Transportation: Breaking down complex industry distribution needs

Transportation is an important factor in the cannabis industry that is often overlooked. While sometimes treated as an afterthought, the choice of a transportation facility is one of the most integral decisions made by a cannabis business. One business that can have direct impacts on the supply chain, testing results and the handling of hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars in cash and product is not a piece of the puzzle that should be considered without proper preparation and insight. Greenway spoke to some of the cannabis industry’s leaders regarding safe and secure transport to get a better understanding of how to properly prepare and what to consider.

Kevin Ellison, CEO and co-founder of CST Solutions – a transportation facility licensee, says that the transportation needs for manufacturing facilities tend to be higher than those of other facility types because of more frequent stops. Manufacturers will have cannabis and cannabis-infused products coming and going constantly, transport “could be from cultivation facilities or transportation to testing or dispensary facilities.”

Ellison says that cultivation facilities, in general, will have a less frequent transport schedule.

“Cultivation facilities will need less transportation as they will only need transportation following each harvest, aside from transportation to testing facilities for iterative and final testing.”

Patient deliveries from dispensaries will be the smallest amount of product transported compared to the manufacturing facility, transportation facility or testing facility, and Ellison adds that they will “likely be the most difficult of deliveries because the destination will not be a secure facility.”

Like any aspect in any industry, there will at times be roadblocks that prevent a smooth execution of a task. When asked what the biggest threat to safe and successful transportation was, Ellison’s answer surprised.

“We can plan for any scenario, but the weather is the greatest unknown. Experiencing weather as simple as an unexpected shower can introduce lots of complications to transportation. Sudden weather changes often cause drivers to behave erratically and that means our drivers have to adjust by driving slower than normal or taking alternate routes to avoid accidents. This impacts delivery and pickup times that were scheduled as per the regulations. This causes delays with other customers and potentially puts the vehicle in some areas at high-risk times that we would normally schedule around.”

Kevin Schnell, President of KC Protective Services LLC and KC Cann Transport LLC – a transportation facility licensee – affirmed a worry among many within the cannabis industry. Schnell says in his team’s opinion, the biggest threat will be theft/robbery.

“Transportation, if tested, will most likely be attacked violently,” Schnell said. “The value of products and/or the currency transported will be very tempting to crime organizations that want to make fast money that cannot be ‘traced/tracked.’ Unlike high-value technology and tools/equipment with serial numbers, cars with vehicle identification numbers (VIN), and jewels with certification numbers or ‘serial numbers,’ cash and product don’t have traceable numbers in these situations and packaging can be easily removed. Fortunately, the DHSS implemented rules and regulations regarding the tracking and video footage of the transportation vehicles.”

Ellison also explained that “when any product is being taken from one location to another, it introduces the opportunity of theft. When the product is being stored or processed, the product is still within a company’s facility and typically being handled by the same people.” He continues by saying “when you take the product and begin moving it around and changing who has control of the product, diversion gets more likely. Different companies, different people, different systems, it all gets complex to track.”

Schnell says, “In order to have a successful, safe and secure “delivery” of a company’s product, an open and efficient form of communication with the site security team (facility security) and the transport “security team” must take place.” In other words, transportation companies and other businesses must make a well-operating plan for standard operating procedure.

Mac Johnson, Co-Founder/Chief Operating Officer of Aegis Management LLC & Ceres Management Group LLC, reiterates the need for a well-established security plan, but is careful to note that it is not the responsibility of the “distributor, transportation vendor, or delivery truck driver to design your safety inspection and transfer procedures,” but rather that burden “falls to the destination facility to build procedures that work best for that location and team, and hold distributors, transporters, and drivers to those standards as part of their contract agreement.”

Ellison believes that adopting practices and procedures from existing transportation industries is the key to secure distribution between facilities. He says that “any product that is either highly regulated or hazardous and has been around for any length of time already has established best practices around transportation. Some simple examples are alcohol, human organs or nuclear matter. All of these have very established industry standards regarding secure transportation. We take the best from other industries and apply it to cannabis.”

In addition to upholding standards and creating policies and procedures, Schnell advises a commonsense tactic, “an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach, ‘low profile’ is the most effective and efficient way to approach transportation/distribution. Using a sterile form of transport vehicle, one that blends in with its environment and does not draw attention to the company or its cargo, is how we strongly encourage our clients to approach their transport/delivery needs.”

Those involved in the transportation arena of the cannabis industry play an important role in ensuring patient access and the safety of all involved. As the industry snowballs into action, it is imperative that businesses treat transportation as an essential expense. It will be a costly, and potentially traumatic, lesson to learn for those who make transportation a last-minute priority.