Applying an Agile Mindset to the Challenges of the Cannabis Industry | New Nexient Case Study

Below is a summary of our most recent case study on applying an Agile mindset to the challenges of the cannabis industry. To jump right into the full story, click here.

Nexient helped a cannabis company prepare to scale as marijuana is legalized in more U.S. states. The largest cannabis company of a Midwestern state asked Nexient to upgrade its existing online sales platform, which was outdated and insufficient for current needs.

Nexient also had to simultaneously build capacity so the company could instantly scale its business as the legality of cannabis expands.

Solution

The cannabis company had both online sales and physical stores in cities across the state. The Nexient team approached the situation as an e-commerce challenge to improve the online experience and simultaneously drive in-store visits.

There were unique challenges because major financial institutions and e-commerce engines do not allow cannabis businesses to use their networks since it is not legal at a federal level. Nexient had to find a suitable alternative that didn’t have outdated source code.

“We spent a lot of time getting demos and analyzing platforms. We settled on a headless commerce engine called Elastic Path and a POS platform called Treez,” Nexient Client Partner Ben Grabara said. “I know they sound like atypical choices, but we couldn’t use anything in the cloud that doesn’t support cannabis. The goto choices like Shopify weren’t available.”

Results

“We relied on our core programming skills. We did heavy backend Java work,” Grabara said. “We knew if we overcame the challenges, the company would have a distinct competitive advantage.”

Nexient worked with Elastic Path to improve its APIs to ensure better security. Nexient also integrated inventory management into the point of sale system.

“We said let’s create the premium experience online that customers are having in-store. Let’s improve the customer experience and lead them into the stores,” Grabara said. “It was an opportunity to transform the company’s online presence from end to end. This was about Nexient owning the creation of an entirely new tech platform, from start to finish, and that was exciting.”

Click here to read the full case study.

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