Cannabis B2B Sales Showdown: Wholesale Marketplaces vs eCommerce Menus

In the ever-evolving licensed cannabis industry, businesses consistently find efficient ways to connect with partners, streamline their operations, and increase their bottom line.

For cannabis brands, cannabis wholesale marketplaces and customized B2B eCommerce menus offer two distinct avenues for buying and selling wholesale cannabis in bulk.

In this blog post, I’ll explore the pros and cons of both and highlight how the Flourish Wholesale Portal offers brands and manufacturers the flexibility to adopt either a combined or standalone strategy for B2B eCommerce.

The Case for Cannabis Wholesale Marketplaces

Cannabis wholesale marketplaces offer a compliant centralized hub where retailers can browse and purchase multiple brands simultaneously. They provide visibility in a competitive market and streamline the purchasing process for cannabis products.

Some operators are also exploring Leaflink, Apex Trading, or LeafLink alternative platforms that offer more flexibility and transparent pricing.

Advantages of Cannabis Wholesale Marketplaces

• Visibility: Being part of a large marketplace like Leaflink or Apex offers immediate exposure to a broad audience of potential buyers.
• Ease of Use: Marketplaces often have established systems that facilitate ordering, payment, and even fulfillment.
• Warehousing Inventory: Certain wholesale cannabis marketplace platforms permit brands to house their inventory in the marketplaces' warehouses, freeing up additional space for production within their facilities.

Disadvantages of Cannabis Wholesale Marketplaces

• In a Sea of Competitors: With limited brand control and website customization, brands often find themselves as just another vendor in the marketplace.
• Dependency on Platform Policies and Pricing: Changes in policies, features, and pricing can directly affect business operations and profit margins.
• Indirect Customer Relationships: Limited interaction between brands and retailers can impede the development of a long-term and mutually beneficial partnership between the two.

The Emergence of Custom B2B eCommerce Stores

Some cannabis brands and manufacturers have developed custom B2B eCommerce platforms to gain control over their sales and shape their brand narrative.

For brands that want full control, a private menu also enables them to buy marijuana online wholesale through their own branded portal.

Advantages of Customized B2B eCommerce Stores

• Full Control of Customization and Branding: Your platform, your user experience, and your brand messaging align with the brand’s vision.
• Establishing Direct Relationships: Provides the opportunity for direct interaction and cultivating relationships with retailers.
• No Marketplace Fees: Brands could potentially experience improved profit margins without paying listing fees. It’s cannabis, and every dollar counts…Curse you, 280e.

Disadvantages of Customized B2B eCommerce Stores

• Higher Initial Investment: As you may save on marketplace fees, building a customized platform requires a significant upfront cost for design, development, and ongoing maintenance.
• More Complex Operations: Unlike marketplaces, which come with built-in infrastructure, custom B2B eCommerce menus involve overseeing everything from hosting and cybersecurity to site maintenance.
• Integration Complexity: Fully integrating with manufacturing and inventory systems requires technical expertise.

Introducing the Flourish Wholesale Portal: A B2B eCommerce Menu

Utilizing Flourish’s cannabis wholesale marketplace software, cannabis brands and manufacturers can easily set up their B2B store online.

This allows licensed cannabis retailers to seamlessly access an exclusive wholesale purchasing channel integrated with Flourish Software. Flourish has developed and open-sourced a native plug-in for WooCommerce, the world's most popular eCommerce solution, significantly lowering the technical barriers to hosting a private eCommerce store. 

Key Benefits and Features of the Flourish Wholesale Portal

• Automatic Order Processing: Wholesale orders placed online are seamlessly integrated into Flourish Software, streamlining the entire order processing workflow.
• Realtime Inventory Sync: Inventory levels are automatically synchronized, providing accurate information on product availability. 
• Security through Access Restrictions: Password-protected access guarantees that only authorized retailers can browse and make purchases.
• Cost-Effective: Flourish offers a cost-effective solution for brands, especially those already part of Flourish Software’s seed-to-sale ecosystem.
• Brand Empowerment and Engagement: Exercise complete control over your B2B eCommerce menu, webpages, and branding; ensure a distinctive retailer experience, enhance engagement, and provide comprehensive product information and education for cannabis retailers.
• Lot-based purchasing (Coming Soon): Empowers retailers to select cannabis lots, expanding their choices and enhancing the overall purchasing experience.

A pivotal factor in Major Bloom's decision to embrace Flourish's Wholesale Portal was the platform's customization options, allowing them to align their online presence with their brand identity. Ravon elaborated, "With this, we're able to ensure that our wholesale site mirrors our website. By collaborating with Flourish and our web development team, we've created a cohesive online experience that embodies the essence of Major Bloom."

Discussing their strategy for maximizing the B2B portal's potential, Ravon stressed the importance of relationship-building and driving traffic to their platform. "My primary objective is to raise awareness about our website and drive traffic. Ultimately, sales will follow, but initially, it's about establishing connections," he explained. "Whether it's through email outreach or face-to-face interactions, our goal is to introduce potential clients to our platform."

In essence, Major Bloom's partnership with Flourish Software underscores the critical role of innovation and adaptability in the cannabis industry. Armed with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to fostering meaningful connections, Major Bloom, armed with its Flourish Wholesale Portal, is poised to thrive in a dynamic and competitive market landscape.

Strategically Choosing Your B2B Cannabis Sales Strategy and Platform

In conclusion, deciding between a wholesale cannabis marketplace and a customized B2B eCommerce store hinges on specific business needs. Marketplaces offer efficiency and exposure but with limitations, while custom stores provide more control and branding. Flourish cannabis wholesale marketplace software emerges as a transformative solution, providing flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and seamless integration with the Flourish software.

While traditional platforms serve many, the Flourish B2B eCommerce menu offers a tailored path forward for those who value brand control and operational integration.