for managing from stem to stern. It simplifies inventory management, boosts yields, maintains precise reporting, and guarantees traceability.
Stages of seed-to-sale process
1. Cultivation
The cultivation stage for growers is a time and resource-consuming process. It requires careful attention to plants and their lifecycle. Nutrients, watering, and light are the conditions that every grower monitors as much as possible. With cannabis, the cultivator aims at getting higher cannabinoid content. Meanwhile, the conditions in the greenhouse should be of top quality, meaning smart spraying, clean soil and no pesticides.
Another factor that comes into play is the desired outcome. The cultivators need to research all techniques and conduct observations on what conditions are best for THC and what makes good CBD. These are only two objectives out of dozens that are accompanied by countless records. Multiple indicators and reports on them create a serious data load. This initial stage benefits greatly from seed-to-sale tracking and lays the path to smooth harvesting. It enables data collection, structuring, sorting, reporting, and displaying in a convenient form.
With asset-tracking solutions, it becomes easy to see the potential of your business and identify weak spots. At this particular stage, a grower can manage financial expenses on resources like nutrients, soil, plants, and lighting systems to see optimization opportunities. It in turn enables the utilization of the full potential of the assets. Another benefit is real-time data with notifications on vital changes and easy-to-access remotely analytics.
2. Testing
Testing adds value. Every consumer has the guarantee that they buy a legitimate, high-quality, safe-to-use product. Not every producer tests properly, so making it a mandatory practice gives a competitive advantage to a company. Testing can be outsourced to laboratories.
Moreover, there are various types of it. The general categories are pre-harvesting and post-harvesting testing. The plant and its environment must be checked starting with the soil and water. Seeds can be checked for THC potency if you aim to get high yields. After the crops mature, cultivators can perform post-harvesting checkups.
Verified results from a licensed lab allow for the addition of a mark on packaging as proof of quality. Such proof of quality can, later on, be added to the label.
3. Growing
Planting seeds is not as plain as it might sound. Although the conditions for growth might be perfect, the cultivator has to keep an eye on seeds as they grow to identify their gender. Female plants are the ones producing THC and most cultivators are after them. To tell the difference and conduct timely separation, the plant should start flowering. The quality of the harvest is defined by the female seeds.
At times, growers go for fewer crops but higher quality if needed for medical purposes. Yet, the crops of different quality can still be used in other industries. The main task at this stage is to sort out the crops and identify the quantities available to later find a buyer for them.
Seed to sale process becomes complete and automated with software solutions. Cannabis producers place to focus on crops and their lifecycle quality. It is vital for them to work on improving conditions for the healthy growth of a plant. Operational software is as vital as connected agricultural advances. Here are the main areas of improvement that it can contribute to:
- Inventory and crop management. Variable expenses are inevitable. Yet, they do not have to be a burden. Managing them to your benefit is possible if you have timely, real-time data on changes and forecasts for the near future.
- Greenhouse planning. Having a map of your greenhouse with the crop characteristic is a game changer. It is a piece of information that gives a helicopter view of your business and shows potential expenses. Analyze each crop and see what inventory will be needed at every stage and access how much it can cost.
- Crop forecasts. Crop predictions are usually vague, yet there is more to them. Besides finding out how much you will be able to sell, there is a need to know where to store it and how. Since laws and regulations are strict, storage can depend heavily on them. Warehouse management software comes in handy, especially if tailored to the needs of your company.
4. Processing
Cannabis harvesting is a demanding process. Unlike other crops, it has to be compliant with laws. In practice, it adds more work for a grower. The main task is to keep traceability in mind. It applies to plants and by-products. What would seem to be a process of collecting mature plants, is extended due by labeling each and assigning bar codes.
Harvesting, drying, and curing are three separate activities. It is important for a producer to distinct the data on crops at each stage. Harvesting equals collecting buds. Drying aims at getting rid of moisture in them. Curing is about the preservation of terpenes and cannabinoids along with flavors and aromas. Significant for reporting at this stage is the weight of the produce.
Another method of processing is the extraction of ingredients for various concentrates. Such practice is universal for large and small enterprises. Extraction is a way to get the by-products of cannabis for multiple industries like healthcare, beauty, food, etc. CBD goods help with chronic pain, and inflammation, and have a relaxing effect. The positive effects have been proven, and the extraction of oil from cannabis is possible even at home. One of our clients “Drizzle” found a way to provide patients to manufacture their cannabis oil of known and superior quality and at lower costs compared to what the CBD oil market offers. Processing is not deprived of technological support. Whether done at home or not.
5. Packaging
After receiving and weighing crops their packaging follows. The regulations on packaging vary. It largely depends on their purpose and destination. Undoubtedly, the visuals matter as much as the quality. Deciding how to present and sell the product is key. In that case, the grower needs to sort out the crops properly to see what is good for extraction only, and what can be sold as a bud.
Access to inventory online from any device makes a life of a person in charge much easier. This stage involves tasks like label selection and making sure that they correspond to demands.
6. Distribution
Nurturing a top-quality product is not the end result of the whole process. Unless the goods are delivered to their sales points, the work of the grower is not over. For the cultivators, transportation is a pain, especially when greenhouse locations are remote. Managing multiple storage is a complex task that can be simplified by technology.
Cannabis tracking software serves as a means to trace the product till it reaches the end customer. Retailers and dispensaries benefit from it even more. For retailers, it means checking how well it sold, what is popular, and who is their loyal customers. In some cases, dispensaries can use this system as a client management database.
To sum up: 6 main stages of seed to sale process
The future of seed to sale systems
The dynamic growth of CBD products’ popularity requires businesses to speed up their operations while preserving the highest quality. Certainly, the legalization of cannabis across continents creates demand. Currently, the top customers of cannabis goods are the medical, food and beverage, and beauty industry. The list grows with the speed of light. It leads to the need for improvement and advances.
Geographical expansion
Technology allows reaching the most unexpected locations. It gives new value to transportation and warehouse management. Cannabis seed-to-sale software can become an ultimate tool for a company that runs a full manufacturing cycle from cultivation to distribution. Scaling up the operations is associated with taking up more responsibility. Technology is a pill that supports business owners and employees and empowers them to take up more challenges with ease.
Working with new industries
While extracts and plants are known and used in the medicine and beauty industry stems are overlooked. They are considered a waste for producers but the clothing industry sees them as a material for apparel. The packaging industry suffering from tight regulations on plastic use is resorting to hemp as well as adding more windows of opportunity for cannabis cultivators.
Exploring partnerships
Partnerships help expansion. Besides looking for more clients, business owners can consider partners. These can be inventory suppliers, transportation companies, or legal support. Looking at the seed-to-sale stages, testing is not given enough appraisal. Private laboratories should be considered a priority strategic partnership especially if the business is scaling up. The more you produce, the more importance the quality control is gaining.
IoT breakthrough
Agriculture has adopted a technological approach rapidly. Amongst prominent examples are sensors used for humidity, soil moisture, irrigation, and asset tracking. They bring real value to farmers and create a need for more inventions. Surely the quality of crops with proper equipment and control improved, but the data collected also serves as a basis for predicting yields. The more sophisticated the technology and custom IoT software development services become, the easier it is to grow profitable crops.
Banking
The legalization of cannabis takes off massively. It creates better conditions for cooperation with banks. Previously considered illegal, the industry got a green light and allowed loans, microfinancing, equipment financing, and more options. Establishing a connection with banks requires transparent and timely reporting, tax documentation, and more. Adepts of paperwork will feel the load of paperwork that adds with banking. Hence, there is room for exploring more fintech ideas for the cannabis trade.
What is cannabis seed to sale software?
The benefits of using seed to sale software
Cannabis production is a business with multiple stakeholders. Each of them is looking for profit and benefits. Seed to sale software aims at joggling their cooperation in favor of all the participants. While retailers and dispensaries play their role in the process and can influence it directly, there is also an external regulation on the site of the government/state. Compliance leads the way for everyone, creates obstacles, and clears paths simultaneously.
Most efforts to improve production and distribution are focused on safe and legitimate streamlining of operations. Benefits are present every step of the way. Every plant is assigned a tracking number that remains with it till gets to the end consumer. Even waste should be recorded in the system. Considering all the required numbers, bar-codes, and labels that a plant acquires in its lifecycle, automation is inevitable.
Technological advances allow customization. Hence, a business can order features and functions that will work better for them. Synchronization of all routine procedures and integration of all the management tools brings companies to another level and gives an immense competitive advantage in the market.
The overall perks of implementing software suitable for your business are:
- Guarantee of compliance
- Effective inventory management
- Optimized reporting and analytics
- Demand forecasting
What is the best choice for your cannabis business?
Some leaders decide to orient their business at customers and some at competitors. Combining both sounds like a better option. It is an achievable objective if the business works on the right model, and every stakeholder strives for success. While strategic planning can be handled by human resources, AI can perform the rest. Without updated analytics, financial records, balance sheets and more numbers planning the future are unreasonable.
The cannabis industry is promised sustainable development and success. It means that the number of competitors will rise along with the opportunities for potential partnerships. Regardless of the direction in which the company moves, automatization is a smart investment.
Whether the plan is to grow to a mid-sized company or expand more, there is always a risk of dispersing funds and attention on multiple tools. It is only wise to sign up for one management tool if you are only starting out. A software development team from Euristiq can consult you on how to design custom-made solutions tailored to your business need specifically.
Ask your development team these questions at the initial stages of creating software:
- Will it be user-friendly?
- Will it generate the reports and analytics you need?
- Will it be compatible with your plans to scale?
- Will it be secure?
- Will it help you track compliance?
A clear definition of needs creates a clear vision of the system that supports, controls, and improves operations. Build seed-to-sale software that is sophisticated in design, yet easy to use when you are taking your business to the next level, and establishing a brand image on the market. Euristiq software development team can consult you on how to design the most practical and multifunctional solution for your business.
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