An Ultimate Guide: Seed-to-Sale Software vs. Cannabis Marketplaces
If you’re working in the cannabis industry, you need to know the differences between seed-to-sale software and cannabis marketplaces.
Getting into cannabis business software can be confusing, especially understanding which type of tools are for commerce versus management.
Take these tips to heart because they will shine a light on what you should do to help your business thrive. (Hint—you do not need to be a multi-million-dollar corporation to keep reading)
What Are Cannabis Marketplaces
Cannabis marketplaces are online commerce centers for businesses to buy and sell product. They are perfect for companies that want to sell to appreciative and untapped audiences.
Online cannabis marketplaces help you gain access to new customer bases – but you are only reaching a certain group of people, as many legitimate platforms are rather costly.
If you are comfortable with the online marketplace, you can work on there for quite some time. You can buy from the same suppliers or sell to buyers that found you on the platform.
One drawback to online cannabis marketplaces they cannot help you with compliance, and your sales will need to be recorded manually. You’ll still do all the work required by your state tracking system.
With regards to ensuring compliance, most cannabis marketplaces will not back you up. You might also find they’re too expensive or not necessarily right for your business.
Are Cannabis Marketplaces Legal
A cannabis marketplace is perfectly legal in states where the sale and production of cannabis have been legalized to one degree or another.
However, these platforms are generally ancillary businesses meaning they don’t handle cannabis directly and aren’t awarded a license from the state regulators.
Credible cannabis marketplaces will often require participating businesses to have license from state cannabis regulators. This is a safe operating standard because it helps ensure marketplace integrity.
You have no time for the legal hang-ups or scams to do business in a marketplace that isn’t filled with licensed cannabis businesses.
So, always double check the credibility of whichever marketplace you choose. You are paying for software that creates a secure environment for making sales.
This might be the place for your business you start, but you have added a middleman by working with the marketplace to begin with.
If you’re set on sales and looking for management-oriented software instead, maybe consider moving up to seed-to-sale software.
What is Seed-to-Sale Software
Seed-to-sale software is a kind of program that allows cannabis businesses to track product from planting to final sale. It usually connects to METRC or similar compliance systems used by your state.
Seed-to-sale software is also considered an ancillary cannabis technology. Just like cannabis marketplaces, there is no cannabis-specific license attached to these platforms.
The key difference is the best seed-to-sale software integrates with licensed operators’ state compliance data.
Ideal seed-to-sale software requires you to do virtually nothing by hand and can automate most of the data retrieval that is required.
For example, using METRC API documentation can help synchronize your METRC inventory data with external seed-to-sale software.
It’s already complex to remain compliant while sending shipments, growing, or selling products every day. Imagine using seed-to-sale software unconnected to compliance data.
You’d get lost in the data entry!
On most seed-to-sale software, you can see all the information that has been sent via the state compliance system, and you can easily review every scrap of data.
Best of all, some seed-to-sale platform’s use AI and other predictive technology to help you make decisions. You can check data, trends, and print reports that will impact your decision-making.
Seed-to-sale gives you an entire backend that allows you to check in on every product. You may need a partner to help you manage your seed-to-sale software. They would know how to use the program, and provide assistance when needed.
Breaking Down the Differences
If you were to craft some kind of inventory management support system with spreadsheets and word processing documents, it would probably be disjunct, difficult to understand, and dysfunctional.
You need to care about seed-to-sale software because your business depends it. This service helps get reporting, accounting, or tracking right.
You do not want to make mistakes with your tracking because you could be cited or fined by the state. In a worst-case scenario, you lose your license.
Here’s a sum up of seed-to-sale software and cannabis marketplaces include:
• Seed-to-sale software is for managing your inventory and business
• Seed-to-sale software can integrate with state compliance data like METRC
• Seed-to-software involves AI and predictive utilities
• Cannabis marketplaces and seed-to-sale software are ancillary technologies
• Cannabis marketplaces are for commerce and customer acquisition
• Cannabis marketplaces usually do not integrate with track-and-trace technology; meaning you’ll have to log transactions interpedently
Even if you are selling in an online cannabis marketplace or buying from someone else for your business, you need help with tracking.
Once you have clients, it’s likely you’ll outgrow using a cannabis marketplace. But you’ll always need software that gives value and helps maintain inventory information.
The B2B cannabis marketplace is for selling products. It is a good place for getting started if you can afford the spend.
Seed-to-sale software works better with all businesses. The software does the work, and you do not need to buy a thousand products to get started.
You might be left struggling with your business if you started in the cannabis marketplace, got overwhelmed with sales, and do not know what to do. You could lose money and customers.
Seed-to-sale software helps you stay on track with deliveries, purchases, and so much more. You can organize your business, making wiser choices with help from seed-to-software today.
