CHALLENGES IN SOLUTION/APPLICATION ADAPTABILITY IN A HIGH DEMAND AND EXTREMELY CHANGING REGULATORY COMPLIANT INDUSTRY – LEGAL CANNABIS. - TheraCann

• September 11, 2018
• By theracann
• 0 Comments

As CIO of TheraCann International, I am acutely aware of the challenges of developing a world class, secure, web based ERP software system.  In our high compliance cannabis sector, being capable of accepting change as individuals and forever adapting to a new software requirements is the rule, not the exception.  Current tech trends, cloud software (SaaS), cloud infra (IaaS), virtualized environments, IT and Information Security, compliance to regulation are just a few of the challenges CIO’s and their IT Teams face on daily basis.

SDLC towards a full functional release are measured in weeks not month or years as this sector’s regulatory requirements and advancement of automation and integration travel at the speed of light.  Each day requires a change in work processes, changes in the team or office staff, training requirements or software access levels, adapting to new interpretations of legal or regulatory compliance in terms of record keeping, traceability, scope of KYM and AML documentation, implementation of new methods or technology, or in some cases requests to redesign the whole thing. In the end, it all boils down to our ability to adapt quickly to an ever-changing cannabis sector software requirements list.

This ever-changing needs and requirements list demands a completely new type of software approach.    Long gone are the days of managing new requirements by relying on a robust and talented development team to conduct weekly sprints to customize the existing software functionality.  Gone are the days of trying to second-guess the market’s future requirements by adding multiple modules to turn on / turn off as required.  Today’s challenge for robust cannabis software solutions is to develop a software that is at its core fully configurable and easily able to permit the user to adapt to its current requirements.  Enabling the client user to design their own original cannabis process workflows, their own reports, and their own cannabis tracking modules is the only way to ensure every gram and every penny is accounted for today and tomorrow without question of data manipulation. To achieve this, competent CIO’s together with talented dvelopment teams need to design the software solution with the appropriate architecture to give the client user the necessary tools for that propose.

Needless to say, the proposed solution must then be properly tested to ensure this highly dynamic solution will satisfy these new requirements.

To further explain the critical nature of this requirement, consider this: the entire supply chain for industrial high quality legal cannabis has accomplished in less than 6 years what the industrial automotive sector has accomplished in 100 years. In an industry where legal requirements are still in the making and that is moving as fast as it can go to reach consumer markets, both regulators and service provider have the challenge to deliver high standard requirements and adaptable solutions.

As the regulations continue adjusting, delivering consistency, traceability, security in the handling and tracking of all records, seed to sale was the tip of the iceberg.  This has forced large scale facility operations to integrate multiple data input sources, in-congruent data points while meeting and/or exceeding HIPAA, ISO 17025, ISO 31000, ISO2100 and ISO27001 compliance.  All while having to consolidate this DataMart into a secure storage architecture that permitted the ability to provide dynamic analytics across yet to be determined referenced data.

However, without having such tools, organizations will invariably struggle and leave this responsibility to external vendors to provide what they can not do fast enough to meet their requirements. In an industry that produces a perishable product that requires a defensible label before it can be sold, long software development cycles are not advantageous and that is assuming that the vendor can take the time to understand the requirement and communicate the business use properly.

Therefore, designing a cannabis supply chain software system, as Theracann International has done, ensures that the client user has the right set of tools that will allow flexibility without major intervention from an external team and, in so doing, can provide the client user with a distinct competitive advantage.

Once you have the correct cannabis ERP tools then create the knowledge in-house to further streamline your use of the application when changes are required. As the CIO of one of the World’s first cannabis ERP-C software ERP-C software I am a firm believer that IT drives value by thriving business through technology solutions, with clear understanding of the business and sound knowledge of solutions capabilities.

My team and I would be happy to work with you and your team to crystallize your vision and, using TheracannSYSTEM software, realize that vision for today and through tomorrow!

By Oswaldo Bello – CIO – Chief Information Officer for Theracann International.

For more information on TheracannSYSTEM and its functionalities please contact Oswaldo Bello, CIO – Chief Information Office for Theracann International, or reach out to our OS2 Customer Support team.