To Pre-package Cannabis or Not?

The advantages and pitfalls of dispensaries selling pre-packaged buds.

Source: https://unsplash.com/budding/portfolio

Many dispensaries sell flowers in pre-packaged units, while others enjoy the old fashioned method of measuring out purchases from a glass jar. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but many dispensaries have not considered the pros and construction of both before deciding upon one.

Pre-packaging cannabis has several advantages, one of which is the removal of odors if the packaging is airtight. Some stores wish to maintain a more clinical atmosphere for their clients, and benefit from the odorless advantage provided by pre-packaging.

Heat sealed packets like these eliminate odor issues for cannabis sales.

Selling packets also enables dispensaries to track inventory and end point sales with better accuracy than non-packaged buds. Take for example, the following case:

Two customers walk into two different dispensaries: Store A and Store B. Both customers purchase an eighth of purple kush.

• Store A uses a traditional out-of-jar weighing method. The customer makes the purchase and is handed a package of cannabis picked from a jar. If a seed to sale tracking system is employed by governing bodies, the dispensary may need to make sure that the contents of that jar were from a single source, and a single plant. Mixed content jars with cannabis from multiple vendors and multiple plants would botch the whole tracking process. Whats more, if a properly tracked jar runs out and product from another jar is used to fill the remaining customer order, the customer is now buying two different tracked units of product in a single purchase, at different amounts of each tracked unit, in a mixed bag. This complicates the process of tracking and inventory reconciliation. End of day inventory checks for Store A involves weighing the products and comparing the weight loss from sales and weight of products left in inventory. Not only can this can be a time consuming process, the need for weighing may add to customer service time as well.

Dispensaries that weigh cannabis at sale need to ensure tracking compliance for future regulation.

• Store B sells pre-packaged cannabis. Each customer order can be filled with individual packets. These packets can be organized to be filled with product from a single vendor and a single plant with no chance of mixing. This enables a much simpler way of tracking from seed to sale based on packaged units instead of product weight. This makes end of day inventory checks easier. Instead of weight value reconciliation, a pre-packaged system deals with simple packaged unit values.

On the other hand, pre-packing cannabis does come at a material cost. Dispensaries with pre-packaged units also need to manage the amounts of pre-packaged weights to keep in store; analyze and sort the sales of packages by weight. For example, half ounce packs will sell less frequently than quarters and eighths; therefore the store needs to take that into account when deciding what weight portions to split cannabis packs into and how many packs of that weight to keep in stock. Improperly sealed packaging can also dry out cannabis and deliver a sub-par product to the customer once they open the package at home; creating the unfortunate possibility for customer returns and complaints.

Letting customers smell and see the product from glassware is a great sales tool. Source: © LUCY NICHOLSON/Reuters/Corbis

There is also an intangible value added when displaying buds in a glass jar; the visual and sensual component. Besides aesthetic value, jars of product also allow the customer to see the buds, view the quality of the trichomes, and smell the product. Allowing the customer to view the product instills trust and gives the feeling of confidence in the purchase for the client.

Given these pros and cons of pre-packaging, store owners and managers need to remember that these are not mutually exclusive inventory management methods. Dispensaries can have the best of both worlds with glass sample jars out front for the customers to view and interact with, while still filling out orders with pre-packages units for maximum logistical efficiency and ease of compliance tracking.

Look at this beautiful display! Pre-package only management systems miss out on these pretty visuals.

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

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