5 Tips on Managing Cannabis Dispensary Inventory

Typically marijuana retailers stock hundreds or even thousands of cannabis products in their storefront and keeping track of everything can be tricky. Utilizing advanced marijuana software is essential when managing cannabis dispensary inventory. There are several steps to onboarding new products but there are a few steps that are vital to maintaining compliance with state regulations.

Today we’ll discuss a few important tips to remember when managing your cannabis dispensary inventory.

Calibrate Scales

Whether your cannabis retailer is a licensed distributor that cultivates its own supply or you purchases product from a third-party distributor, you’ll always want to weigh each batch before adding it to your stock. It’s always necessary to calibrate your scales before weighing your marijuana as there can occasionally be discrepancies between the distributor’s recorded weight and the actual weight when it reaches you storefront.

Even if your marijuana has been pre-packaged and labelled by the distributor with the weight, it never hurts to double check. It’s best to use NTEP certified scales so that you’re able to weigh large quantities and get precise readings. Calibrating your scales seems simple enough but after a while they can begin to drift so taking the time to do this before large intakes is highly recommended.

Assign SKU Number

Now that many states have selected specific service providers for their track-and-trace reporting, cannabis purchased from the distributor will come with a unique barcode. For example, in California Franwell’s Metrc reporting software is the provider so Metrc barcodes will be attached to every batch of marijuana.

As a retailer once you receive a batch that is tagged with a Metrc barcode, you’ll want to assign your own dispensary SKU number to the entire batch. You can add the Metrc plant identification number to the product profile so that you know exactly which SKU is assigned to which batch. Doing this will allow you to make sales while tracking every gram sold in your dispensary.

Display Cannabis

Now that licensed distributors are responsible for packaging and labelling marijuana before it ever reaches the retailers, presenting your flower to the clientele has changed. Most marijuana dispensaries have chosen to provide display cannabis that can be inspected by potential customers. Often times it’s a very small amount of cannabis, usually a very large bud, that allow customers to see and smell what they want to buy.

Display cannabis can only be viewed with the assistance of a dispensary employee but is a very effective way to present your inventory without crowding your shelves with jars of weed. Unfortunately this small amount of marijuana must be destroyed once the product is out of stock so you’ll want to choose your display cannabis carefully and remove it from the batch before adding it to your cannabis dispensary inventory.

Product Categories

The variety of cannabis products on the market is astounding so ensuring you categorize your cannabis dispensary inventory is paramount. When adding products into your inventory using your dispensary point-of-sale system, you’ll want to assign them to a particular category so they will appear organized on digital displays and online menus.

Whether it’s an edible, drink, tincture, concentrate, or flower putting it into the appropriate category will make it easier for customers to identify. Categorizing your inventory is especially important when syncing with online menus so the online shoppers won’t mistake products.

Ecommerce Integration

Integrating your cannabis dispensary inventory is one of the major advantages of implementing smart dispensary POS software. IndicaOnline integrates with your website to create an online webstore and menu using woocommerce. Once this is complete all of your menu updates will be automatic based on what’s been recently added to your inventory or gone out-of-stock.

It will also automate updates for third-party menu listings such as Weedmaps and Potify. Not only will this save you a ton of time but it will help you increase sales by reaching a larger audience. IndicaOnline provides inventory solutions for cannabis dispensaries of all sizes. Learn more about our advanced features by scheduling a free demonstration.