Supply Change

Around the U.S., in more and more states, entrepreneuring farmers, scientists, and retailers are building supply chains to cash in on an untapped and lucrative market. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build an entirely new industry. There are just a few problems. It’s cash only, there’s no infrastructure, and it’s federally illegal. We’re talking, of course, of the legal marijuana trade. Ron Volpe, Chief Supply Chain Evangelist and Global Vice President Apps Business Development at Tradeshift, met with Steve Albarran, co-founder and CEO of Confident Cannabis at the National Cannabis Industry Association trade show in San Jose to talk about the complicated case of the cannabis supply chain. Here’s what he had to say. Ron Volpe: What challenges are unique to the cannabis industry? Steve Albarran: A lot of the rules are being written in real-time. The foundation for how this industry operates is new. Everything from processes and the default ways of doing business is new. And there's very little infrastr