Perishables by air: grounds for congratulation?
90 minutes of lively debate began with a presentation by supply chain engineers Flowerwatch, using short films to illustrate the difference in quality between roses which are cut too early, and at the right time. Jumbo – The Netherlands’ second-largest supermarket, and a major flower retailer – went on to explain that a bunch of flowers sold in their stores has a guaranteed vase life of at least 7 days; to support this guarantee, they said, they are sometimes forced to discard 40% of cut flower purchases due to deficiencies in the air cargo supply chain.
This provoked a heated response from some industry representatives, who claimed that retailers needed to pay higher freight rates if they wanted a better supply chain. One handler questioned where the value existed in the current chain, to fund the necessary investment in performance improvements.
The discussion moved to more positive ground, examining such topics as the need for defined accountability, possibly via SLAs like those that exist between handlers and carriers. But the audience questioned who would take the lead in setting the underlying standards.
Flowerwatch flagged up the importance of the core temperature of the flowers, dictated by the timing of cutting, and the ambient temperature at the moment of packing by the grower. If the origin temperature is not cool enough, they said, the rest of the chain cannot correct this. Airlines meanwhile pointed out that the fuselage of an aircraft cannot be cooled to the ideal temperature of 4 degrees Celsius, necessitating additional cooling or temperature preservation measures.
Another challenge revealed was the 75+ different sizes of flower packaging in use in East Africa, and the 100+ found in South America; why not reduce these to a few standard types of packaging, delegates asked. Standardising packaging in this way would make pallet building easier, and use volume more efficiently, as well as helping to secure improved quality standards.
The captivated audience forgot their iPhones and tablets for the duration of the event, and the amount of discussion and interaction across the floor meant moderator Enno Osinga covered barely half his pre-prepared questions. The debate was seen to continue in small pockets throughout the networking event that followed the forum.
Comments Schiphol Cargo’s perishables expert Bart Pouwels: “The event acted as a perfect catalyst for interaction between major growers, key industry representatives and Jumbo, representing the retailer’s viewpoint. I am convinced we have made valuable progress in achieving better mutual understanding between customers and the industry, and we can now set an agenda for further development.”
Source: Schiphol Cargo