Cannabusiness

Hyper growth in Cannabis is evident all around the US. Each year on April 20th peak numbers continue to increase. All parties involved are expected to increase productivity to satisfy customers and to do that you need an IT strategy that’s specific to your exact business model and business drivers.

Grow facilities have a different set of requirements than a dispensary. Sometimes Dispensaries have grow facilities within operating along side the dispensary part of the business. The two need to from an IT management strategy together and each should be treated and cared for in their own unique way.

The industry specific software like from Treez and MJ Freeway have had major growing pains and really can’t be considered mature. Exceptional managed service providers are not just skilled technicians; they’re also business people first and foremost, and they understand the pain points and what businesses need to grow with scale. Cannabis owner-operators need to search for this distinction and capability.

 

Pain Points in Cannabis Businesses

  1. Unreliable, Damaged or improperly installed Data Cables (Ethernet wires)
  2. Improper testing equipment used to diagnose damaged cables and certify good cables
  3. Inconsistency in cable and jack colors. We recommend white cable and white jacks for all new installations.
  4. Damage to cables due to facility changes like new walls, kiosks, offices, etc.
  5. Lack of effective segmentation of networking, physically and logically
  6. Inefficient wireless coverage in grow facilities due to device coverage.
  7. Kiosks not using biometric login to prevent bad actor logging in to processing bad orders
  8. Late adoption of RFID technology to gain fine tracking of product life cycles
  9. Under rated transformers feeding high voltage into facility. No secondary generator plan or generator recovery plan.
  10. Lack of integration between systems. Lack of hybrid system architecture or green field migration path.

Recent Developments in the Marketplace

  1. LED lighting is proving to be far superior for grow systems over conventional HID or MH bulbs. Changes in lighting strategies and requirements to fine tune results.
  2. Hemp being legalized by the US government in agriculture. Northern California farmers engaging in small development plots of approx 20 acre grows of experimental hemp.
  3. IoT (internet of things) sensor diversity and the explosion in the number of devices per room or “area” that consume bandwidth and log data.
  4. Continued refinement of water dosing technology like dosatron that simplifies the water and nutrient delivery process. Simplified water storage requirements.
  5. Creative cabling plans that scale with future growth. Leveraging cabling trays that front load long term cost of re-pulling or adding new cables.
  6. RFID everything; doors, inventory, fixed assets, tools, and a system that functions to account for everything going in and out of the business.
  7. Friendly KYC systems that get people engaged while meeting state/fed requirements. Future engagement and “friction-less” processes at next visit.
  8. Kiosk systems that offer a quick experience to get top selling items most consumers want without personal interaction.
  9. Advanced label and print systems that function to inform customers, increase product safety, and engage customers
  10. Use of TV and media delivery systems to captivate customers and compel action

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