Software and Dispensary Inventory Management

Managing cannabis retail across multiple locations can be tricky, let computers do the grunt work for you.

Using pen and paper ledgers? Notice lots of unmarked plastic bags in the back of your shop? If so, I have some bad news.

Filing cabinets, stacks of binders and document folders just don’t make the cut in 2017 anymore; a non-digitized dispensary is an inefficient dispensary. Small boutiques and large chains both share the need to organize inventory and cash throughout multiple locations, and this need requires certain tracking and management criteria that wont be met with pen and paper.

Unfortunately in our current legal climate, it is important to keep your cash and product stock in multiple locations for security reasons. Raids and robberies on stores can cripple a business if risk is not mitigated through decentralization. Besides the obvious risks of single location storage, dispensaries looking to expand or franchise need to be wary of inventory tracking pitfalls, such as unconsidered weight losses in transit or via drying, stock updating errors and not subtracting inventory properly when making a sale.

Example of logistical inventory tracking structure that most multi-location dispensaries employ.

It is important to keep in mind that the unit of “location” may not necessarily mean a separate store location; “locations” can be set to imply product management pools such as front of store vs back of store. As such, multiple “locations” may exist in the same storefront.

The best way to organize and manage inventory is to employ an administrative system/point of sales (POS) software that allows you to track inventory movements from location to location. The inventory tracking system should be versatile enough to handle weight tracking up to two decimal points on the gram as well as handle single unit values for non-weighted items such as glassware, accessories, and edibles. In addition, the POS needs to accurately update the inventory numbers instantly when transfers, sales, and resupply orders occur.

Example of Greenline multi-location inventory tracking organization. Note the separation between front and back of store; inventory is tracked on a per location basis.

Selecting a proper POS is critical to the smooth and compliant operations of dispensaries. Being able to track exactly when and where transfers of inventory occur can ensure that compliance with federal/provincial regulation is met. Not only this, but having product inventory updates/checks be automated by a point of sales program saves untold amounts of employee work hours for data entry.

When choosing a software package to manage your dispensary there are several things to look out for:

• Does the POS allow you to design your business’s inventory flow and manage stock the way you want? Or is the system structured in a particular way so that you need to change your inventory structure to adapt to the system? A good robust POS/administrative system conforms to the way you do business, not the other way around.
• Can the POS track your inventory accurately throughout every step of the supply chain? Transfers, supply orders, and sales need to be instantly and accurately reflected in the POS/administrative software’s inventory tracking system whenever a stock movement occurs.
• is the POS simple to use? How quickly can you edit/add/delete products, pricing, product categories, or make/fill purchase orders? An efficient and streamlined POS should be designed in a way that allows for these operations to be completed quickly with minimum navigation within the system. Daily operations should be easy and quick, no matter how complex the underlying code is; this speaks to good product design.
• Is the POS easy to learn? This is closely tied to the prior point. Nobody wants to spend extra time teaching employees how to use a POS when they purchase the software. Ideally the new system should be approachable for someone with zero tech experience and simple enough to use so that on-boarding the new tech should only take a couple days to get your employees trained.

Besides these points, another important thing to look for in a software package for your dispensary is how adaptable the POS company is. Unless the program is absolutely immaculate and perfect in every way, the software must be structured to be adaptable and evolve according to either your dispensary’s growth or the rapidly changing legal atmosphere. Customization is key. Because of how uniquely dynamic the cannabis industry in Canada is, your business management solution needs to always be able to keep up with how fast the world is spinning.

Greenline Systems is a cannabis technology solutions company based in Vancouver. Interested in our monthly newsletter? Contact us at info@getgreenline.co

Check out our website at https://getgreenline.co