It All Started With Cannabis: How This Innovative Manufacturing Software Firm Is Solving 'Real' Problem For Its Customers

"The cannabis industry is very tight-knit and trust-based, so there is nothing more valuable than a solid customer referral." That's according to Amar Singh, CEO and co-founder of Elevated Signals, a provider of manufacturing software designed for the complex operations of fast-growing manufacturing businesses.

Singh got it right. Partnerships, trust and doing business in good faith are what those joining Benzinga's cannabis event in Florida this week are about to witness.

Elevated Signals recently reported securing CA$7.9 million ($5.7 million) in Series A funding. The investment led by Yaletown Partners, with participation from Third Kind Venture Capital, WGD Capital, Colin Harris, Raiven Capital, and Pareto Holdings is slated to help the company expand and diversify in terms of the industries it serves.

"Elevated Signals is solving a real problem for its customers and is aligned with larger trends in the market," Hans Knapp, general partner and co-founder at Yaletown Partners said recently.

But, it all started with cannabis. The company’s manufacturing software was pioneered in the highly regulated and vertically integrated cannabis industry in Canada.

See also: Edibles Company Teams Up With Software Provider To Get Things Moving Quicker In The Kitchen And Out The Door

"We networked our way into early relationships with several influential licensed producers in British Columbia and worked very closely with their teams to build our initial version of the software," Singh told Benzinga. "This gave us a safe sandbox to test and launch with trusted partners, which built our reputation as reliable innovators and then led to introductions to other customers"

What Elevated Signals Is All About

Today, Elevated serves a growing list of sectors that range from controlled environment agriculture to natural health product manufacturing, critical minerals recovery and mining, to name a few.

Its manufacturing software replaces systems of spreadsheets, paper and outdated software with a fully digital centralized platform that manages inventory, quality recordkeeping, compliance and environmental data.

Moreover, its GMP-validated system enables improvements to supply chain visibility, operational productivity, and yield optimization.

By capturing and utilizing granular inventory data and scientific and process data associated with that inventory, Elevated is enhancing manufacturing efficiency, implementing predictive maintenance, optimizing inventory management, reducing operational costs and improving product quality, Singh explained.

"By analyzing and acting on this data, our customers can identify and address bottlenecks, minimize waste, and ensure their processes are as efficient and effective as possible," he added.

But, what differentiates Elevated Signals from larger competitors in the technology industry?

Singh said "time to value" and "ease of use."

"We can get customers up and running in two weeks to two months depending on the size of the client, compared to large ERP software timelines that are typically 6-12 months or longer," he noted. "We also have a near perfect implementation record versus large ERP implementations, which fail 75% of the time according to Gartner."

Now read: New Zealand’s Largest Medical Cannabis Cultivator, Puro, Selects Elevated Signals As Its Seed-To-Sale Software Provider