The Manager of SAP Development & Operations is the primary custodian of the enterprise's most critical asset: its license to operate, which is digitally embodied within the SAP S/4HANA ecosystem. In the cannabis sector, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system transcends traditional functions of finance and inventory management. It serves as the immutable, state-mandated ledger for every gram of biological material from seed genetics to final consumer sale. This role leads the specialized teams responsible for both the continuous evolution (Development) and the flawless execution (Operations) of this compliance engine. The manager ensures that the complex, interlocking processes of cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and retail are perfectly synchronized within SAP and are fully compliant with a patchwork of dynamic state regulations. This position is the critical junction where technology, compliance, and business strategy converge, directly enabling the organization to scale its operations, enter new markets, and mitigate the existential risk of regulatory failure.
The day begins by reviewing the performance metrics from the overnight data synchronization jobs. These jobs transmit thousands of data points—from plant movements in the cultivation facility to finished goods transfers—to the state's official track-and-trace system, such as Metrc. A single transmission failure is a critical incident. The manager immediately assesses the automated alerts, triages the issue with the operations team, and initiates the service restoration protocol. The primary objective is to resolve the data discrepancy and successfully re-transmit the compliance data before business operations commence, preventing any potential hold on product shipments.
Attention then shifts to the help desk ticket queue. A high-priority ticket has been logged by a dispensary manager: the point-of-sale (POS) system is failing to confirm a patient's allotment, preventing a legal sale. The manager coordinates with the help desk lead to diagnose the API connection between the POS and the SAP Customer Master Data. This rapid-response function is crucial for service restoration at the retail level, directly impacting revenue and customer satisfaction. The resolution involves not only a technical fix but also updating the internal knowledge sharing portal with the root cause analysis to prevent future occurrences and empower the help desk team.
Midday is dedicated to forward-looking development. The manager leads a sprint review meeting with the SAP development team. The current project involves configuring a new Plant Maintenance (PM) module to track the sanitation cycles of extraction equipment. This is a quality control mandate from the compliance department to create an auditable record of equipment readiness, preventing cross-contamination between product batches. The manager ensures the development aligns with the business requirements and that sufficient knowledge sharing sessions are scheduled to train the manufacturing staff on the new functionality.
The afternoon focuses on governance and process improvement. The manager analyzes the team's performance metrics for the previous month, noting a spike in help desk tickets related to inventory adjustments at the processing facility. This triggers a deeper quality control investigation. By cross-referencing SAP data with production floor reports, the manager identifies a workflow gap where loss and waste are not being recorded in real-time. A meeting is scheduled with the Head of Manufacturing and the Compliance Officer to re-engineer the process within SAP, which includes creating new user guides and initiating a targeted knowledge sharing campaign. The day concludes with a strategy session with the CIO to review the SAP roadmap, prioritizing a new system enhancement to automate tax calculations for a newly entered state market. The manager's role is a constant cycle of ensuring today's stability through effective service restoration and help desk management, while building tomorrow's capabilities through strategic development and rigorous quality control.
The Manager, SAP Development & Operations, is accountable for three interconnected domains that ensure the enterprise's operational viability:
The Manager of SAP Development & Operations directly influences the core financial and operational health of the enterprise through the following mechanisms:
| Impact Area | Strategic Influence |
|---|---|
| Cash | Directly prevents catastrophic capital loss from regulatory fines (often six to seven figures) by ensuring the SAP system enforces 100% compliance with state track-and-trace mandates. |
| Profits | Maximizes revenue by ensuring system uptime and data accuracy, which prevents state-mandated sales freezes or product quarantines due to reporting discrepancies. |
| Assets | Protects the value of all inventory (the company's primary physical asset) by maintaining a perfect, auditable digital chain of custody from seed to sale within SAP. |
| Growth | Creates a scalable, templated SAP framework that can be rapidly deployed in new states, significantly reducing the time-to-market for geographic expansion. |
| People | Reduces operational friction and employee error by providing stable, intuitive, and compliant tools. Effective knowledge sharing and help desk support improve employee satisfaction and reduce turnover. |
| Products | Enables precise batch tracking and quality control within SAP, facilitating rapid and targeted product recalls if necessary and ensuring consumer safety. |
| Legal Exposure | Builds a defensible, time-stamped system of record for all operational activities, providing a critical shield against litigation and regulatory challenges. |
| Compliance | Functions as the organization's primary internal control for compliance, embedding regulatory rules directly into the operational workflows executed by hundreds of employees. |
| Regulatory | Proactively adapts the SAP system to new legislation, ensuring the company remains in good standing with state cannabis commissions and other regulatory bodies. |
Reports To: This position typically reports to the Chief Information Officer (CIO), VP of Technology, or Director of Enterprise Systems.
Similar Roles: This role is often benchmarked against titles such as ERP Manager, IT Operations Manager, or Business Systems Director. However, the extreme emphasis on state-by-state regulatory compliance and seed-to-sale data integrity distinguishes it significantly from roles in other industries. A candidate from a pharmaceutical background might see parallels with a GxP Systems Manager role, given the focus on validation and auditability. The position combines the strategic foresight of an architect with the tactical urgency of an incident commander, making it a unique hybrid leadership role.
Works Closely With: This role is a central hub, requiring constant collaboration with the Chief Compliance Officer (to interpret regulations), the VP of Finance (for financial reporting and costing), the Director of Operations (for manufacturing and supply chain processes), and Head of Retail (for POS integration and sales data).
Mastery of a specific technology stack is essential for success:
Professionals from other highly regulated, process-driven industries are uniquely positioned for success:
The role demands a unique blend of technical and leadership attributes:
The operational parameters of this role are largely defined by these external organizations:
| Acronym/Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| API | Application Programming Interface. A software intermediary that allows two applications, like SAP and Metrc, to talk to each other. |
| BOM | Bill of Materials. A list of the raw materials, sub-assemblies, and quantities needed to manufacture an end product, such as an edible or vape cartridge. |
| ERP | Enterprise Resource Planning. A centralized software system used to manage day-to-day business activities such as accounting, procurement, project management, risk management, compliance, and supply chain operations. |
| GxP | Good Practice quality guidelines and regulations (e.g., Good Manufacturing Practice - GMP). A standard in the pharmaceutical industry highly relevant to cannabis. |
| ITIL | Information Technology Infrastructure Library. A framework of best practices for delivering IT services, often used to structure help desk and service restoration procedures. |
| Metrc | Marijuana Enforcement Tracking Reporting Compliance. The most widely used state-level track-and-trace system for cannabis. |
| POS | Point of Sale. The system used in dispensaries to conduct retail transactions. It must integrate with SAP for inventory and sales reporting. |
| S/4HANA | SAP's flagship ERP suite built on its in-memory database, HANA. It offers advanced analytics and simplified data models. |
| Seed-to-Sale | The required tracking of a cannabis plant and its derivative products through all stages of cultivation, processing, distribution, and final sale. |
| SLA | Service Level Agreement. A commitment between a service provider and a client, used internally to define help desk response times. |
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