Cannabis-Tracking Technology Can Mitigate Supply-Chain Issues Worldwide

Cannabis Business Insights | Monday, March 20, 2023

Modern data cannabis tracking technology allows for greater transparency and accountability in the industry, ensuring that only legal and safe products are sold. It also allows for precise monitoring of the production and sale of cannabis, helping to ensure that the industry follows regulations and is compliant with the law.

FREMONT, CA: COVID-19 has changed the world. Public health innovations were catalyzed, the definition of the workplace shifted, and consumer demand skyrocketed or plummeted. These significant changes have rocked the global economy, and supply chains are one area where economies have struggled. Often, production can be reduced or halted if consumer demand within an entire industry or sector suddenly decreases, and it can be difficult to resume production at the same level. Due to this volatile environment, many enterprises have suffered from supply issues, including shortages, lag times, and inefficiencies. There is one industry, however, whose supply chains have stood out for their resilience—cannabis.

Cannabis production comprises cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, transportation, and retail. A state or federal government ensures the product's safety at each production stage. Cannabis is a relatively new industry, making it unique. Cannabis for medicinal and recreational purposes has been legalized in several states in recent decades, even though the plant itself isn't new.

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Cannabis tracking technology has taken advantage of the recent changes in societal and governmental attitudes toward cannabis. From conception to sale track-and-trace technology can provide valuable data as a product travels from conception to sale. A cannabis tracking technology allows plants to be monitored in real-time and creates databases for all parties.

Also, this technology ensures that cannabis products are authentic throughout the production process, so consumers and businesses are kept safe.

This technology ensures safety while keeping products moving. Businesses want to get their products to consumers, and government bodies want to ensure consumer safety. Cannabis can be safely processed and carried throughout the supply chain using track-and-trace technology.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags are one of the track-and-trace technologies facilitating this efficient movement. The tags are attached to cannabis plants during the early stages of cultivation and contain valuable coded information. RFID readers allow regulators to quickly assess large amounts of products compared to traditional barcodes. Businesses and cultivators can use RFID technology to perform quick inventory checks and maintenance, increasing customer satisfaction and sell-through rates. RFID technology helps marijuana businesses increase efficiency by improving safety and supply chain and increasing their bottom lines.

Cannabis supply chain issues

A lack of inventory is currently preventing some supply chains from serving customers. This pivotal time can be used to examine the supply chain weaknesses across industries and how they can be addressed. Today, 80 percent of operations and IT leaders say technological investments still need to deliver the expected results. In the cannabis industry, investing in technology like that will provide results, even if it's not an easy investment.

How can supply chain issues be resolved?

RFID technology is an intelligent way to solve supply chain issues, even though it cannot and will not solve them all. The cannabis industry - one of the most regulated in the world - has proven successful with this technology. By default, this complicates product flow. RFID is designed to meet the growing demand and increase efficiency. Supply chain woes have been less of a problem for the cannabis industry due to this flexibility.

Cannabis businesses cannot succeed on RFID alone, but processing products efficiently helps. Technology must adapt to the changing supply chains smartly and creatively. Entrepreneurs can use the COVID-19 pandemic to rethink how they do business. Using modern technology in the cannabis industry can serve as a model for other sectors.

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