Are Wholesale Cannabis Software Services Raising the Bar or Just Prices?

While some wholesale cannabis software service companies are raising prices, Apex Trading is raising the bar with new features, new integrations, a hybrid model that offers a traditional marketplace alongside of a CRM, customer storefronts, lead-generation tools, and so much more – all at flat-rate pricing.

Check out this informative piece by Azam Khan, co-founder and COO of Distru, and published in Cannabis & Tech Today highlighting the recent price increases in the space.

The Hidden Cost of Surprise Cannabis Vendor Price Hikes (and the Fight to Stay in Control)

A cannabis entrepreneur (let’s call him Ben) runs a small cannabis brand in Michigan. He’s dealt with harvest shortages, human resource issues, and the labyrinth of state regulations over the years. Then he gets a rattling message: his wholesale marketplace, Leaflink—his digital lifeline to hundreds of retailers—is jacking up fees three-plus-fold. No phased schedule, no public webinar, just an “effective next billing cycle” notice.

This story may sound familiar to the myriad brands who found out about a rate hike being implemented that would significantly increase their monthly costs. Operators in different states were already venting on Reddit, one claiming their monthly bill had gone from $599 to $6,200. Some described how they’ve begun to look at alternative platforms, while various brands in Missouri and Colorado were known to have organized coalitions of sorts to figure out if they were going to stay or migrate off of Leaflink, covered not too long ago by a few publications. The common refrain: We’re already bleeding margin. Why is our tech partner twisting the knife? (read more)

Apex Trading delivers inventory, order and sales management software to hundreds of cannabis brands connecting them with thousands of retail dispensaries. Want learn more about Apex Trading’s industry-leading wholesale cannabis software tools, flat-rate pricing, plant-first ethos, and so much more?