A dropshipping catalogue/platform for retailers and small time ecommerce stores to discover and order products from established and emerging brands.
If not, what do you think of the idea in terms of need and financial viability?
Shopify already has the feature to connect you as a store owner to the wholesalers/dropshippers so that you only need to discover from their network and put them on your e-commerce site.
In terms of financial needs, you could ask suppliers for payment term so that you can get paid first and pay them later. This will limit the financial needs for inventory.