Flowhub Strengthens Position as the Leading Cannabis Retail Management Platform for Modern Dispensaries with New Product Enhancements

Cashier app, Specials engine, and Dutchie Order Ahead integration enable cannabis businesses to improve front-to-back of house operations for enterprise scale and expansion

News provided by

Flowhub

Aug 26, 2019, 09:00 ET

DENVER, Aug. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Flowhub, the leading cannabis retail management platform for modern dispensaries, today announced a number of new enhancements to its cloud-based platform to help enterprise, boutique and franchise cannabis retailers grow revenue, simplify compliance, speed checkouts and manage inventory for improved consumer experiences.

With the latest launch, Flowhub customers can expect enhanced front-of-house point-of-sale (POS) capabilities with the new Cashier application, an easier way to create and apply discounts across all stores with the Specials engine, and streamlined in-store pick up process with the Order Ahead integration with Dutchie.

"The technology stack that powers today's modern dispensary is at the epicenter of executing a successful retail operation," said Kyle Sherman, founder and CEO, Flowhub. "Every dispensary has a unique and differentiated business model, which requires a reliable and scalable point-of-sale platform to holistically manage their front-to-back of house operations. With our focus on providing an integrated retail platform, we are making it easier than ever before for cannabis businesses to build their customized tool stack and deliver a modern retail experience to help them thrive in today's highly competitive and regulated market."

Improved Front-of-House POS Experience

The new Cashier application delivers an enhanced POS experience for completing consumer transactions. With a brand-new backend architecture, Cashier is a dedicated application that can be downloaded onto any point-of-sale terminal of choice, including Mac, PC, iPads and tablets.

This level of flexibility means that budtenders and sales associates can now benefit from faster transaction speeds, more reliable performance, and an even more user-friendly interface. By separating Cashier from Flowhub's back-of-house management functionality, budtenders can easily access only the essential information needed to perform a successful transaction, while executives can rest assured knowing store-level employees cannot access back-of-house settings and reports.

The ability to run the Cashier app on tablets and iPads means dispensary staff are no longer tied to a counter. Once consumers are checked in using the Flowhub mobile NUG, sales associates can use Cashier to quickly access key consumer information and revisit past purchases from a mobile device to make each interaction a quality experience.

"We've been using Flowhub since 2016 and it's been an overwhelmingly positive experience with a great return on our investment," said Alex Levine, co-CEO, Green Dragon. "As one of the early users of Cashier, we've experienced a two times faster transaction speed, which allows us to serve more consumers and steadily grow our business. Cashier integrates seamlessly with the rest of the Flowhub platform and it has made life so much easier for my staff. We're excited to continue to partner with the Flowhub team as we look to expand our operations across North America."

New Flowhub Manage Functionality with Specials Engine

In addition to Cashier, the newly launched Specials engine is available via the Flowhub Manage application and enables corporate management to create and manage all location discounts in a centralized place.

"Discounts are an essential piece of a successful cannabis retail strategy," said Krysti Rede, VP of Product, Flowhub. "According to our data, 46 percent of cannabis retail transactions include at least one discount. One unique challenge in cannabis, unlike traditional retail, is the combination of specific products to achieve a specified promotion discount, which often is discounting a category, brand, strain, or a unique combination of products to then receive a discount on an altogether different category or brand of products. For large dispensary franchises, that means corporate administrators must duplicate these specials for each location and reconfigure the unique combination of products. We've rebuilt the retail platform from the ground up and alleviated these headaches for our customers with a new first-of-its kind discounting Specials engine."

With the new Specials engine, an administrator can create a single special and apply it to one or multiple stores, including any future store locations. As a dispensary chain expands, future stores will be grandfathered into any specials that apply to "all locations".

A custom algorithm allows for the standardization of rule-based promotions and discounts across locations to automatically apply the best discount for the consumer within the new Cashier app experience. Budtenders also have the option to perform a price override to avoid manual calculations.

The seamless integration with Cashier means that dispensary staff can focus on serving consumers knowing that Specials will automatically calculate the best promotion based on what has been added to the cart. This removes the potential for inconsistent discounting practices by budtenders, resulting in more accurate revenue projections and simpler accounting processes.

Cashier and Specials engine are generally available today and will be rolled out to new and existing customers over the next quarter. For more information, visit our platform page, or request a demo.

Easy Order Ahead with Dutchie Integration

Flowhub is also releasing Order Ahead, a new function of the Cashier app that allows dispensaries to fulfill online orders from API integration partners directly within the Flowhub platform. When a consumer places an order online for in-store pick up, retailers can easily manage the Order Ahead queue and complete the online sale with a simple 3-step status board in Flowhub. Dutchie, an online ordering platform for cannabis, will be the first Order Ahead service partner.

"Online ordering has revolutionized the food industry and now it's making a similar impact on the cannabis industry," said Ross Lipson, co-founder and CEO, Dutchie. "Consumers want convenience and education and that is the promise we are delivering on. It's our goal to be the go-to company for online cannabis ordering and it only makes sense that we would partner with a leading cannabis POS platform to continue to grow our marketplace. We are excited to launch our fully integrated, POS partnership with Flowhub and look forward to expanding our integration capabilities to continue to serve consumers and dispensaries alike."

The Dutchie Order Ahead capability will be available in September to Flowhub customers through the Cashier app. Participating dispensaries can leverage Dutchie's online ordering features to provide consumers with the flexibility to view online menu boards, search for available product information ahead of time, and place orders for in-store pick up.

An integration for Dutchie delivery is expected to be available in early 2020 and additional API integrations for other popular online ordering and delivery services is expected later this year.

To learn more about how Flowhub already integrates with popular cannabis apps, visit our partner page.

Additional Resources

Watch the Green Dragon video testimonial
Read the "Smart Dispensary Specials" blog post
Request a demo

About Flowhub
Flowhub is the leading cannabis retail software company that helps modern dispensaries thrive by delivering compliance, point of sale, inventory tracking, and business intelligence data from a single, highly customizable platform. With first-to-market mobile check in and inventory management applications, Flowhub processes over one billion dollars in cannabis sales annually and empowers more than 700 cannabis retailers and their partners to grow revenue, simplify compliance, speed checkouts and manage inventory for improved consumer experiences.

Flowhub is a privately held company headquartered in Denver. Investors include Poseidon Asset Management, Green Lion Partners, Phyto Partners, Altitude and Arcadian. For more information visit flowhub.com.

Media Contacts

Nicole Cieslak
Flowhub
412-287-3259
[email protected]

Renee Cotsis
MATTIO Communications for Flowhub
[email protected]

SOURCE Flowhub