Category: Blog
Our team of experts explores interesting topics relating to data analytics, industry news, and more!
post: Founder Insight: The Power of Informed Conversations
Imagine you are driving down the highway on a clear afternoon. You have the cruise control set to around the speed limit. You’re listening to some music that puts a smile on your face. Out in the distance, you a see a highway patrol car parked on the side of the road. Instinctively, you tap […]
post: Compliance Review: Making Sense Of It All
Regulated industries are regulated to protect the interests of consumers and users, to protect employees, and to protect the businesses themselves. The cannabis industry’s fast rise and continued growth presents challenges to the states and localities charged with enforcing regulations that are maturing and evolving along with the industry. This speed of evolution and continued […]
post: Is The Simplest Answer Always the Right One?
While Occam’s Razor states that the simplest answer is usually correct, it doesn’t say that it is always correct. At NCS, we pride ourselves on identifying outliers. While it’s easy to say that those who have outliers in their data are all bad actors, that just isn’t true. As an example, we routinely see a […]
post: The Importance of Different Data Streams
In an ideal world, you could look at the same activity through different data sets and get to the same result, but sadly that is the exception rather than the rule. Inconsistencies could be a result of something simple, like subtle differences in reporting mechanisms or absent-minded mistakes. A more sinister root cause could be […]
post: Data Tracing
Track-and-trace systems were designed to provide regulators of all shapes and sizes vital information to promote their mission. Tracking products in “high-risk” industries is essential, but one of the most significant benefits is the ability to trace any product back to its source. For cannabis, this means from the second a seed (or clone) is […]
post: Compliance and Data
The cannabis industry is one of the newest and most regulated industries in the world. Cannabis is in its infant stages, and it has never been more important to see a holistic and comprehensive view of what is happening at each business on a granular level. One fundamental way to gain understanding is by requiring […]
post: Diverting Cannabis from the Supply Chain
According to its definition, diversion is “an instance of turning something aside from its intended course.” For example, a river can be diverted away from a town by a dam. In commerce, diversion is the act of selling goods in a market for which they were not intended, usually without the knowledge or permission of […]
post: Analytics Spotlight: Outlier Data
The NCS Platform takes in hundreds of thousands of data points on a daily basis. The analytics engine identifies transactions that fall outside of the statistical norms in order to alert our clients about unusual activity. How do we know these are really atypical transactions, you ask? One way that we distinguish the “normal” from […]
post: Analytics Spotlight: Medicinal vs. Adult Use
Cannabis has evolved significantly over the past few decades from a primarily untracked, unregulated, gray market industry to one of the most regulated industries in the country. The recent introduction of the adult-use market (in 11 states) has proved to be successful for enforcement and regulatory budgets over the past few years by bringing in […]
post: Analytics Spotlight: Flowering Time
Flowering is the final stage in the growth cycle of a cannabis plant. During this phase, flowers, commonly referred to as buds, will appear. Flowers are the part of the plant that produces cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are the chemicals found in cannabis plants and contain the psychoactive compounds. During the flowering phase, the plants typically go […]