Cannabis delivery can be an incredibly profitable aspect of your cannabis operations. Over the past few years, consumers have demanded faster and more convenient access to their cannabis products. Just like in other industries, delivery services have skyrocketed in popularity. If you’re thinking about getting your cannabis delivery service off the ground, there are some things to consider. To help, we’ve broken down the top five do’s and don’ts of cannabis delivery.
Cannabis Delivery Do’s and Don’ts
Do Your Research
Starting and running a cannabis delivery service isn’t as easy as loading up some products in a car and driving it over to your customers. It is a complex operation including the full-force of your business and serious research and planning. The more time you plan preparing at the onset, the better your operation will run.
Don’t Assume Cannabis Delivery is Legal Everywhere
Cannabis delivery isn’t legal everywhere that recreational and medical sales are. Many states restrict cannabis sales to in-store. Learn your state, county, and city laws. These will give you insights on whether cannabis delivery is a realistic option for your business and where you can send your drivers to complete their sales.
Do Start Small
With cannabis delivery, it’s easy to get in over your head. There is a ton of demand for cannabis delivery services, but it takes a lot for a business to support them. It may be tempting to try to service all of your customers right out the gate. Instead, focus on a small pool of customers in an easy to access area. This gives you time to complete trial and error for your delivery, while keeping your range close to your store.
Don’t Overextend Your Cannabis Delivery
As your cannabis delivery gets going, there can be a rush to be everywhere all at once. After starting small, continue to build up your delivery areas slowly. Each time you expand your range, you’ll be faced with new challenges and new city laws. By keeping your progress measured, you’ll prevent problems from stacking up all at once and overwhelming your cannabis delivery operations.
Do Hire Good Drivers
This one sounds obvious, but it’s crucially important to your success. Hire only drivers you trust and ones that come from reputable sources. Transporting cannabis can be risky and dangerous, having quality drivers can minimize any issues. Look to hire drivers from your staff that you already trust or from other verified cannabis delivery services.
Don’t Hire too Many Drivers
Many cannabis delivery services make the mistake of hiring too many drivers. You want to be able to service your customers and do it in a timely way, but hiring too many drivers can drain resources and create uneven distributions of deliveries. Keep your number of drivers to just what you need. Additionally, cannabis delivery software like BLAZE streamlines delivery routes and processes to make the most out of your drivers. Learn more about BLAZE delivery.
Do Create SOPs
SOPs are a necessity for any cannabis business. They provide clear guidelines and rules for every aspect of your operation. Make sure to create detailed SOPs for your cannabis delivery. Some areas to create SOPs are:
- How delivery drivers receive products for delivery
- Who is sent out and on what routes
- How many hours a driver is on the road for
- Handling hard to find customers
- Managing compliance
Don’t Make Compliance Mistakes
Compliance mistakes can sink your cannabis delivery service. Just as in a brick-and-mortar, compliance is of paramount importance. Creating training and strong guidelines for managing compliance will ensure your business doesn’t get fined or shut-down by your state. Choosing top-quality software to handle your compliance needs is important too. BLAZE’s suite of software like our BLAZE POS and our delivery software, makes compliance seamless. Handle things like inventory, dispatch, and signature collection, easier than ever.
Do Scale Your Business
Cannabis delivery, if done right, will grow your business. Delivery can be a great way of testing out new towns of districts for potential brick-and-mortar shops. Additionally, keep adding to your delivery range and experiment with pushing different products based on what is most popular in each area. If you need some more guidance on how to scale your cannabis business, our CEO Chris Violas recently spoke on the subject.
Don’t Fail to Grow
Don’t let your business become stagnant. Once your delivery becomes a success, it can be easy to let it continue to run as normal. This is a mistake. If you want your delivery service to continue to make profits and reach your customers, you’ll have to keep tweaking it. Adapt to what the market and consumers are asking for. Consider thighs like utilizing data to see what is selling through your delivery and offering discounts, adding more or cutting back on drivers, and expanding into other states.
Cannabis Delivery Conclusion
Cannabis delivery is a smart and profitable way to provide cannabis to your consumers. When you’re ready to get started or if you’re looking to improve your operations, BLAZE is ready to help. Book a demo with our team and see our range of products in action!
