Your Complete Guide to Working With a Floral Wholesaler (Part 2)
When I began to research this article, the Team Flower Community forum had over 50 comments and questions regarding wholesalers—wholesale prices, shipping, ordering, stem counts, bad product, lack of feedback, one-sided communication, and general dissatisfaction. Let's gain some insight into the wholesale flower processes to help address some of those concerns.
Each wholesaler I interviewed stressed the following topics as key to creating a strong partnership.
Communication/Trust
Early Ordering
Flexibility
Education
Communication with Floral Wholesalers
Unique personalities, perspectives, and ways of communicating can either complicate relationships or strengthen the trust and bond between the people we work with and us.
Finding a good fit with your wholesaler or your sales rep, the team member you work with most often is no different. To build a strong partnership, we need to work at communication, be teachable, trust each other, and lean into developing a team relationship.
Your Floral Wholesale Sales Rep
Before you even place your first order, it's time to do a meet and greet with your sales rep. After registering with your wholesaler, you should either hear from a representative or receive their contact information within 24 to 48 hours.
The first step from your sales rep should be getting to know you—your target client, your brand/style, and your likes and dislikes. The better they know you, the better they can understand and help meet your expectations.
Flora Fresh, Inc.
Your Wholesale Flowers Order
When placing your order, share as much information as possible.
Event Information
Mood board
Color palette or color swatches
Vase size, color, shape
Linens
The venue (is it formal? industrial? outdoors?)
Your design: i.e., bouquets, bridesmaid's design (floral rings, wrist, or bouquets), centerpieces or is there an arch, overhead install, a garden-style along the aisle, etc.
Order Information
Date of delivery or pick up
Name of your event, which gives a point of reference when communicating back and forth
Date of your event: if sales rep notes you are picking up the day before your event, they may suggest an earlier pickup time so flowers can be at their peak for event day
List items you are ordering: If sending an email, it is helpful to have each on a separate line grouped by type (i.e., all roses first, then flowers, then greens).
Indicate by each item if ordering by the bunch or stem: For clarity in my emails, I list my bunch counts first and stem counts grouped at the end. If you need a specific stem count but don't know how many stems are in a bunch, ask your sales rep. (See the section on Stem Count below.)
List alternatives/substitutions with 1st and/or 2nd choices.
If you do not receive a confirmation within 24-48 hours, follow up with a phone call or email.
If, like me, you don't use floral communication software, print out the email and put it in your event's folder/clipboard.
Ask Questions
Don't be afraid to ask questions! The majority of sales reps have years of experience within the industry, many in multiple departments, giving them a broad range of knowledge and experience. They've answered hundreds of questions. Believe me, there are no bad questions! Always ask and be open to suggestions and changes.
Below are some examples of questions you might have for your wholesaler.
Is this available now? What is the price on a bunch of parrot tulips? If you don't have gloriosa lilies, what can I order similar in color and texture? Which lilies have no strong scent? Are there other items I should be looking at? What do you suggest for a flower in this color?
In the beginning, I never asked questions because (1.) I didn't want to bother them, and (2.) I thought I knew everything.
Now I know that they want you to ask—you are not bothering them, and they love to educate. They also know far more than I do and have suggestions for flowers I didn't even know existed or knew they could get!
If Your Sales Rep is Unavailable
Typically, if your sales rep is sick or on vacation, they will send a broadcast email to their clients including other reps' contact information available to take your order and leave an "out of the office" message. The sales team will respond to emails and phone messages coming in, as well as print and save them for the rep upon their return. This helps your rep stay informed with your orders and questions.
Mayesh Pull
Order Early
The textbook answer to that often-asked question is to order a minimum of 10 days before delivery or pick up day, but the best answer is to order as early as possible!
The earlier you order, the better chance of getting the product you requested. Remember, there are hundreds of other florists that may want that same flower that same week!
Get your order in ahead of them! I've learned that a 2–3 week lead time in ordering is my best practice and allows my wholesaler to source the products, negotiate price points, and navigate disruptions in the supply chain or extreme weather conditions affecting crops by finding another source and/or contact me about substitutions. Many wholesalers have a robust inventory or another branch, so if you find yourself with a client requesting flowers under that 10-day window, call your rep! Most likely, they can pull products to satisfy your needs.
To protect yourself, request a deposit from your client early enough to cover your out-of-pocket flower order. Due to Covid, many wholesalers now have a cancellation policy, and you don't want to be on the line to pay for flowers your client has not/will not pay for if their event is canceled.
Let your sales rep know when your event is, so they can recommend the best day for pickup/delivery.
Flexibility
Being flexible with your product choices and open to alternatives or substitutions gives you a greater chance of creating your vision. Suppose toffee roses are not available or too costly for your budget. In that case, your sales rep may suggest using a cream rose and picking up the toffee color with other flowers, like caramel antique carnations, so that you can maintain your color palette.
Flowers are subject to seasonal availability, supply and demand, and of course, Mother Nature. Sales reps and buyers strive to supply what you have requested, but if certain items are not available, they will recommend substitutions. State in your order you are open to suggestions for substitutions or list your alternate choices.
Do’s and Don’t’s of Wholesale Flower Ordering
DO NOT request flowers by color name. For example, mauve to me is greyish purple, and it might be more of a violet color to you. Blush can lean pink or peach. Including a color palette in your order will make sure you and your sales rep are on the same page.
DO NOT send an Instagram or Pinterest photo requesting "that flower in the center." These photos most likely have been adjusted for lighting and color, and that flower color may not be a true flower color. The name of a specific variety of flower or rose is most helpful. As you increase your knowledge, you'll be better able to provide that information. If you do send a photo, ask if your sales rep can find a flower close to that color.
DO understand that even within specific varieties, a rose's color and head size may vary from grower to grower, depending upon the region where grown. Locally grown flowers have shorter growing seasons and different climates, which affect the length of stems, color, and seasonality. Roses grown in Columbia have 12 hours of natural sunlight, an 8,400-foot altitude creating longer stems and larger rose heads and are available at more times of the year.
DO send a mood board. Sending your order without any visuals keeps your sales rep without a point of reference for your event vision, limiting them in suggestions for substitutions or additions.
DO keep a record of the flowers you've ordered in the past. I cut out the rose name and bar code on the inside of the cardboard wrapping as well as the name on the plastic sleeve on all the roses I've received and tape them to a sheet I keep in that event's folder or clipboard. I make comments on these sheets next to the name, such as opened beautifully, is exceptional in color, thorny, strong stems, lots of petals, didn't like, etc. When I place my next order for this same rose, I can give my sales rep information from the barcode or grower name so they can source the flower from that grower.
Let's Follow Your Order
There is an intricate, critical path from receiving to filling your order, and disruptions in the order/supply chain can and do happen!
This is a Mother Nature-controlled industry. Growers and wholesalers can't control weather, airlines, or global economics.
Remembering this will help you understand the importance of a good lead time and the need to be flexible on specific requests. Here's a simplification of the typical way an order is processed.
Once your order is received, it is forwarded to the buyers.
The Buyer:
Tallies up all orders placed by all the sales reps several times a week.
Adds to that tally the specific dates when orders need to be fulfilled.
Visits the cooler daily before the market opens to review inventory—what is selling, what is not moving, what they anticipate florists will purchase in the next five weeks, what special events/seasons coming up require specific flowers/colors in larger quantities (i.e., Valentine's day).
Works with multiple growers around the world to fulfill orders and inventory.
Updates sales reps with products ordered, quantities, and dates they will be received.
Updates sales staff with any shipping or weather issues affecting timing, product quality, or availability.
Coordinates receiving product, fulfilling orders, then filling the cooler inventory.
Support Staff:
Staff members immediately begin processing product as soon as shipments come in.
Customer Service Teams begin pulling orders, labeling them, and consolidating by client. Retail florists with large orders may have their individual orders labeled and all their orders grouped under that retail florist name.
Inventory is refreshed and/or removed, and new stock added.
Products are checked for quality prior to shipping.
Picking Up Your Order from Local Wholesaler
When you arrive at the wholesaler to pick up your order, let the customer service staff know you have an order to pick up. My experience has been that, after I had been in a few times, they recognize me and ask if I am ready for my order to be pulled.
Staff will examine your product and open rose bunch packages looking for spoilage. If there is any questionable product not at its prime, they will ask if you want to pull a substitute from the cooler.
You can pay now or go into their cooler to add to your order. Don't forget to check their organic cooler for any unique local products.
I love taking one or more of the bunches of flowers, like the peach roses I ordered, into the cooler to find other product that will complement the color palette. It's a great idea to leave yourself a bit in your budget to buy those extra specials!
If something in my order is off color-wise, I check with the sales staff on substituting. See more notes on special orders below.
Bring your own buckets for product that doesn't do well out of water. The shipping staff will typically ask you how you want to transport and will offer suggestions on box or bucket best practices.
Review your invoice before leaving to ensure you were not over or undercharged or charged for product you did not order.
Holly Carlisle Photography
Receiving Your Order via Shipping
Wholesale shippers typically require a signature upon receipt.
Immediately open your box and check your previously emailed invoice (and packing slip attached to box) against product received.
If there are any overages, shortages, etc. in your order, immediately contact your sales rep.
I've had orders received with product included and charged that I did not order. I took a photo of the product and emailed it along with my emailed order, and they credited my account and allowed me to keep the product.
I've also experienced my Mayesh sales rep having my back when the shipping company “lost” my order of 125 roses. She immediately sent out a new order with expedited shipping—at their cost! She had to substitute the variety but sent a great color match.
Check product for spoilage right away.
Process your flowers and greenery as soon as possible (Team Flower has a wonderful article on processing flowers for maximum vase life!).
Sub-par Floral Product or Spoilage
Check product for spoilage as soon as you can. If there are one or two bad or broken stems, remember you are dealing with fresh flowers, cut, packed, and shipped, so I wouldn't be concerned. However, multiple spoilage within a bunch or multiple bunches are reasons to contact your wholesaler that same day so credit can be applied to your next order and, if necessary, immediately ship fresh product.
Take photos of all the bad stems and the entire bunch, the inside label with the barcode on the roses' cardboard package, and the wrapper sleeve around any flower bunch. This information has the grower information and who helped pack at the wholesaler, allowing the wholesaler to let the grower know about bad product, recover wholesaler's cost, and work with the packer to improve quality control.
Waiting 3–4 days or longer to claim bad product is questionable. There would have been too many variables, like processing errors, temperature, storage, etc. that may explain the spoiling product. I have learned lessons the hard way. I don't have a cooler, so one time, I put my buckets of roses outside during the winter (cool temperatures, right?). Well, that night, a wind and rainstorm hit, and mildew ended up forming on the inside petals. My fault, not the wholesaler or grower.
If you are finding your flowers or greenery not staying fresh during the time you have them, the rose heads are drooping, your eucalyptus not looking prime, etc. talk to your sales rep for suggestions on what you may be doing wrong, can do better or how a particular flower/greenery needs to be processed. For example, I thought removing all the leaves on a rose stem would help the rose head become better hydrated, but I just learned in an interview with my wholesaler that the leaves actually draw the water up to help hydrate the flower! (Only remove leaves below the water line, which can cause bacteria to form and prevent the stems from drawing up water efficiently).
Special Orders
To build your special order, buyers will check with growers filling other orders for them, and if not available, buyers will reach out to other growers. If a grower can fill that one bunch of toffee roses you ordered, but the buyer has no other product to order from that grower, the grower may say that the buyer must purchase another product or more toffee roses to make up a bulk order. The wholesaler now has multiple products not on his order or inventory list that will go into inventory, hopefully to sell.
If your special order is not what you expected it to be and you don't want it, ask your sales rep if you can substitute or if you are committed to it. Most likely, they will work with you, but be aware that you are asking them to take back this product in hopes it will sell. Otherwise, it may be a loss to them (not to mention the time and money spent ordering the product requested).
If a particular variety of flower you requested is not available from any source, the buyer will ask your sales rep to see if it can be substituted. The buyer and sales rep usually tell you what substitutions are available when they let you know they can't get what you ordered.
Stem Count
There were multiple questions regarding stem counts on Team Flower's community forum. Stem counts in a bunch vary based on product and from where stems originate. For example, yarrow has 15 stems/bunch from Oregon but ten stems/bunch from South America.
Then there's the grower's bunch—mostly in shrub-like product or branches like baby's breath, waxflower, pepper berry, curly willow, ninebark or eucalyptus. Growers bundle stems that have multiple flowers or branches/brackets are bundled by weight or volume.
Refer to your wholesaler's price list. You'll find that most stem counts are listed. You can also write down the number of stems in a bunch when you receive product.
Here is an excellent resource for stem counts.
Educate Yourself
It takes courage to be vulnerable and admit you don't know something. But your confidence will increase, and your design and ordering process will become more efficient. Inevitably, you will be able to communicate more clearly with your sales rep as you continually educate yourself.
Resources for Continuing Flower Education
Online Classes
Blog Posts
Videos
Podcasts
Flower Books (Click here to see some of Team Flower’s favorites!)
Web Pages
Sierra Flower Finder is an excellent source for flower types and names. Check out this article to learn how it works.
Be sure to also check out Flirty Fleurs, which has great content and photos on specific rose color studies.
Social Media
Be curious! Ask florists you follow on social media about a flower or greenery you saw her/him post, their name, how quickly do they open, where they order them from, etc.
Education and resources offered by your wholesaler
Your Ideal Floral Wholesaler is Out There
If you're lucky, it's a quick find. If not, embrace the hunt with a positive attitude, and you will find a wholesaler or two that are just the right fit.
The commonalities we share, our passion for flowers, and a mutual desire to provide our clients with beautiful quality products, create a wonderful formula for a strong partnership. It's worth the time to cultivate this relationship.
Special thanks to these gracious wholesale companies for answering my many questions and offering helpful suggestions: Flora Fresh, Inc. in Sacramento California and Mayesh (8 branches throughout the U.S.).
