Cannabis Dispensaries Can Adapt to COVID-19 by Offering Delivery and Pickup

Cannabis Dispensaries Can Adapt to COVID-19 by Offering Delivery and Pickup

In the wake of the COVID 19 outbreak, there has been a significant uptick in cannabis sales as consumers are social distancing, self quarantining, and working from home. As cases continue to spread, marijuana businesses need to be prepared to take their business online and potentially be prepared to increase their delivery driver fleet or offer in-store/curbside pickup.

Ecommerce Integrations

If consumers aren’t able to gather inside your storefront, dispensaries will be forced to take their inventory mobile or offer in-store pickup. Fortunately, customers are accustomed to doing their shopping online, which is why having a website that can take online orders is essential to meeting demand. This is why it’s so important that a dispensary’s online menu syncs directly to their inventory so people aren’t ordering products that are out of stock.

There are some point-of-sale providers that provide out-of-the-box ecommerce platforms that easily link directly from a business website. This type of solution is maintenance free and reliable when dealing with increased site traffic. Online orders automatically populate in the dispensary POS system and can be quickly fulfilled then dispatched to the delivery driver or be marked for pickup.

In-Store Pickup

Another option for cannabis dispensaries to adapt to COVID-19 is offering in-store pickup. This will allow staff to control the flow of traffic to keep the number of customers low and maintain the appropriate social distancing requirements. All the members of your fulfillment team will be able to view the order status to ensure no orders are missed or duplicated.

Once the order status is marked as completed, customers will automatically receive a SMS notification that their order is ready for pick-up. This is a great way for dispensaries to continue business as usual in the midst of state and local restrictions. Several states and municipalities have deemed cannabis retailers as essential businesses since so many depend on medical marijuana to manage the symptoms of their medical conditions.

Mobile Courier Application

Running a marijuana delivery service can be challenging but there are software solutions that can simplify delivery logistics. Arming your delivery drivers with a stable and reliable mobile courier application is an integral part of running a successful marijuana delivery service. Drivers need to be able to accept orders, navigate to their destination, and process mobile transactions without dealing with technical issues.

Utilizing a courier app that can collect signatures, medical documents, and calculate change will ensure your clientele enjoy a professional checkout experience even from the comfort of their own homes. Drivers can easily download the IndicaOnline delivery application on their iPhone or Android device to manage every aspect of cannabis delivery.

Dispatching Orders to Drivers

One of the most important aspects to managing a marijuana delivery service is having a software that can seamlessly dispatch orders to drivers. IndicaOnline’s proprietary smart order assignment feature suggests the best driver for each order based on a preset delivery time frame. This will shorten delivery times and save drivers on fuel costs.

Dispatchers are able to see the real-time location of each driver with GPS tracking and know exactly how far along they are in their order queue. This software supports both the hub-based and onboard inventory business models for delivery services. Learn more about IndicaOnline’s best-in-class delivery software and schedule a demo to see how it can make your cannabis more productive during the COVID-19 outbreak.