Coopetition in Cannabis Tech: Build, Buy, or Integrate

Our mission is to build the best software for the cannabis industry. As we enter our ninth year, the roadmap is overflowing with feature requests to help our clients conquer the chaos. It’s hard to navigate the nuances of this industry to address the pain for operators while satisfying evolving regulatory requirements and meeting the needs of stakeholders of all shapes and sizes.

With our small team, we chose to focus on making the best all-in-one POS system in cannabis and keep up with changing regulations and compliance requirements. In California, we have the most complete and most loved cannabis POS on the market, and we have stayed one step ahead of all regulatory requirements, including excise tax changes, compounding taxes, and CA delivery ledgers.

We are not able to build everything ourselves and don’t have the capital to acquire complementary cannabis tech companies. Therefore, to meet the needs of our clients, integrations are a viable path. For years, we tossed around the questions of whether or not to integrate, when, and with whom. These questions require some serious consideration. Timing and fit are critical.

As we launch our first catalog of integration partners to help our dispensary clients overcome the challenges of their day-to-day, I wanted to reflect on this journey and share how we curated high-impact partnerships with platforms that represent best-in-class technology, create valuable competencies for clients, and share our values around compliance, data security, and privacy.

In the last year, a few key things created an opening for us to build real value for our clients with an API. First, consolidation and extinction in cannabis tech. Recent consolidation killed off a number of previously existing integrations. As companies were bought or merged, these integrations were no longer advantageous to keep alive, leaving operators with gaps in their tech stacks. Other companies folded, eliminating those integrations as well. In addition, the regulatory landscape in cannabis is always changing, and not all tech companies have been willing or able to keep up and adapt. This created significant voids in competencies for cannabis operators, and an opportunity for Meadow to align with strategic partners to create the most robust and high-impact system for cannabis retail.

On top of that, cannabis dispensaries are fighting an uphill battle right now. Their challenges, particularly with taxes, the unregulated market, compliance, and regulatory changes, are significantly higher than those of traditional retailers. Margins are down, competition is up, and there has been a post-pandemic deceleration of legal sales. Given this ecosystem, we knew it was time to find clear collaborations that could help cannabis retailers battle these challenges and grow.

The sophistication of clients in cannabis retail also contributed to our API timing. The learning curve in cannabis is steep, with operators making huge advances in the sophistication of their day-to-day technology and workflows. When our clients level up, we level up. It was time to offer a wider array of tools that could not only run their core business, but also enhance their marketing, analytics, payments, customer retention, search visibility, integrated menus and ordering, team incentives, and employee-driven growth.

To find the right partners, it was a bit like dating. Was that potential partner looking for a quick date or did they want to build something valuable together? Would they stick around for the long haul? Were they reliable? What were their values? It takes time to get to know a product and a team so we put in that time to find the right collaborators. There has to be mutual alignment, shared values, and a strong relationship if are really going to help cannabis operators win the day.

So here it is, Meadow’s new lineup of integrations and partnerships ????

INTEGRATIONS:

DEBIT PAYMENTS

Meadow's Debit Payments integration is a one-stop-shop for fast, secure, and compliant cashless transactions with PIN-based debit. Enjoy the cheapest rates for compliant debit processing with funds always flowing directly to your bank account. Say goodbye to rounding errors with to-the-penny precision and hello to larger carts and bigger sales.

WEEDMAPS MENU & ORDERS INTEGRATION

Meadow's integrations with Weedmaps lets dispensaries put their Weedmaps menu management and order fulfillment on autopilot. With automatic menu updates and orders flowing directly from Weedmaps to Meadow’s POS, dispensaries will save time, reduce overhead, and streamline fulfillment - all while increasing sales and creating a better online ordering experience.

SPARKPLUG

SparkPlug's sales incentive platform is designed to motivate and reward budtenders?for bigger sales and happier employees. And the best part? The incentives are paid for by brands dispensaries already carry in their shops. Right now SparkPlug is offering Meadow clients 1-year free Pro subscription?(over $2,000 value.)

ALPINE IQ

Alpine IQ solves a number of issues cannabis retailers often face on traditional marketing platforms. You can see who is buying what and when, run?compliant marketing campaigns across email, text, browser notifications, or push notifications, and build loyal customer bases using rewards systems.

ONFLEET

Meadow's two-way integration with Onfleet brings next-level GPS, routing, tracking, and logistics for fast and efficient delivery. With order status updates, auto-dispatch for dynamic delivery, SMS customer communication, and real-time driver updates, cannabis delivery operators can reduce costs and delivery times.

HAPPY CABBAGE ANALYTICS

Cut out expenses and manual work across inventory, marketing, and store operations. HCA’s platform boosts ROI on SMS marketing, increases conversion rates 5-10x, increases ticket size an average of 16%, and frees up cash flow with inventory optimization.

LEAFLY

With Meadow's integration, your Leafly menu always stays up to date in real-time, saving labor costs with no manual entry required. Leafly’s menus are automatically updated as dispensaries input new information or sell products.

EYERATE

Ready for more employee-driven growth? Eyerate is the only automated feedback and review-generating platform that helps your team earn more for getting mentioned online. Employees earn cash bonuses for being mentioned by name in positive online reviews, incentivizing them to deliver 5-star customer experiences.

PARTNERSHIPS:

GUSTO

Gusto, the top-rated HR platform, is now offering its services to cannabis businesses. Gusto provides access to an all-in-one solution for everything from payroll and employee benefits to hiring, onboarding, accounting, tax filings, and more.

ERCTREE

Dispensaries can put no-strings cash in their pockets with Employee Retention Credits (a payroll tax refund from the United States Treasury Department). ercTree helps operators receive up to $26,000 per employee kept on payroll during the pandemic.