Andrew Goei, Co-founder and Joseph Ricard, Co-founder and CEO As regulations across the U.S. and Canada change in favor of cannabis for recreational and medicinal use, the cannabidiol (CBD) industry is witnessing exponential growth. Despite the shift in the law, the fragmented CBD industry still lags in retailing as the market regulations and technology required to launch a business can be quite complex for an entrant to navigate. One of the biggest problems for CBD businesses is finding a retail technology solution that supports their high-risk business processes. Driven to turn this around by providing streamlined retail solutions for the cannabis and hemp industry, CloudPay Technologies established SeedERP, a smart retail platform for CBD retailers. The company enables clients to sign up with payment processors, build inventory, launch a website, and market their brand—all through a unified platform. SeedERP also pioneered the development of the world’s first smart, automated ID verification-based CBD vending machine.
“Our ERP platform is the first e-commerce solution designed specifically to support high-risk merchants such as CBD. We provide the industry peace of mind so that they can grow their business and process transactions without the fear of being shut down,” says Joseph Ricard, co-founder and CEO of SeedERP. By leveraging SeedERP, businesses can streamline order management, track inventory, manage customers and subscribers, and build online stores. The company has also integrated its payment gateway and processing solution with multiple sales channels such as e-commerce and point-of-sale systems. This facilitates clients to sell products across diverse locations and build a valuable distribution model to increase direct-to-consumer sales while creating a network of interactive billboards that improves brand awareness and drives traffic.
SeedERP also features a website builder that has intuitive tools to design and launch a fully functional e-commerce store with an integrated payment gateway within hours.
We provide the industry peace of mind so that they can grow their business and process transactions without the fear of being shut down
Moreover, to improve payment processing, SeedERP has a built-in application process that enables clients to create merchant accounts seamlessly while offering low transaction rates. The platform can be leveraged by both the online as well as brick-and-mortar retailers to sell CBD products without disrupting their operations.
Businesses can further eliminate operational liability by utilizing the company’s smart CBD vending machines. SeedERP catalyzes adoption of a ‘plug and profit’ model with their vending machines that make it possible to sell CBD through isolated retail and payment solutions. When a consumer uses these machines, they are provided with detailed descriptions and a catalog of the products available in the climate-controlled environment of the machine. The buyer can also create new orders besides picking up their products. During this process, the machine takes a photo of the buyer, if necessary, which is stored along with the transaction data, while also allowing users to scan their IDs for age verification. “This enables us to capture valuable customer information and reduces the checkout time while protecting the buyer’s privacy,” explains Andrew Goei, co-founder of SeedERP.
Ricard cites a customer interaction, where a client faced hesitation from retail stores to sell CBD products as the store owners were concerned the products would create liabilities for their current payment processor. SeedERP saved the day with its payment gateway-integrated vending machines, which act as isolated retailers. This effectively eliminated the liability factor and strengthened the vendor-client relationship.
Going forward, SeedERP has exciting new plans to incorporate blockchain into the cannabis transaction model. Tracking transactions through an open ledger will not only help with compliance but also link over 2,500 cannabis strain data which can support medical research. “Even though we are focused on first resolving the problems at hand and stabilizing the industry, we are very keen innovators. We never want to be static in a dynamic market,” concludes Goei.
