Cannabis Delivery Software Platform WebJoint Teams Up With Point-of-Sale Provider Cova

WebJoint, a California-based all-in-one supply software program supplier, has introduced a partnership and integration with Cova, a Denver, CO and Vancouver, BC, Canada-based award-winning point-of-sale and inventory management platform utilized by over 2,000 hashish retailers within the U.S. and Canada.

On this partnership, WebJoint’s hashish supply software program will likely be accessible to Cova’s buyer community of retail dispensaries that wish to implement supply. Beforehand, WebJoint has launched comparable integrations with different industry-related tech suppliers.

“Serving to our clients adapt to this delivery-first world to remain aggressive, whereas delivering an unimaginable person expertise that simplifies operations and compliance, is a large victory for the shortly evolving retail panorama,” mentioned Gary Cohen, CEO of Cova. “Our collaborative effort on this integration is one other step in the proper path for hashish know-how.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic fully remodeled the retail panorama of the hashish {industry},” mentioned Antonio Javiniar, head of Advertising and marketing at WebJoint. He defined that, previous to the pandemic, there was a focus of brick-and-mortar dispensaries all through the US and there was “little or no” thought put into hashish supply.

“For sure, within the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, regulators shortly discovered themselves able through which they wanted to get hashish delivered to giant teams of immunocompromised individuals who couldn’t threat strolling right into a bodily location,” Javiniar mentioned.

So, within the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, hashish companies had been designated as “important” companies to keep up entry to hashish for adult-use and medical shoppers alike. On account of stay-at-home orders from state and native governments, hashish supply demand surged over 300%.

“Seemingly in a single day, hashish dispensaries had been seeking to adapt to the brand new retail panorama by including house supply to their companies, regulators in states the place hashish supply was not permitted had been scrambling to implement a supply infrastructure into their current laws, and hashish shoppers had been lastly experiencing the comfort of hashish supply,” Javiniar mentioned. He added that this hasn’t abated, although the world is opening again up — “client shopping for behaviors [still] point out a robust desire for eCommerce and residential supply choices.”

Right here, I speak to key gamers from each WebJoint and Cova to seek out out extra concerning the launch of this new software program integration.

Jackie Bryant: Why is that this integration an enormous deal? What does it imply for the way forward for this type of tech within the hashish {industry}?

Antonio Javiniar (Head of Advertising and marketing, WebJoint): This integration is an enormous deal as a result of it makes WebJoint’s hashish supply software program suite accessible to Cova’s expansive buyer base of 1900+ retail dispensaries seeking to supply house supply choices to shoppers. By integrating these two techniques, retailers can use WebJoint’s suite of eCommerce, stock administration, fleet administration and geofencing instruments to simply implement supply into their current retail enterprise.

Collectively, WebJoint and Cova permits retailers to simply mobilize their dispensaries by harnessing the ability of Dynamic Supply, which permits shoppers to order hashish instantly from the dispensary and supply driver situated closest to them. Dynamic Supply additionally empowers dispensaries to broaden their retail footprint with strategic use of geofenced supply zones, making it worthwhile to amass new clients in areas additional away from the store.

Gary Cohen (CEO, Cova): This isn’t an acquisition, however it’s excess of simply an integration. The hashish {industry} and all of the regulatory overhead that exists on a state stage makes this sort of partnership and integration very advanced. There are particular laws for eCommerce, like taking an order; supply, like with the ability to safely transport hashish and observe its motion; and retailing duties, like final traceability reporting of the place the hashish is on the finish of the provision chain.

Due to the necessity to observe this “chain of custody” of the hashish for compliance, buyer expertise and achievement necessitate deep integrations throughout a number of techniques.

Hilart Abrahamian (co-founder and COO, WebJoint): The demand for supply continues to be surging – states implementing supply and shoppers ordering on-line greater than ever earlier than is indicative of that. We’re pleased with the work we’ve finished with Cova to make supply simpler for retailers and hashish extra accessible to shoppers.

JB: The POS house appears to be aggressive. Why is that this? How does Cova tackle this, and what innovation does it carry to the house?

GC: Everybody who labored in a dispensary from 2010 to 2016 felt that each one choices for hashish POS had been very poor and that they might construct a brand new and higher one themselves. At an area stage, over 60 firms have tried, however practically all weren’t extendable to satisfy the compliance wants of their very own state, a lot much less have the power to fulfil these necessities throughout a number of states. As well as, these firms weren’t constructed to scale.

As a really excessive development {industry}, and one with a must combine right into a state’s traceability system, missing the foresight and capabilities to get forward of the technical calls for makes a lot of the hashish POS fail inside a couple of years. Cova was very modern in a couple of methods because the final entrant into the house among the many “larger gamers”. First, we entered the market with scale, as a subsidiary of a really giant POS firm that had big enterprise assets and capabilities. Notably from a community stability and reliability perspective.

Second, we dedicated to a “compliance first” orientation into every little thing we did as a option to guarantee our shoppers of serving to them to protect their exhausting fought after licenses.

And third, we constructed performance that was missing like the power for the platform to work in an “offline mode.” As a result of all transactions should be fastidiously recorded and reported to the state, Cova created a method for continuous transacting, even when web or energy is down, whereas capturing after which reporting the gross sales when the techniques are again up.

JB: What’s subsequent after this for WebJoint?

AJ: WebJoint’s major focus is to proceed to construct new delivery-specific software program options and broaden its software program purposes to different states. To place it merely, as extra states legalize hashish and notice the worth of implementing supply into their provide chain, WebJoint will likely be there to supply the software program instruments supply operators must succeed and preserve compliance with hashish laws.

JB: What’s subsequent for Cova?

GC: Ever because the retailing of authorized hashish modified dramatically throughout Covid, the significance of supply has risen. Increasingly states are stress-free guidelines to permit for this sort of transacting. Together with WebJoint, we are going to broaden the footprint for having a excessive worth and dependable answer throughout the nation. This can additional cement our relationship with 100’s of outlets, and be a differentiated bundled providing to 100’s of others. Cova already has greater than 50% market share in Canada and this added functionality for the US will assist Cova achieve considerably extra share within the US.

JB: How has WebJoint made its mark in hashish prior to now? What experience do they carry to this integration?

AJ: WebJoint has been the pioneer for hashish supply since hashish was first legalized in California for adult-use in 2017.

With a delivery-first philosophy, WebJoint has created software program options for an underserved market phase within the hashish retail house: non-storefront deliveries. Whereas different know-how firms are constructing the software program infrastructure for dispensaries, WebJoint focuses on the supply area of interest of hashish retail – constructing eCommerce, stock administration, geofencing, and fleet administration instruments that allow supply operators to streamline their enterprise and automate their compliance with state and native hashish laws.

Immediately, over ⅓ of California’s licensed and working hashish supply companies, along with supply operators in Maine and Massachusetts, use WebJoint daily to handle their enterprise.

Christopher Dell’olio (CEO, co-founder, WebJoint): After we first began, we noticed the writing on the wall. Hashish is rather like another consumer-packaged good – particularly in California the place branding performs an enormous function in client preferences. With any CPG product, the transition to eCommerce and supply is sort of inevitable. We noticed the chance to capitalize on the supply market when no one else was and construct the instruments they want to reach the quickly altering hashish market.

JB: What did I miss?

GC: Webjoint and Cova went into this partnership to not solely tackle a necessity but additionally as a result of our know-how approaches had been very comparable. Specifically, that this seamless integration of two “straightforward to Use, straightforward to be taught” options will simplify the backend supply course of. We each needed to share the most effective practices method that was taken in our growth methods to the market in a unified providing.