The cannabis industry is evolving rapidly and so should your perception of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). New Year’s resolutions are easy to make, but difficult to keep up with. From personal growth to goal-setting, it’s no secret that resolving to “do better” is a challenging task. It’s much the same when making decisions about your business. Whether to keep implementing the same technologies, invest in innovation, or just simply to maintain the same processes, these decisions can make or break the functionality throughout your organization.

Because every company is unique, there’s no single indicator that can suggest you need an ERP software solution. However, discovering inefficiencies and road blocks in current business processes may suggest converting to an ERP system. In these following “resolutions”, we will briefly cover why the implementation of an ERP software will grow your canna-business in 2019.

Resolution #1: Recognizing the need for a new ERP

The most important aspect before implementing an ERP system into your organization is understanding the strategy of your business processes. Focusing on the people and operations rather than the technology will give you insight as to what the core issues are, and what the ERP software can resolve. Whether your organization is struggling with accurate data from sales, inventory costing or accurate accounting information, it can trigger a ripple effect on everything from marketing to payroll, from investment to employee retention. Once realizing these symptoms are occurring in your business, you must get the proper controls and systems in place before it is too late.

Resolution #2: Understanding what an ERP can do for your cannabis business

Although the regulation of marijuana still seems to be a topic of uncertainty, the development of technology surrounding the industry is constantly growing. If you’re a serious cannabis operator and you need a software system for your manufacturing and cultivation operations, an ERP software platform is what your company needs to stay compliant.

An ERP is an enterprise resource planning tool that is used to organize business tasks throughout an organization in a cohesive software program. These essential management tools include planning, purchasing, inventory, sales, costing, finance, etc. By combining management of these departments into a connected program, businesses can realize operational efficiency and profitability by lowering costs and decreasing waste in time, labor, and inventory.

Resolution #3: Beginning Your Search

Once recognizing that an ERP solution is what your business needs to make it to the next level, it is time to begin serious planning around the selection of your ERP provider. After assessing the pain points within your current business processes, you must make time to undertake an honest top-to-bottom look at all your current administrative tasks. Think of this as a shopping list that you will be referencing as you evaluate ERP options.

• Create an RFP: Putting your needs into words will help create a framework for your ERP needs. This allows your business to be more satisfied with the answers from potential software companies. Be thorough in outlining your needs to shape the kind of product you need to receive because this will determine the future of your company.
• Evaluate Objectively: This is where your prior planning pays off, with a good scoring matrix and good search methodology. This should be an easy assessment of your requirements in search of the best fit ERP software solution. It’s important to keep your employees at all levels of the company to be involved. Empowering them in this process will ensure fluid decision-making.
• Prepare and Lead the Transition: Once selecting the ERP solution that fits your cannabis business the best, now it is time for implementation. The beginning stages involve technological transitions of data across the entire organization. To ensure a successful implementation you must have employees prepared for the transition.

And now off to a New Year and all its resolutions!