After six years in cannabis tech, I thought I understood what cannabis operators needed. I thought the companies I worked for were building features and tech that operators truly valued and that we were making the rough cannabis landscape better for them every single day. I was wrong.
My journey through the cannabis industry has been eye-opening. From lab testing software to B2B wholesale e-commerce, point-of-sale systems to seed-to-sale tracking, I’ve seen the industry from multiple angles. But it wasn’t until I stepped into my current role at Monko, a dispensary, that I truly grasped the disconnect between tech solutions and operational realities.
The cannabis tech sector is booming, with new startups and established players constantly rolling out innovative solutions. These companies, myself included during my time there, genuinely believe they’re revolutionizing the industry. However, the reality on the ground is starkly different.
Take lab testing software, for instance. When I worked for a company developing these systems, we focused on creating comprehensive databases and intricate analytics. We thought we were providing invaluable tools for quality control and compliance. In practice, many operators find these systems overly complex and struggle to integrate them into their daily workflows.
The B2B wholesale e-commerce platform I helped develop was another example of misaligned priorities. We built elaborate features for product highlighting and order management, convinced we were streamlining the supply chain. Yet, many cultivators and distributors still prefer direct relationships and simpler ordering methods, finding our platform an additional hurdle rather than a solution.
Point-of-sale systems in cannabis face similar challenges. Tech companies pour resources into developing sleek interfaces and advanced inventory management features. However, budtenders often report that these systems are counterintuitive and slow them down during peak hours, precisely when efficiency is most crucial.
The most glaring disconnect I’ve witnessed is in seed-to-sale tracking software. These systems are designed to ensure compliance and provide a complete picture of the product life cycle. They often create more headaches than solutions. Many operators find themselves dedicating considerable time and resources to data entry and management, taking away from core business activities.
Where Does The Disconnect Stem From?
Several factors contribute to this gap between tech innovation and operational needs:
1. Lack of on-the-ground experience
Many cannabis tech entrepreneurs come from outside of the industry or not from a cannabis operator background. While they bring valuable technological expertise, they often lack firsthand experience in day-to-day cannabis operations.
2. Overemphasis on features
There’s a tendency in tech to equate more features with better products. In the fast-paced cannabis industry, simplicity and reliability often trump complexity.
3. Regulatory tunnel vision
Cannabis tech often focuses heavily on compliance, sometimes at the expense of usability. While compliance is critical, it shouldn’t come at the cost of operational efficiency.
4. Insufficient user feedback
Despite user testing and feedback loops, many cannabis tech companies struggle to truly understand and incorporate operator needs into their product development cycles.
5. One-size-fits-all approach
The cannabis industry is diverse, with different segments having unique needs. Tech solutions often try to cater to everyone, resulting in products that don’t fully meet anyone’s specific requirements.
Now that I’m on the operator side, I see these issues play out daily. Our budtenders struggle with point-of-sale systems that don’t align with their workflow. Our inventory management is complicated by seed-to-sale software that doesn’t account for the nuances of our business model. Even seemingly simple tasks like updating our online menu become cumbersome due to poorly designed e-commerce platforms.
This isn’t to say that cannabis tech isn’t valuable or necessary. Technology will play a crucial role in the industry’s growth and maturation. However, there needs to be a fundamental shift in how these technologies are conceived, developed, and implemented.
Primarily, cannabis tech companies need to prioritize real-world operator input throughout their development process. This means going beyond cursory user testing and deeply embedding themselves in the day-to-day operations of dispensaries, cultivators, and manufacturers.
Secondly, there needs to be a greater emphasis on modularity and customization. Every cannabis business is unique, and technology solutions should be flexible enough to adapt to various operational models.
Simplicity and reliability should be prioritized over feature bloat. In the high-pressure environment of cannabis retail or cultivation, systems that are intuitive and dependable are far more valuable than those with a myriad of rarely used features.
Lastly, cannabis tech companies need to focus on interoperability. The cannabis supply chain is complex, and operators often use multiple systems. Technologies that can seamlessly integrate with other platforms will provide significantly more value than isolated solutions.
As the cannabis industry continues to evolve, the role of technology will only grow more significant. However, for this technology to truly serve its purpose, there needs to be a closer alignment between tech innovation and operational realities.
My journey from cannabis tech to cannabis operations has been a humbling experience. It’s shown me that innovation is not about cutting-edge technology or flashy features. It’s about deeply understanding the needs of your users and developing solutions that genuinely make their lives easier.
For cannabis tech companies, this means getting out from behind the computer screen and onto the dispensary floor, into the grow rooms, and inside the manufacturing facilities. It means listening more than talking and being willing to scrap grand visions in favor of practical solutions.
As for operators, we need to be more vocal about our needs and more willing to collaborate with tech companies. We should view them not just as vendors, but as partners in improving our operations.
Only then, can we create solutions that truly serve the industry and help cannabis businesses thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.
