Covid-19 has put a hard-hitting strain (pun intended) on the business interactions between Retailers and Producers.
In the time of covid it’s harder than ever for producers to connect with their retail customers . Producers are still producing of course, but it’s harder now more than ever for Retailers to connect with them and decide if their products are the right fit for their consumers.
To top it off, Retailers and LP’s are having to adapt to the online retail ecosystem, meaning e-commerce has been our guiding light through these dark times. This means that stores are needing to be on their very best display to maintain business. It makes you think – business really does rely on that personal connection.
So how are Retailers supposed to make important product stocking decisions during a pandemic?
We’ve created a solution to this and it’s called Producer Connect – a platform invented to assist both parties with the process. Here are the 5 ways Producer Connect is helping the procuring ebb-and-flow between Retailers and LPs.
1. Producer Connect is your one stop shop to accessing batch-level data
Imagine a simple, beautiful, singular database that contains beneficial information for Cannabis Retailers, along with reliable batch information on LPs and their products. That’s what Producer Connect is – with so much more. Producer Connect is a unique and practical platform that allows LP’s to provide essential information such as batch-level information, cannabis profiles, and digital assets (pictures of the product, sales cards, etc). We save Retailers and LPs the trip of in-person meetings so that Retailers can get a solid grasp of products all on our platform. Additionally, all the information the LP provides on our platform is completely downloadable for Retailers to populate into their POS systems. We’re paving the way for Retailers and Producers to access all their essential information needs all in one place.
Oh and did we mention that,
2. Retailer accounts are free
Yes, you read that right. Accounts for cannabis retailers across Canada are free to sign up and use our platform with no commitments. Our intention is for our platform to be as easily accessible as possible – a single transparent place to gather all of your product information. More info to arm your budtenders = happier, educated customers.
*Future optional add-on features for Retailer accounts will require payment.
3. Integrated Internal Messaging
Producer Connect also includes a messaging system so that Retailers can message Producers directly. No more headaches from searching the long inbox scroll of emails and phone calls for those important conversations. It’s all in one space!
Retailers can reach out to their Producers of interest to inquire on product or brand information. And vice versa – Producers can reach out to Retailers to strike up important conversations on their products.
4. Producer Connect now has all products listed in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.
Producer Connect has everything that is listed by the Provincial Boards specifically for AB, BC, and ON. In fact, Producer Connect is constantly onboarding LP’s from these areas, which means Producer Connect contains specific and scientific batch-level data that is exclusively not listed by your Provincial Board. Another reason to join us!
Bonus: Producer Connect includes pricing information for Alberta and Ontario
Check out the difference between our “Advanced and Basic Profiles” here
5. Creating Lists
We know the pain of sourcing good products and we know that order day can be absolute havoc (trust us, we’ve heard the stories).
Producer Connect mitigates the stress of obtaining fresh product updates from your favourite LP’s by creating a one-stop shop for engagement. This function allows Retailers to utilize specific lists for various needs, including present inventory, products of interest, products with highest THC levels, etc.
With this lists function, Retailers can easily keep track of which products have new batches in their “inventory lists”. This reduces the amount of back-and-forth between Retailers and LP’s when checking for updates.
Every time an LP updates a product, the changes automatically show on the Retailer’s list. These lists can be exported into excel sheets which can then be used to transfer information into the Retailer’s POS system.
For Retailers, having lists generated through Producer Connect will save you time during the ordering process when your initial products are out of stock. Your carefully generated list will provide you with back up by showing similar products to the one that just went out of stock. For LPs, your updates will notify your clientele all in one space, rather than you having to notify each Retailer on the latest batch. Mantra: prepare, prepare, prepare!
We are social creatures by nature. Covid-19 may have interrupted the traditional business routine physically for the cannabis industry, but we’re offering significant lasting solutions to help Canadian Retailers and LP’s across the board. Producer Connect is becoming the number one resource for Canadian cannabis businesses to source their essential information needs and we invite you to join the movement!
Check out our video to see it all in action:
