Article by Tracy Lamourie, Benzinga
Cannabis retail stores across the legal states had already been reporting that they were unable to keep up with the demand when it came to consumers who have expressed a clear preference for same day delivery. Retail stores unable to offer same day services were already struggling to keep their customer in today’s marketplace. (As exciting as it can be to walk into a cannabis retail store for the first time after years of prohibition customers usually prefer delivery to their home or business for reasons of both convenience and discretion.)
Industry watchers say CannaLogic’s new software (now Metrc Compliant in 13 states) was already well placed to have a wide ranging effect on cannabis delivery, distribution, and logistics in legal markets around the world. (The company is working with Governing bodies in the United States, Canada, and the European Union). The recent developments make it ever more urgent that companies who want to continue to exist expand their services into same day delivery.
CannaLogic’s Eitan Braverman says, “Even without the Corona affect, we have been seeing that it’s the companies that are able to provide same day delivery that are keeping their customers. And cannabis companies who can’t will likely not survive.”
He goes on to explain that current SaaS solutions on the market are “great starter-kits for smaller mom and pop type dispensaries but to compete with larger or more established cannabis delivery companies, in mature markets – especially in times like these – companies need a technology partner that will support ALL their strategies and plans in securing their market share.”
Braverman points out that same day delivery can be a major logistical challenge for dispensaries. Even in 2020, he says, the industry standard for same day delivery is deeply lacking, with customers often directed to place their orders by phone or text. The POS system 90 percent of today’s legal dispensaries work with has stores communicating with drivers about orders in a less than ideal manner. Braverman says a store or online dispensary can probably service ably respond to no more than a couple dozen customers a day without the CannaLogic software, but after that, it becomes nearly impossible to manage drivers, orders, patients, and payments with the stability and organization required.
“90 percent of our operators agree the existing third party and SaaS softwares just don’t cut it anymore if you want to be one of the big guys. Serious players need serious partners that are agile and ready to rapidly develop and deploy customer acquisition, customer retention and experience, optimization strategies,” he says.