LS Retail
Microsoft Dynamics NAV
AS 400
Shopify Plus
Blue Link ERP
Shopify EDI
Netsuite
D365 Finance and Operations
D365 Business Central
Cova
CUSTOMER
Spiritleaf
HEADQUARTERS
Calgary, AB
INDUSTRY
Cannabis
BUSINESSES NEEDED
Integrate their systems together to optimize them to run in unison seamlessly.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
It’s been two years since Cannabis was recreationally legalized in Canada. In those two years, new regulations and nuances between Canada’s Provinces and Territories have created both opportunities and unique differences in how Merchants can sell. Brands have set up retail stores across the country to meet the new industry demand.
One who is extremely successful is Spiritleaf, which has become one of the largest cannabis franchises in the country. On track to meet their goal of 100 stores across the country, they faced many challenges that any omnichannel business faces like integrating their ecommerce and POS, plus additional ones specific to this unique regulated industry.
The Need for An Agile and Scalable Omnichannel Solution
Spiritleaf chose their applications and platforms with scalable intent. Due to their growth schedule, Spiritleaf chose Shopify for their ecommerce platform. Shopify allowed them to sell cannabis online and had API’s that allowed for easy integration to other applications to stay compliant with strict government regulations.
For a POS system, Spiritleaf after much research for the perfect system chose Cova. Cova’s POS systems specifically supports the legalized cannabis market. Thus, powering cannabis retail operations with their reliable dispensary POS and digital solutions. Cova also manages Spirifleaf’s compliance needs such as inventory reporting, purchase age alters, and age verification.
Spiritleaf, with their growth schedule in mind — wanted to integrate their systems together to optimize them to run in unison seamlessly. The critical importance of system unification and high-quality data integration in scaling their cannabis franchise empire was key for Spiritleaf.
Enter VL OMNI and our agile and scalable Shopify to Cova Integration Connector.
Our Integration Connector allowed Spiritleaf to leverage Cova as their POS and inventory management solution with Shopify as their customer-facing branded portal and secure checkout. Their data is passed back and forth between our respective systems via an app built by VL OMNI. This critical data is especially important in controlled substance industries; documentation and compliance reports need to flow quickly and in the correct form to all necessary portals.
With VL OMNI’s iPaaS, point-to-multipoint, serverless, and bidirectional data integration is our default integration approach made possible by the cutting-edge technology we’ve built. This means our integration platform has the ability to move data from a single application to many.
The VL OMNI platform also includes discrete business rules via our business rules engine as a part of all of our Connectors, applied directly to the data as it moves between applications.
The Growth Results Of the Cova-Shopify Integration Solution
Since implementing this integration solution into their technology stack, Spiritleaf is on track to scale with agility to reach its growth goals.
As orders come in through Spiritleaf’s Shopify Plus store, our integration platform ensures orders are populated in their Cova POS system. Products and Inventory are then updated regularly to reflect the sale. Similarly, we provide shipment updates between the systems. Since implementation, Spiritleaf now has the applications, tools, compliance coverage and system unification that have accelerated their funnel and reduced technical maintenance, allowing them to focus on growth and customer experience.
Benefits of Spiritleaf’s Cova and Shopify Integration
Spiritleaf enjoys the benefits of rich functionality and robust integration between their systems. Ultimately, the benefits of the Shopify Plus to Cova POS integration include:
- Have a holistic view of your business
- Agile to change, apply business rules to the integration solution as needed
- Timely order fulfillment and improved workflow functionality
- Accurate product availability
- Faster order processing
- Real-time visibility into order status, sales channels, and more
