Lucas Vos, Royal FloraHolland:
"Coming years will be all about growth"
Lucas points to three examples: Amazon, Alibaba and E-bay. They have no local competitors any more and can turn their attention to the global playing field as a result. "That way, you can attract a lot of trade. If Royal FloraHolland wants to remain the ultimate global marketplace, we must be able to attract all the supply in the world, as well as all of the demand. The products our present members can provide won't suffice any longer, not if we want all the supply in the world. Therefore we must be an alluring, open marketplace."
Low costs
A precondition to being the largest marketplace, according to Lucas, is that the costs per transaction have to be as low as possible. So that Royal FloraHolland has the largest numbers of clients and the widest range of products, and thus can earn its place in the world. "That's why expansion of the marketplace will be our core concern these coming years."
The clients of the future will make it
The expansion will have a huge impact on the cooperative, Lucas stresses. "We'll keep focusing on our current members, but we'll strive to increase the range of products at the same time." How will they further improve floriculture? "We should take more workload off the shoulders of our clients, so they can do what they do best: buying and selling. In that case, clients will have a lot less to worry about. And they can look forward, in all links of the chain. This means clients and growers can't afford to sit back, but must jump on the bandwagon too. The clients of the future will make it. Floriculture is home to lots of partnerships and collaborations. Like in sharing data. And improving logistics together. Clients should choose the consumer, not the grower, as their guiding star."
Source: Royal FloraHolland