Tariffs don’t politely knock before entering. They crash in, double your shipment costs, and leave your bank account gasping while your ERP scrambles to explain what just happened. For cannabis businesses already balancing compliance, thin margins, and volatile vendors, it’s one more curveball in an industry that never seems to throw straight pitches. The good news? With the right mix of ERP and E-Commerce, you don’t just absorb the hit — you get the tools to anticipate, adapt, and come out stronger.
The T-Word That’s Reshaping Cannabis: How Tariffs and Tech Are Rewriting the Rules
Tariffs don’t send polite notices. They don’t wait until your budget meeting. They just show up, double the cost of your shipment, and leave your bank account gasping while your ERP tries to make sense of the damage.
That’s the reality cannabis businesses are facing today. For an industry already navigating compliance hurdles, banking headaches, and razor-thin margins, tariffs are one more layer of chaos — the kind that makes CFOs wake up at 3 a.m. and wonder if they can expense stress therapy.
This was front and centre in Episode 23 of the digBiz Podcast, where the so-called “T-word” dominated the conversation: tariffs. But more importantly, the discussion uncovered how cannabis businesses can stop treating these disruptions like a freak accident and start preparing for them with the right tools.
When $35,000 Becomes $70,000 Overnight
Consider this: a shipment of cartridges leaves port at $35,000. By the time it’s “on the water,” tariffs have hit, and suddenly that bill is $70,000. You don’t get to negotiate. You don’t get to defer. Pay up, or your merchandise sits in limbo. By the way that's a real scenario we experienced with a business recently — yes at pretty much 100%.
For cannabis operators, that isn’t just an accounting hiccup. It’s the difference between cash flow working or collapsing. It’s the difference between being able to deliver product to shelves, or being dead in the water. And lastly, it's the difference between planning and investing in growth and innovation, or stagnating in frustration.
And while cartridges and packaging often come from overseas, the shockwaves ripple through everything from margins to customer pricing. Suddenly, that “affordable” packaging is the single biggest risk in your business model.
Why ERP and E-Commerce Matter More Than Ever
Here’s where things get interesting: tariffs are unpredictable, but your response doesn’t have to be.
ERP platforms give cannabis companies the power to run scenarios — to “sandbox the multiverse,” as one guest put it. What happens if your input costs double? What if shipping delays stack another quarter of expenses onto your books? Instead of guessing, your system should be modelling outcomes and showing you what survives, what breaks, and what pivots are possible.
But ERP alone isn’t enough anymore. This is where E-Commerce integration — like SellStack — changes the game. When your costing data is tied directly to your online channels, you’re not just calculating. You’re adjusting in real time. You’re updating customer pricing, inventory availability, and product positioning on the fly, instead of waiting until the quarter’s end to find out you’ve been bleeding money for weeks.
The combo of ERP + E-Commerce isn’t just operational hygiene. It’s survival strategy and a strategic card to play.
Vendors, Fees, and the Illusion of Control
Another painful truth: tariffs aren’t the only “fees” chipping away at margins. Marketplace platforms are introducing transaction cuts, compliance partners are tacking on line-item costs, and vendors are passing along “adjustments” that sound more like ransom demands.
For cannabis businesses, the question isn’t whether these pressures exist — it’s how much control you have over them. If your tech stack looks like spreadsheets taped together with duct tape, you don’t have control. If your “primary source of truth” lives in three different systems and half a dozen emails, you don’t have control.
The companies that survive this tariff era will be the ones who stop outsourcing their resilience.
Control is the New Competitive Advantage
The cannabis industry has grown up fast. What worked in 2019 doesn’t cut it in 2025. Margins are tighter. Competitors are smarter. And the shocks — whether tariffs, supply chain crunches, or banking uncertainty — keep coming.
The winners will be the companies that embrace visibility and adaptability. They’ll be the ones using ERP to forecast, SellStack to connect operations to customers, and scenario planning to outpace the chaos instead of react to it.
Tariffs may be the “T-word” no one wants to say, but they’ve made one thing crystal clear: in cannabis, control isn’t optional anymore. It’s the only advantage left.
🎧 For more insights, listen to digBiz Podcast Episode 23: The T-Word.
👉 https://itristan.com/reading-room/digbiz-podcast-ep-23-the-t-word-episode
