Top 8 Seed to Sale Cannabis Software Companies in 2021

Seed to sale software is the primary workflow and tracking software for the cannabis industry. Also known as a Cannabis ERP, Seed-to-sale tracking software is primarily focused on back-of-house supply chain operations in the cannabis industry serving cultivators, manufacturers, and distributors. 

Each of these different operations have unique needs from both tracking and compliance requirements. The track-and-trace integration is imperative for cannabis businesses and a performant integration with the government regulated systems such as Metrc is critical. 

Common features included with seed to sale systems: Inventory tracking, forecasting, COGS calculations, Software and Hardware integrations, Business Intelligence reporting, and workflow tools to increase operational efficiency. 

Check out our guide on the Differences Between Seed to Sale, Track and Trace, and Point of Sale (POS).

In this guide we will be reviewing the top Seed-to-Sale software solutions from these companies: 

1. Canix
2. BioTrack
3. MJ Platform
4. 365 Cannabis
5. Viridian Sciences
6. Growflow
7. LeafLogix
8. Flourish

When evaluating the top seed to sale companies, you will want to consider the following criteria:

• Experience in the industry - Primary focus is companies of your size and vertical
• Features- Do they have the adequate features to solve the problems your team is faced with. What percentage of your spreadsheets and whiteboards can be replaced?
• Reporting Capabilities
• Ability to Customize for your needs

Best Seed-to-Sale Cannabis Software for your Business

Canix

Canix provides a unique product offering specialized for the back-of-house operators that need a complete solution for each department. Canix provides a fully cloud-based desktop and mobile app with advanced reporting capabilities and tools built specifically for Cultivators, Manufacturers, and Distributors. With BI tools, Live Inventory, RFID Scanning, Task Management, and Production Planning, Canix has the features to help operators run their business.

Founded in 2019, Canix works with both boutique producers as well as large enterprises across multiple states. The differentiating factor for Canix is the ease of use and employment of new age customizable technology. Unlike most providers in the industry using legacy software solutions, Canix is built on a cutting-edge tech stack that allows quick modifications on a regular basis. With Canix it takes days or weeks to complete system change-orders vs. months or years to get a simple request completed in other systems. 

Pros

• Agile team with customized solutions
• Specialized for specific industry needs
• Best in class Metrc integration and other integrations such as accounting systems, leaflink, OnFleet, and others. 
• Very user friendly

Cons

• Newer Company 
• Regular Updating - With bi-weekly updates to the platform, this causes the needed for regular training and interactions with the support team.
• No point of sale provided by Canix, only through POs integrations.

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BioTrack

BioTrackTHC, a subsidiary of Helix TCS, Inc., is an all-in-one cannabis tracking solution for both seed-to-sale and track-and-trace. The software has features for cultivators, distributors, and a point of sale solution for retailers to track the entire supply chain.

BioTrackTHC provides on-premise server based solutions throughout the world. In addition to seed to sale technology, BioTrack also provides the state mandated track-and-trace solutions for the following states: Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and New York.

BioTrack was founded in 2010 and is one of the world's largest seed to sale systems operating in 7 countries. They were among the first software providers in the industry and have developed their system with both operators and state governments into a platform for compliance and reporting. 

Pros

• First to Market with years of experience, they have a large feature set.
• Has reliable data models and a consistent system
• International Presence - They have knowledge of many different markets and operational workflows.

Cons

• Rigid product - The system is built with legacy technology and the product has matured without industry standards being fully established. The market needs are still evolving.
• On Premise Solution - This requires server maintenance and additional technical staff to maintain hardware. This also insures additional upfront cost
• Provides both Government Software and Seed to Sale software - Built in conflict of interest

MJPlatform

MJ Freeway, a subsidiary of Akerna and known also as MJ Platform, is the other legacy platform in the industry related to the BioTrack solution. With a similar offering and business model as BioTrackTHC and MJ Platform are often considered in the same category of the seed to sale and government based track and trace systems. With the core difference being the MJ Platform’s cloud based approach vs. on premises server side construction. 

MJ Platform rolled up into parent company, Akerna,  the conglomerate with portfolio companies including: Ample Organics, Trellis, Leaf Data Systems, Viridian Sciences, and Solo Sciences. Through Leaf data systems, MJ Freeway operates the state mandated track and trace system for the following states: Pennsylvania, Washington, and Utah. With access to the MJ Platform you will have access to their various portfolio offerings which span across the entire market. 

Founded in 2010, MJ Freeway developed themselves as an all-in-one solution providing software services to the entire industry. They have helped pave the way for cannabi companies to adopt software into their business processes.

Pros

• First to Market with years of experience, they have a large feature set.
• Has reliable data models at this point and a consistent system
• Expansive reach with large product offering through acquisitions.

Cons

• Rigid product - The system is built with legacy technology and the product has matured without industry standards being fully established. The market needs are still evolving.
• Provides both Government Software and Seed to Sale software - Build in conflict of interest
• Lack of Focus - The fact they have gone public and are buying market share leads to product related problems and the path to a unified product through acquisitions is a long and difficult path. 
• Customer support is a common pain point in any conglomerate.

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Cannabis 365

365 Cannabis is one of two industry providers (including Viridian Sciences) with an offering based on large scale ERP technology. Powered by Microsoft Dynamics, 365 Cannabis offers a full ERP solution re-purposed for the cannabis industry attached with a simple Metrc Integration.

365 Cannabis has a unique edge being a Microsoft powered company with access to the multitude of features Microsoft Dynamics has built over the years. With an underlying ERP to store the data, there is no shortage of data points that can be captured with 365 Cannabis.

Founded in 2016, 365 Cannabis has been an early entrant into the market and has developed a solution used by many operators.

Pros

• Microsoft Dynamics provides industry standards for tracking bill of materials and other inventory controls
• Compared to the other platforms, they seem to have the deepest compliance knowledge
• Simple chart of accounts and basic accounting functions are included

Cons

• Rigid product - The system is built with legacy technology and the product has matured without industry standards being fully established. The market needs are still evolving.
• Provides very generalized solutions for the industry.
• Presented as an “all-in-one” solution but only checks the boxes of features 
• Usability is the biggest problem every user we’ve talked to has with the Microsoft Dynamics platform.

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Viridian Sciences

Viridian Sciences, a recent subsidiary of Akerna,  is the other large ERP powered seed to sale solution. Powered by SAP Business One, Viridian Sciences also offers a full ERP solution re-purposed for the cannabis industry attached with a simple Metrc Integration.

Viridian Sciences specializes in long-term relationships with 3 year+ contracts and in-depth onboarding process. Very similar to 365 Cannabis, Viridian Sciences unique edge is it is powered by the SAP Business One platform. The Business One platform is SAP’s response to the need for smaller developed solutions instead of the full SAP platform which takes years and costs millions of dollars to implement. 

Founded in 2013, Viridian Sciences has repurposed the generalized SAP Business One platform into a cannabis specific platform the capabilities of porting data into Metrc. They specialize in creation of bill of materials and a robust data entry platform. They have recently been acquired by Akerna in March 2021.

Pros

• SAP Business One provides industry standards for tracking bill of materials and other inventory controls
• 2-3yr contracts enable a long-term approach to adopting the technology
• The Bill-of-Materials first approach enables a more robust financial reporting capability

Cons

• Rigid product - The system is built with legacy technology and the product has matured without industry standards being fully established. The market needs are still evolving.
• Provides very generalized solutions for the industry.
• Presented as an “all-in-one” solution but only checks the boxes of features 
• Usability is the biggest problem every user we’ve talked to has.
• SAP & SAP Business One are known to be tedious for data entry.
• Very large startup fees.

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LeafLogix

Leaflogix, which was recently acquired by Dutchie, is a fully vertical integrated platform joining the ranks of MJ Freeway and BioTrack in terms of product offerings. They are one of the newer companies to start taking vertical Multi-state operations (MSOs) from MJ Freeway and BioTrack. Their platform is one of the first of its kind to integrate with modern business intelligence platforms. 

Founded in 2016, Leaf Logix was created based on seeing the inefficiencies in the software solutions at the time (MJ Freeway & Biotrack). Since then Leaf Logix has dominated the space of vertical operations until recently.

Pros

• Support vertical operations
• Their later founding enabled them to develop newer age tooling for operators.

Cons

• They recently got purchased by the retail focused company, Dutchie, and in our experience these larger acquisitions drive new engineering developments to a halt for years. 
• Recent review online “Growing too fast. Growing too fast... technical support has become subpar over the years ...Reminds me of MJ Freeway back in the day, except these guys are heartless…”

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Growflow

Growflow is a modern cloud based solution with a more user friendly interface and utilizes modern technology that can develop more rapidly than the more rigid platforms on this list. Growflow has made a large impact in the SMB space with a large portion of their customer base in Oklahoma. They have created a custom solution for the cannabis industry for cultivators, manufactures, and distributors. In 2019 they acquired Leaf POS to provide a POS offering to smaller retailers. 

Founded in 2017, Growflow was initially created for the Washington market with a focus on Leaf Data System integration where a large portion of their customer base resides. Since then, they have created a simple Metrc integration and built a robust stand alone product for Non-Metrc states. 

Pros

• Support Vertical Operations
• Their later founding enabled them to develop newer age tooling for operators.
• User Friendly

Cons

• They are focused on a content product arm which is at odds with focus of being an ERP.
• Primary business in Oklahoma in the SMB market.

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Flourish

Flourish is another modern cloud based solution with a user friendly interface. They provide services for a number of SMB and enterprise customers along the entire supply chain. 

Founded in 2017, Flourish is among the second wave of more modern solutions developed for the industry. They also have followed the trajectory of building for vertical operations from the onset while also servicing SMB companies which cause a number of conflicts during product development. Overall they are a good company that we’ve heard better things about their reputation than many in the industry.

Pros

• Support Vertical Operations
• Their later founding enabled them to develop newer age tooling for operators.
• User Friendly

Cons

• They started with vertical operations from the onset which typically creates a wide feature offering but lacks the depth in feature usefulness. 
• Can be quite expensive for the offering.

Visit Flourish

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Conclusion

Choosing the right seed to sale tracking software partner is imperative so make sure you find a solution that can conform to your individual business needs. Find a partner with a robust platform with the flexibility to modify workflows based on your operational needs. The companies above offer quality products and have years of experience serving the industry. Find the right partner to scale with and ensure they have the customer support to help you through the transition. Implementing a new ERP is not easy and requires large organizational buy-in but when completed correctly, you will reap the benefits in process development and data visibility into your operation. 

Want more information during your evaluation? Schedule a demo online with a Canix representative today.

For another guide for researching the top seed to sale companies, check out 10buds.