As cannabis companies scale across multiple locations, procurement gets complicated—fast.
Operators need access to local suppliers. Finance needs control.
So which is better?
Centralized or decentralized procurement?
The truth is: you need both. And you need them working in sync.
What Is Centralized Procurement?
• Centralized procurement means all purchasing decisions are made from HQ.
• Finance controls budgets, vendor selection, and policy enforcement.
Benefits:
✅ Consistency in pricing and contracts
✅ Easier financial reporting and COGS tracking
✅ Less risk and rogue spend
Downside:
🚫 Slower decision-making
🚫 Bottlenecks for locations that need agility
What Is Decentralized Procurement?
• In this model, individual locations or teams handle purchasing.
Benefits:
✅ Faster decisions
✅ Local vendor flexibility
✅ Better for time-sensitive or specialized needs
Downside:
🚫 Harder to track spend
🚫 Budget overruns
🚫 Messy data
Why Hybrid Procurement Is the Future
With MainStem, cannabis businesses don’t have to choose.
We give you a centralized procurement system that allows controlled decentralization.
• Set budgets + approvals from HQ ✅
• Let individual locations order with real-time guardrails ✅
• See all spend and PO activity in one place ✅
• Auto-match invoices + clean COGS ✅
You get the control Finance wants and the flexibility Operators need.
Final Thoughts
In a fragmented industry like cannabis, hybrid procurement isn’t a strategy—it’s survival.
📉 Avoid overspend.
📊 Improve visibility.
📦 Let your teams move fast, without breaking process.
🔗 See how MainStem makes hybrid procurement work → Book a Procurement Process Audit!
