Cannabis Retailers Demand Pre-Ticketing
Retailers want to carry quality cannabis products in their shops, and there are no shortage of options in doing so. How does a brand create a most favorable position for retailers to carry their products? The answer is simple - cannabis brands need to create an added incentive for dispensaries to carry their brand. And there can be no better incentive than enabling greater profitability for retailers.
How can cannabis brands accomplish this? The answer is to “pre-ticket” cannabis products and delivery cases such that retailers can move products from truck-to-shelf with no delay while staying in compliance with regulatory requirements. “Pre-ticketing” is defined within the supply chain management industry as the practice by a vendor of placing a tag on each product sold listing its particular style, size, color. But it carries much more value for the cannabis industry. Cannabis pre-ticketing ties together regulatory tagging, brand sanctioned naming conventions (to allow disparate systems to generate accurate reports), and perhaps most importantly, truck-to-shelf inventory optimization for retailers, cutting down on processing hours to increase overall retailer profitability. And at the end of the day, that is what retailers really want from the brands that they carry in their dispensaries - a way to drive revenue and profitability.
Pre-ticketing (also called source-ticketing) can save time and labor costs, versus ticketing at the store. Accurately ticketed items can flow through the supply chain by simply being read by smartphones or scanners (overhead or handheld). Many retailers have found that tagging allows a larger number of items to be scanned in a shorter time frame, with less human intervention. Reducing the potential for human errors and miscounting. (Source)
Pre-ticketing cannabis products is currently being driven by retailers in California. Dispensaries in California are beginning to demand that the products they carry are pre-ticketed or else they will no longer be available in the retail outlet. Jay Handal, CEO, Erba Markets, states, “Cannabis brands have until 12/31/21 to pre-ticket their products or I will no longer carry them in my Erba stores. I spend $20,000 in labor a month in one store to ticket items to be sold. That’s money that is direct to the bottom line or to other enhancements of employee benefits."
Pre-ticketing cannabis products provides numerous benefits. Dominic Respicio, Senior Supply Chain Manager, Harborside, a 30+ years supply chain veteran says, “Being able to do the pre-labeling and flow-ready ticketing yields the following results:
Elimination of defective data entry.
The ability to use technology that drives a lean supply chain infrastructure that reduces labor costs.
Reduction of headcount, or at least divert FTE to other functional areas.
Based on the freight volumes we are seeing here at Harborside, this is a savings of 1 to 2 FTEs at our brand/manufacturing level.
At the distribution level, it is 1 or 2 full time positions based on the workload. Obviously, the bigger the distribution operations, the greater the savings.
At the retail level we are looking at 1 full time person in terms of prepping products for the sales floor.
At the farm level for grow operations, it can be anywhere from 1 to 2 FTEs based upon various regulations at the state, county, and municipal levels.
Harborside is also strengthening our capabilities for floor readiness and being able to get product directly from the receiving area to the floor.”
LucidIDs are the intelligent UPC for the cannabis industry and are the pre-ticketing solution. Dominic states, “The key aspect that LucidID technology brings, is being able to see transparency in seed-to-sale. The ability to enable a floor-ready QR code solution brings about tremendous opportunities, not just for in time distribution and inventory control. Being able to automate and use LucidID technologies for greater levels of automation is key. I believe that whatever processes we get in place at Harborside via the LucidID, will be adopted as best management practices (BMP’s) ... I would assume that people and other companies are going to imitate this best management practice or standard. Our goal is to create a process that is an industry standard. I believe the LucidID is the foundation for creating a standardization and best practices in that regard. Based on this LucidID solution, we can actually leapfrog traditional consumer packaged goods – the way they do things today.”
As California leads the cannabis industry in maturity from an operating procedures perspective, we expect to see other states follow their lead. We expect that pre-ticketing, while well understood in the CA cannabis industry, will become a national cannabis retailer requirement. If you are a cannabis brand in the California market, pre-ticket with LucidIDs before you are left out from retailers. If you are outside the California market, pay close attention to that market, learn, and reach out to Lucid Green to discuss getting set up with LucidIDs. Reach out to Lucid Green here - https://www.lucidgreen.io/contact.