Navigating Vendor Disruption: Seamless Migration Without Losing Marketplace Reach

Dec 2020 - Jan 2021

THE CHALLENGE

In January 2021, Fyllo—a cannabis marketing and compliance platform—acquired DataOwl, the e-commerce and loyalty provider managing our online store infrastructure and marketplace integrations. The acquisition meant DataOwl's product roadmap was being folded into Fyllo's broader platform, which created immediate uncertainty: our e-commerce setup, built on DataOwl's infrastructure, was now part of a vendor consolidation that didn't prioritize our specific use case.

More critically, our Leafly integration—the API sync that kept our products visible and purchasable on the largest cannabis consumer discovery platform in North America—was tied to DataOwl's system. If that integration wasn't maintained or properly transitioned, our product listings would go dark on Leafly, cutting off access to hundreds of thousands of potential customers.

We faced a compressed timeline to migrate our entire e-commerce setup to a new platform (I Heart Jane) while simultaneously ensuring our Leafly API sync transferred cleanly. Any gap in that transition meant lost visibility, lost sales, and potential damage to our relationship with Leafly. The pressure was real: vendor acquisitions create urgent windows where you either migrate quickly or lose leverage.

We needed a new e-commerce platform that had proven Leafly integration, could accept our migrated data without data loss, and could take over the API credential handoff from DataOwl—all while maintaining zero downtime on our storefront.

OUR APPROACH

We didn't treat this as a simple platform swap. We treated it as a multi-system orchestration with tight sequencing and coordination.

Strategic Platform Selection: Evaluated e-commerce platforms specifically for native, proven integrations with Leafly. We chose I Heart Jane because it had direct API support for Leafly sync—no custom development needed, just credential transfer.

Data Mapping & Preparation: Audited our complete product catalog, pricing, inventory, and metadata on DataOwl to understand what needed to move and how it would map into Jane's data structure.

API Credential Transfer Planning: Coordinated directly with DataOwl, Jane, and Leafly to plan the exact sequence and timing for moving our API key from DataOwl's system to Jane's. This was critical—one wrong step and the sync breaks.

Parallel Environment Setup: Set up Jane with a complete copy of our product data and validated that Leafly could successfully read and sync data from Jane's API before we touched the live system.

Cutover Sequencing: Executed a carefully timed migration where we tested the Leafly sync on the new system, validated data accuracy, then performed the final API credential switch during a planned low-traffic window to minimize any sync disruption.

Multi-Party Coordination: Maintained constant communication with Jane's implementation team, Leafly's integration support, and our internal operations team to coordinate handoffs and troubleshoot any issues in real time.

FINAL RESULTS

Zero Downtime: Migrated from DataOwl to Jane without any gap in storefront availability or customer ordering capability.

Preserved Leafly Integration: Product listings remained live and synced on Leafly throughout the entire transition—no products disappeared from the marketplace, no lost visibility.

Accurate Data Transfer: All product data, pricing, and inventory transferred correctly from DataOwl to Jane. Leafly sync validated data accuracy on day one of the new system.

Faster Integrations: Moving to a platform with native Leafly support meant any future marketplace integrations would require configuration, not custom API development. We gained operational speed for future growth.

Vendor Independence: By choosing a platform with proven marketplace integrations instead of custom builds, we reduced our dependency on DataOwl and created flexibility to move away from vendors that no longer serve our needs.

WHAT DID WE LEARN?

Marketplace integration is operational infrastructure, not a feature you can rebuild on the fly. When a large percentage of your customer discovery happens on third-party platforms like Leafly, your ability to maintain that presence through vendor transitions determines whether you survive the transition or lose revenue during it.

Pre-built integrations are more valuable than you realize until you need them. A platform with native, proven API support for your key marketplaces is worth more than a "cheaper" platform that requires custom development. When vendors change (and they will), pre-built integrations let you migrate fast. Custom integrations trap you with the original vendor.

Vendor risk compounds when you have dependencies. DataOwl's acquisition wasn't a surprise—vendor consolidation is normal in growing markets. But we had built our e-commerce entirely on DataOwl's platform. Single-vendor dependency means you're along for the ride whenever they get acquired or pivot. Building around platforms with proven marketplace integrations creates optionality and reduces your leverage risk.

Data validation during migration prevents silent failures that damage customer trust. A product listing that syncs to Leafly but with wrong pricing, missing inventory, or corrupted data is worse than no listing at all. We validated every step—both in the test environment and immediately after cutover—to catch issues before customers saw them.

Coordination timing is everything in multi-system migrations. The DataOwl-to-Jane transition involved three separate systems (DataOwl, Jane, and Leafly) that all needed to handoff data correctly. One misaligned step and the whole sequence breaks. Success required explicit sequencing, validation gates, and clear communication with all parties about what each step depended on.

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