INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Supply chain logistics is a headache and a half across any industry, but the difficulty level goes way up within the world of cannabis
Because of federal laws, FedEx, UPS and USPS are not an option
Distributors need a variety of licenses and must operate within specific regulations
For example, cannabis brands must either become their own first-party distributor, with W2 employees and company-owned cars, distribution
centers, etc., or use a licensed third-party distributor.Wayv, the B2B cannabis logistics platform founded by serial entrepreneur Keith
McCarty, is looking to solve this problem with the launch of its Dynamic Distribution platform
Of course, Wayv has been operational for upwards of a year, having received $5 million in seed led by Craft Ventures’ David Sacks (former
co-worker to McCarty from the Yammer days) back in October 2018.Today, however, marks the public launch of Dynamic Distribution, which not
only connects brands, retailers and distributors to streamline cannabis supply chain logistics, but allows brands to list themselves as
third-party distributors for other brands
Plus, the platform automatically checks for compliance with all parties on the platform across federal, state and local laws.While companies
like Anvyl and Flexport are looking to support other, less regulated industries in their supply chain logistics evolution, the cannabis
industry has been mostly left in the paper age
Wayv aims to streamline that by providing a single interface for brands, retailers and distributors to move cannabis products within the
state of California.For the past year, Wayv’s platform has helped power logistics among several cannabis brands
Today, Wayv hosts over 70 brands — High Style Brewing Company and GoldDrop to name a few — as well as more than 85% of licensed
retailers.With Dynamic Distribution, brands that handle their own distribution can hop on the Wayv platform and get listed as a third-party
distributor for other brands, opening up new revenue streams
Plus, this will allow brands across the state to access a much bigger pool of distribution options, allowing for small upstart brands to get
selling without scaling up their own distribution operation.Wayv generates revenue on a per-transaction basis, charging a 15% fee to
brands.McCarty says that one of the obstacles of an on-demand logistics business is supply constraint
He likened it to consumer on-demand services, like Uber and Lyft, whose growth is dependent on the number of drivers they can get on the
platform.“In the cannabis environment, there are so many compliance and licensing requirements, along with packaging and product testing
requirements — which are all amazing and necessary — that we live in this environment that is very fragmented,” said McCarty
“It’s the fastest growing industry in the world, and there’s no Coca-Cola or Starbucks
Just small companies individually
This means a lot more friction and a lot more need for something like Wayv to help solve the problem.”McCarty has plenty of experience in
Prior to Wayv, McCarty founded Eaze, the on-demand cannabis delivery platform for consumers
Before Eaze, McCarty was an early employee at Yammer, which was sold to Microsoft in June 2012 for $1.2 billion.Side note: Keith McCarty
will be joining us to discuss cannabis startups at Disrupt SF, which runs October 2 to October 4
You can grab tickets right here.Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article stated that Wayv is working with Caliva, Kurvana and
Those deals are still being ironed out.
