The cannabis industry thrives on industry-specific software solutions to help operators develop competitive advantages and maximize their efficiencies.
While there are many software options available for the cannabis industry, not all of them offer the same features and functionality to users. On their surface, they seem suited to the unique needs of a challenging industry, but what works for one cannabusiness will not necessarily be adequate for another.
In fact, even cannabis professionals use cannabis accounting software, seed-to-sale software, and cannabis ERP software terminology interchangeably, creating confusion among operators. The distinction is an important one that begins with understanding the difference between seed-to-sale software and cannabis ERP and accounting systems.
Breaking Down the Differences
Totality
The biggest difference between seed-to-sale software and cannabis ERP systems is that an ERP system is a far more complete solution for marijuana businesses looking to improve their workflows.
From a single unified system, cannabis ERP systems bring all the operational data from disparate departments and information pipelines. By unifying this data, ERP systems allow leadership to generate cross-referential reports using nearly any criteria, track and monitor all inventory, business materials, personnel, and finances.
With a cloud-based ERP system, this data is all available to permitted users in real-time and from anyplace.
Features versus Functionality
Cannabis ERP systems grant users access to unprecedented amounts of data—including extremely robust inventory and financial tracking—which helps produce invaluable business insights while remaining in compliance with all state and federal regulations. Seed-to-sale software, on the other hand, is a comparatively and relatively simple tracking system.
While the federal and state-level laws that place unique and ever-changing tracking demands on cannabis producers, distributors, and manufacturers constitute some of the most challenging regulations in all the land for a business to comply with, there is more to operating a successful cannabusiness than simply remaining in compliance.
In most cases, seed-to-sale tracking is really more a vital feature of a complete cannabusiness solution than it is a solution unto itself.
Whose Needs Are You Serving?
Seed-to-sale software is largely concerned with maintaining compliance in the cannabis industry, which is no easy feat. The laws regulating how cannabis is produced, distributed, and sold are as volatile and dynamic as this young industry itself is.
However, operating a successful cannabusiness requires considerably more than the government’s seal of compliance approval. By electing to go with seed-to-sale software, cannabusiness can achieve regulatory compliance and serve the baseline needs mandated by the government.
But for most operations, seed-to-sale software represents the bare minimum required to scrape by, where cannabis-specific ERP systems sew the seeds of legitimate success.
When the goal is scaling the cannabusiness as efficiently as possible while making the best possible decisions within an extraordinarily competitive market, then tracking inventory is only a piece of the larger puzzle.
Cannabis operators have realized broad misconceptions about the available software options and the purposes of each. The ideal software solution for growing cannabis operations to gain a competitive advantage will offer a comprehensive set of tools for root out inefficiencies in the operation’s standard workflows to achieve its goals.
To learn more about modern ERP for your cannabusiness contact one of our experts!
