As a leader in the high-growth cannabis industry, a leading cannabis distributor required an experienced partner to provide solid advice, technical expertise, innovative thinking and consistent delivery performance that could also be scalable.
Background
Many of California's legal cannabis businesses are small operations that face complex regulatory and logistical challenges to grow and scale their enterprises as the emerging industry develops.
A number of these organizations turned to one of California's largest cannabis distributor and supply chain management companies to provide an array of supply chain and inventory management services along with compliance, regulatory support and secure delivery and fulfillment.
Operated by logistics and retail experts from companies in the natural foods, luxury retail and global distribution sectors, the leading distributor's team applied their expertise to serve an exclusive set of retail partners that produce cannabis flower, vapes, edibles, topicals, pre-rolls and concentrate.
Challenge
The organization needed an innovative yet proven set of security solutions and a security integrator with demonstrated expertise to create a safe workplace for its team members that addressed risk in the high-volume cash environment while also adhering to the precise and stringent California mandates governing the cannabis business.
To satisfy not only regulatory requirements, but its commitment to customers and its own employees, the distributor needed security technology to reduce the risk of theft throughout the supply chain from manufacturing and transportation to storage and at the point of sale. The company also needed a trusted security integrator with a record of success mitigating risks facing other kinds of businesses that handle controlled substances and large amounts of cash.
"At Everon, we have deep experience in addressing the complex security needs to commercial enterprises, including retail, financial institutions and pharmacies, so we were well-versed in identifying where this key cannabis distributor might have similar vulnerabilities and how to best protect against them," said Andy Fleet, Director of Business Development at Everon.
Solution
Everon tailored a comprehensive security program for their California facilities that would integrate an intelligent video surveillance system to meet or exceed state mandates, further enhanced with real-time video monitoring. Coupled with the latest in biometric access control technology and an elaborate system of panic alarms, the unified, end-to-end set of solutions required a custom-fit approach for the company during the handling, packaging, storage and distribution of legal cannabis products for its customers.
At the heart of the system and integrated with its advanced access control system is a network of super high-definition, intelligent video cameras to envelop every area of the customer's operations from warehouse facilities to headquarters offices and parking lots. The video surveillance system adheres to the detailed requirements spelled out in California cannabis regulations including those governing security camera image resolution, clarity, recording and storage time, among others. It also serves as the backbone for an added layer of safety with real-time video and audio monitoring capability anytime of the day or night from Everon's National Account Operations Monitoring Center.
The electronic security throughout the distributor's facilities employs proven methods, enhanced with the latest advances in technology including state-of-the-art access control using biometrics, innovative vehicle tagging for safe and seamless vehicle access, and emergency panic alarms for all the buildings on the organization's campus to quickly alert authorities in the event of an emergency.
Results
The intelligent video surveillance system integrated with biometric access control, fail safe panic alarms and live video monitoring combine to provide the best-in-class security required by California's largest cannabis distributor.
Not unlike retail pharmacies or food manufacturers, cannabis distributors face potential threats posed not only from theft, but tampering, counterfeiting, organized retail crime, and even espionage.
"The team from Everon has taken the time to learn every nuance of our business and the risks in this developing and heavily regulated industry. They have been exactly the right partner to deliver the high level of sophisticated security we need and to tailor the solutions as our concerns grow and change," said the Senior Vice President of Supply Chain for the leading cannabis distributor.
A new frontier like the cannabis industry requires an experienced partner to provide solid advice, technical expertise, innovative thinking and consistent delivery performance that can also be scalable. Everon continued working with the customer's team and at cannabis companies in other states where it is legal to adopt advanced security technologies or to adapt them as the situation evolves.