LABELLING
Four Ways Cultivators Can Improve Efficiencies with Cannabis Labelling By Travis Wayne, Product Manager, TEKLYNX Americas
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ue to the COVID-19 pandemic, growth in 2020 wasn’t as large as everyone expected. But as the market became more stable and expanded internationally, and as Health Canada grants more cannabis licences in 2021, the market will continue to grow. As one of the most robust and organized cannabis programs in the world, software strategies can enable better seedto-sale traceability throughout Canada and help cannabis organizations grow and gain a competitive advantage in 2021 and beyond. Here are four ways to keep your cannabis business competitive in 2021 with label software strategies for seedto-sale traceability. Integrate from the Onset Many software applications are needed across the cannabis supply chain for cultivation, inventory management, point of sale (POS) and more. Barcodes are an integral part of this process as they are the carrier to streamline communication of data across these points in the supply chain. They also regularly report required information, per the Cannabis Act, such as cultivation volume, packaged and unpacked inventory and sales, to name a few. But there are many! Integrating barcode labeling software into your seed-to-sale technology stack will remove manual steps in your labeling process, reduce errors and related risk and speed your time to market. RFID for Real-Time Tracking & Inventory Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology that uses tiny tags to track and identify objects that the tags are attached to. RFID tags are a very small chip with a very small antenna that can communicate data to a reader that can be embedded in a label, product or package. Leveraging RFID technology in seed-to-sale traceability begins in the cultivation stage of the labeling process, when the seed hits the soil and allows for real-time tracking of plants that can greatly reduce your overhead inventory.
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Manually scanning barcodes can add inefficiencies and added spending to your labeling process whereas an RFID reader can produce real and measurable benefits. With RFID tags, the reader does not need a direct line of sight to read the tag. Similarly, the readers are able to scan hundreds of tags in a matter of seconds. They also enable accurate real-time inventory analysis with fixed RFID readers on shelves that allow automatic item counting and location tracking. While investing in RFID technology carries a higher upfront cost, the savings continue to compile year after year. Establish a Secure Label Approval Process In any regulated industry, you cannot risk bad labels entering a production environment. A preventable measure to ensure this doesn’t happen is defining user roles in your labeling process. Establishing role-based user permissions can significantly decrease errors and ensure your process is always running smoothly and cohesively. Label security and traceability software enables a streamlined process for label design, storage, approvals and printing to support compliance in any industry. Pro Tip! In your cannabis label de-
sign process, make sure your labeling is being done in-house and on-demand. This is a great place to save time and money because it allows a speedier time to market with no lead-time for labels. On-demand labeling allows you to leverage a database of your hi-resolution company and product graphics to variably populate data onto labels in real time. This leaves your company branding to you and not in the hands of a third party. Centralize your Labeling Operations for Better Visibility Centralizing your labeling operations allows organizations with multiple locations better visibility throughout your company. Simple web-page publishing means having the ability to print everywhere, from anywhere, with the necessary approved labels. Printing from one centralized and secure location allows standardization across locations and is very easy to scale, leaving room for potential business growth. Pro Tip! Reduce manual steps through automation. There is always 2
a demand to eliminate manual steps in processes to increase efficiencies. Automating label printing allows you to print labels instantaneously without manual data entry, reducing bad labels from entering production and saving you money. Automating printing can be done by collecting data from devices such as scales, scanners, keyboards and more, increasing print speeds and reducing label waste. The cannabis industry is consistently growing as cannabis licences continue to be granted into 2021. As one of the most robust and organized cannabis programs in the world, software strategies can enable better seed-to-sale traceability throughout Canada and help cannabis organizations grow and gain a competitive advantage in 2021 and beyond. To learn more about how you can improve traceability from seed to sale, visit www.teklynx.com. To learn more about TEKLYNX, visit www.teklynx. com. 3
1 4 5 6 Health Canada. (2019, December 9). Packaging and labelling guide for cannabis products [Photograph]. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/ services/cannabis-regulations-licensed-producers/packaging-labelling-guidecannabis-products/guide.html
Cannabis Business Times. (2017, September 29). Fathom and Gimbal Demonstrate Automated Bluetooth Plant Tracking in Cannabis Cultivation Facility [Photograph]. Www.Cannabisbusinesstimes.Com. https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/ fathom-gimbal-demonstrate-automated-bluetooth-plant-tracking/
Cannabis Prospect Magazine | April 2021