Trade buyers often need a controlled sample before a larger wholesale order. A portal should capture the request, route approve or reject, and show status. Week one on Parcel Build is that first working version. You own the code. Flat monthly. See custom software for wholesalers. If sample requests in the portal is the gap, start a free 30-day build.
What should a week-one wholesale sample request flow include?
A request form for known or pending trade accounts. SKU and quantity the buyer wants to evaluate. Approve or reject by your team. Ship-to and status the requester can see without emailing for updates. Quantity caps and SKU limits when you already enforce them by hand.
Why open web forms and email sample asks create untracked cost and weak follow-up
Samples leave as favors. Nobody knows which requests were approved, which shipped, or which never converted to a real order. Cost sits in a drawer. Follow-up dies because there is no shared status for the request.
Open forms without account context also invite junk asks. A portal path keeps the request tied to a trade account or a pending application so your team can decide with context.
What week one can cover
Request intake for known or pending trade accounts. Approve or reject with a clear owner. Ship-to and status visible to the requester. Quantity caps and SKU limits your team already uses. Enough structure to stop untracked sample cost without building a full sample lab.
On Parcel Build, week one is a first working version of that path. Flat monthly. You own the code.
What stays out of month one
Defer a full sample inventory WMS. Defer every brand marketplace sample network. Month one is request, approve or reject, ship-to, and status for the accounts you serve.
FAQ
Should sample requests require an approved trade account first?
Often yes for closed trade programs. Week one can also allow pending applicants to request samples under a human review gate when that is how you already work. The named gap is controlled intake with approve or reject, not an open public sample cart.
Can sample quantity caps and SKU limits be enforced in week one?
Yes. Caps and allowed SKU lists are a common week-one design when sample cost is the pain. The portal blocks over-limit asks before your team spends time on a request that should not ship.
Next step
If sample requests in a wholesale or dealer portal is what feels hardest, start a free 30-day build. Name that gap on the form. We scope a free 30-day build on that problem: first working version in week one, flat monthly after if you want to continue.