This! It’s crazy how fast the wholesale cost dropped in 2016, but it seems like few news outlets reported on it.
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What’s the most challenging software package that you’ve run into for getting the data out of for analysis?
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Hey mchatham! Thanks for the personal ask and happy to share my story.
I’ve been a data guy in other industries for the last decade. I’ve worked with marketing, sales, accounting, operations and senior leadership across verticals like consumer goods, construction, healthcare, and government contracting. I’ve got a background in startups as well as consulting and corporate life, so I have a good sense of data needs across businesses of varying shapes and sizes.
I checked out the cannabis industry a couple of years ago and, frankly, it was too soon for an enterprise data toolkit. Not enough big players, too much chaos in the market, and not enough maturity from the big players to recognize the value. I put my finger on the pulse again a year ago and realized that we were quickly approaching an inflection point where data transitions from a nice-to-have for the most sophisticated players to a cornerstone tool for every business of every size. This is a trend I’ve seen play out in many other verticals over the last decade, so it’s not a question of if, but who and when.
I started Cannabis Big Data because my answer was us and now.
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Yup! The post from those analysts around this graph was more about the seasonal trends of outdoor flower flooding the market and flooring prices.
Any way you slice it, prices are falling fast, and we’re no where near the bottom.
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Given that we expect average wholesale prices to fall, do we have data on the average size of cultivators / firm size? @nick, maybe this is something Growers Network can help answer?
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Ultimately, we’re in the business of messy data, so we’re happy to take any source and make sense of it all. Most every software is pretty gunky once you pop the hood and look where most people don’t …
That said, and not to kick a hurt horse, but MJ Freeway is pretty painful to digest. Their architecture is counterintuitive and their internal reporting tool was garbage. Spent way too many hours on the phone with their (very helpful and sympathetic) customer service team …
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Hi Henry!
Have you done data for delivery services? I’d be curious to know what kind of data they’re interested in.
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Hey @henry! Through all of your data and analysis can you see where inefficiencies are in the industry? I.E. Where could the industry improve overall?
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Great question and I’ve heard anecdotal feedback but haven’t seen any firm surveys or data points. Would be happy to help chug an analysis like that if we have a way to survey a good sample size of growers in a region
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Great question and haven’t worked with a delivery service quite yet, though definitely open to revving up a dedicated module for their specific needs. If you had someone in mind, happy to make the connect.
At this point, I think delivery services are just trying to get ahead of the upcoming regulations, so they’re less focused on optimizing and more focused on surviving. That’s a general trend I’ve noticed from my conversations with Calfornia ops at large …
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That’s awesome, thanks for the detailed answer. I think you hit the nail on the head here: “data transitions from a nice-to-have for the most sophisticated players to a cornerstone tool for every business of every size.” Even today a lot of businesses don’t seem to know what to do with their data, but it’s going to be the data-driven businesses that survive, ultimately.
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Have you noticed any trends/differences between the different US states from your data analysis?
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Oh my goodness, so many places! Honestly, it’s more a question of where, if anywhere, is well dialed yet …
In particular, I see A LOT of opportunities around:
- unit costing
- workflow automation
- customer loyalty programs
- marketing ROI analysis
- forecasting
- investor relations
- pricing strategy
…
The list goes on and on …
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Exacto mundo!! My hypothesis is exactly - and why I started Cannabis Big Data 
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Okay, so next question: Where do you see CBD going in the next 6 months, year, and next few years? Sounds like you’re contemplating an expansion to various sectors of the industry? (Sounds like right now your clients are mostly retail/wholesale) How about funding?
And what about hiring new team members?
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Sadly that is the answer I was expecting. Hopefully as the industry grows we will all understand the importance of data and proper management. I see some companies that get this and they are doing well, but an overall majority just don’t understand the importance of an well oiled machine.
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Ya, certainly. It’s as basic as the data that’s disclosed and is heavily impacted by the regulatory patchwork.
Overall, in my conversations with largely bucket states by “limited license” or “free license” environments. Now, even Colorado which is considered a “free license” environment has a dizzying array of county-level dos and don’ts, but that’s much more permissive than a state like NY or MA that only allows a handful of monopoly licenses.
Grow curves are, as expected, more constrained in limited environments.
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What are the most common questions you receive from your clients?
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