Canna Provisions improves purchasing compliance and spend visibility to power sustainable growth

Bob, the Accounting Specialist & Purchasing Manager, is responsible for managing accounts receivable, petty cash, and purchasing across all dispensaries and grow sites.

The problem

Like many cannabis companies, Canna Provisions struggled with poor visibility into its monthly spend. “No one person had a view into what was really going on,” explained Bob, “and some people were following rules while other people were ordering without approval. When those people were called out, they’d apologize, but there was no real consequence—[the product] was already bought.”  

Canna Provisions’ manual PO process was also quite time-consuming. “Our purchase orders were emailed to people, signed digitally, and then sent back. [The process] was too cumbersome for the amount of spending across both of our locations,” states Bob. 

Invoice management, along with vendor management, were constant battles Bob and his team faced. “We would receive an enormous amount of invoices,” says Bob, “[and with our] smaller accounting team, it was really difficult to keep up.” Canna Provisions needed a more efficient system to keep up with its pace of growth.

The solution

Canna Provisions partnered with Order.co in March of 2021 to gain better visibility into its spend and to centralize its entire purchasing process.

“Before [Order.co], trying to keep up with our pace of growth was a challenge…spending was a little bit out of control,” admits Bob, “We needed to centralize it—keep it simple. We needed to know what people were buying and for what reason.” Centralizing its entire purchasing process with Order.co allowed Canna Provisions to focus on what really matters: the growth of its flower and the entire company.

Order.co has also been “very easy” for the Canna Provisions team to implement. “When new people come on board and I put them in the system, they get it. [Order.co] is intuitive,” explains Bob.

Order.co gave Canna Provisions a guided B2B marketplace to purchase all of its products, pay all of its vendors, and sleep easy.

The outcome

Line-level spend visibility

Not only has Order.co given Canna Provisions fewer paper invoices to deal with, but it has given Bob and his team the chance to assess each product purchased and ensure purchasing compliance. “Getting a grasp on the whole picture was huge,” explains Bob. By having confidence in each purchase and being able to see each dollar that is spent, Canna Provisions can adjust its purchasing to budget for growth more efficiently. 

Invoice control

“Paying the bills is really, really easy. Everything is very straightforward,” says Bob. Canna Provisions—with the choice of daily, weekly, or monthly invoices—receives and pays a daily consolidated invoice. By getting their invoices under control and paying vendors immediately, Bob and the rest of the Canna Provisions team can focus on the greater needs of the business instead of tracking down lost invoices. 

Rewards, rewards, rewards

By utilizing Order.co’s cash-back rewards system, Canna Provisions receives an average monthly reward of $1,500. “The rewards [in themselves] make up for the cost of the platform,” explains Bob. In the cannabis industry, in particular, purchasing products “from dirt to lab coats to office supplies'' is a constant. Getting cashback on the consumables allows Canna Provisions to reinvest funds in bettering the growth of not only its plants, but the business as well.

Functional, easy-to-Implement approval system

Ordering products in one place has been crucial for Canna Provisions in controlling purchasing compliance. “The approval functionality is great,” states Bob, “there [are] a lot of people in different places that need to spend money. It’s really easy to…approve purchases because [a request] comes to your phone, and I hit ‘yes’.