FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Bamboo Trace optimizes all facets of your track-and-trace and seed-to-sale cultivation and processing operations, streamlining every step of the supply chain and product cycle. Seamlessly integrated with Metrc, CCRS, and BioTrack, Bamboo Trace is designed to be highly customizable, catering to the needs of startup grows as well as larger multi-state operators. With our cutting-edge software, cannabis businesses have experienced notable enhancements in their cultivation and processing workflows.
Bamboo Sales stands as our premier sales solution for cannabis operators, aimed at boosting and optimizing sales potential unlike any other existing solutions in the cannatech industry. If your company is in need of a fresh energy to spur growth, Bamboo Sales is the answer you’ve been seeking. Businesses utilizing Bamboo Sales typically experience an increase in performance within the first 1-2 months of implementation. Schedule a brief 10-15 minute session to discover how Bamboo Sales can revolutionize your sales strategies.
What is Bamboo?
Bamboo was founded in 2019, with code development kicking off in March 2020. Setting itself apart from traditional marketplaces, Bamboo aimed to empower cannabis operators and brands to enhance their sales efficiency. Notably, Bamboo offers comprehensive complimentary traceability for Metrc, CCRS, and BioTrack.
Bamboo Trace serves as Bamboo’s comprehensive traceability platform, seamlessly reporting to Metrc, CCRS, or BioTrack for cannabis operators. Meeting all requirements mandated by the respective state cannabis compliance authorities, Bamboo automatically syncs and reports the necessary compliance data to the state on behalf of the cannabis operators.
One of Bamboo’s standout features is Bamboo Sales, a platform that redefines how cannabis brands and sales reps operate. Unlike conventional marketplaces, Bamboo Sales put the selling power back into the hands of brands and reps. Sales menus are easily accessible on mobile devices, tablets, and anywhere on the go, enabling reps to swiftly place orders for clients.
Gone are the days of communication gaps between sales reps and buyers. With Bamboo Sales, reps and dispensary purchasing managers can access sales menus in real-time, without the need for logging in.
Bamboo Sales boasts robust features such as customizable real-time sales menus, recommended orders generation, and website sales menu integrations—all available for free. Instead of a monthly subscription fee, Bamboo charges a fraction of a penny per dollar transacted through its platform. For instance, selling $10,000 via Bamboo Sales costs just $25, ensuring cost-effectiveness for businesses. If you sell $100k worth of products, the fee would be $250. However, if you don’t generate any sales through Bamboo, then Bamboo is completely free to use.
Not fully convinced? Bamboo guarantees to match or beat the fees of your current seed-to-sale or track-and-trace platform, making it a win-win proposition. Bamboo operates on trust and does not require contracts, believing that success is mutual.
What are the drawbacks of cannabis marketplaces?
Cannabis marketplaces offer a wide array of brands and products for buyers to browse through, much like flipping through a magazine or catalog. While this is convenient for buyers, it often leads to a race-to-the-bottom mentality among sellers, as they compete to undercut each other on price.
Marketplaces such as Leaflink, Nabis, Cultivera, GrowFlow, etc, while beneficial in theory, provide little added value beyond serving as a platform for brands to showcase their products. As a result, sellers have limited control over how their products are presented and struggle to differentiate themselves.
Bamboo was created to address this issue by empowering cannabis brands to customize their own sales menus and take control of how their products are showcased to clients and buyers. By providing tools to build personalized menus and recommended orders, Bamboo enables brands to stand out and drive higher sales. Why? When buyers are focused on your cannabis brands and products, they tend to pay more attention and often make larger purchases.
Ultimately, the success of a cannabis brand depends on the effort put into crafting and optimizing its sales menus. While it may be tempting to rely on marketplaces for exposure, brands that take control of their sales menus and strategies often see greater success in the long run.
Why Bamboo?
Here at Bamboo, we’ve observed that the most successful cannabis brands don’t just rely on marketplaces; they also leverage their sales reps to capture orders directly in stores using Bamboo Sales Menus. On average, we’ve found that sales reps place about 50% of orders for dispensaries’ clients, while the remaining 50% are placed directly by purchasing managers.
(Please note that Bamboo Sales Menus are not only intended for products sold directly to dispensaries and stores. Instead, cannabis brands can utilize Bamboo Sales Menus to sell to other entities such as cultivators, producers, processors, manufacturers, and more as well.)
While being on a marketplace has its benefits, you could be missing out on additional sales opportunities by not utilizing Bamboo Sales’ internal email marketing platform. In Bamboo Sales, you can easily send sales menus to your clients and sales reps via the built-in email feature.
Sales reps and buyers can access the menus with just one click, directly from the email, without the need to log in. Additionally, sales reps can easily retrieve the sales menu links within the platform for placing orders on behalf of buyers and stores.
Looking to create recommended orders (proposals) for clients? Bamboo Sales has you covered. And don’t forget, you can also embed these sales menus directly onto your website with Bamboo’s easy code implementation. It’s a simple and efficient way to expand your sales channels.
If you’re not seeing increased sales through our email marketing, real-time sales menus, recommended orders, or website integration, then we have failed as a cannatech company.
Can we hire one of your team members to support our cannabis business?
Occasionally, we receive inquiries from cannabis operators about hiring one of our team members to assist with sales strategies and related matters. Since we help a wide range of cannabis companies, from mom-and-pop operations to MSOs. Fortunately, our passion lies in building the best version of Bamboo for our users, drawing from our extensive knowledge of what works and what doesn’t in the industry. We have seen it all.
While we can’t be hired directly, we offer the next best thing: Bamboo, the most cost-effective cannatech platform designed to help you stay compliant for free while providing the industry’s leading sales platform.
With Bamboo Trace and Sales seamlessly integrated, users benefit from eliminating double work, reducing time spent on traceability, processing manifests, and sales orders. Some companies have experienced a 50% reduction in computer time. Imagine reclaiming half of your time to focus on building relationships and generating more sales!
Be assured that while we don’t offer individual team members for hire, Bamboo is dedicated to addressing all your compliance, traceability, and sales needs. We strive to provide solutions to any challenges you face, whether they pertain to Metrc, CCRS, BioTrack, or sales-related matters. If you choose Bamboo, we are committed to finding ways to assist you, feedback is always welcomed.
Are there additional resources where I can learn more about Bamboo?
If you’re interested in reading more about Bamboo and our mission, please check out this Marijuana Ventures article featuring the Bamboo Metrix team, in the article they discuss how Bamboo assists cannabis companies maximize revenue, minimize effort. (https://www.marijuanaventure.com/bamboo-maximize-revenue-minimize-effort/).
What is Metrc?
Metrc, short for Marijuana Enforcement Tracking Reporting Compliance, is a comprehensive track-and-trace system utilized in ~25 states and jurisdictions, often referred to as seed-to-sale tracking. Initially developed for Colorado in 2011, Metrc is a platform for monitoring legalized cannabis sales.
Metrc meticulously records various activities, including employee details, plant movements, room changes, propagations, harvests, and more. It ensures robust tracking of every plant’s journey from seed to sale.
And what does this mean for Bamboo? Bamboo integrates seamlessly with Metrc through a two-way sync offering. Users have the flexibility to utilize either Metrc or Bamboo. One notable feature of Bamboo is its ability to customize label templates and generate labels for various product and cultivation purposes. Whether for sellable products or plant tags, Bamboo simplifies the label creation process for all your traceability and packaging needs.
In addition to standard Metrc workflows, Bamboo enhances user experience by providing additional features and tools built on top of the Metrc API. These features aim to improve efficiency and facilitate state compliance adherence, whether through trace-and-trace or seed-to-sale tracking methods.
What is CCRS?
CCRS, short for Cannabis Central Reporting System, was introduced in Washington state in early 2022 to streamline the state’s reporting processes. Promising simplicity, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, CCRS was designed to address the complexities and high costs associated with previous compliance systems.
Unlike other states, Washington’s Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) opted not to utilize Metrc or BioTrack as their state compliance system. Instead, CCRS was implemented to provide more operational efficiency and reduce costs.
However, since its launch, CCRS has faced criticism due to inefficiencies in processing CSV files, resulting in the need for contingency manifests. Additionally, interoperability issues between service providers, including integrators and point-of-sale systems, have led to various challenges. While the use of JSON (Javascript Object Notation) has offered some solutions, it has yet to completely resolve all issues at this time.
What is BioTrack?
BioTrack is a prominent player in the cannabis industry, offering robust track-and-trace and seed-to-sale solutions. Currently holding contracts with 11 government states, BioTrack facilitates the day-to-day operations of cannabis operators by managing key data points from seed to sale.
Similar to Metrc and CCRS (Cannabis Central Reporting System), BioTrack emphasizes efficient workflows and comprehensive plant management. Its tracking and reporting capabilities aid state and local governments in enforcing compliance regulations and preventing illicit cannabis sales.
While not mandatory under every state contract, cannabis operators have the option to use BioTrack as their inventory tracking system. Alternatively, they can leverage Bamboo to report data to the state’s BioTrack system. This flexibility allows operators to choose the solution that best suits their needs.
BioTrack is committed to ongoing improvement, ensuring its features and tools remain adaptable to evolving regulatory requirements.
