Behind the scenes at Veiling Rhein-Maas quality control
The methods of the Cut Flowers Quality Control Department
“My day begins early. I start my shift at 4:00 am by determining the auction sequence, which I do by drawing lots within the product groups. I ensure that my logistics colleagues know precisely which lots will be auctioned first, and which will be auction last,” says Marcel Janssen, the man responsible for inspecting the import roses and the buttercups, among others, at Veiling Rhein-Maas’ Cut Flowers Quality Control department. “Then the ‘real work’ begins. I use an inspection cart, which has a laptop, scale and additional lighting, to walk through the rows. After scanning the delivery form, I can see on the laptop which lot I’ve scanned, as well as the history of the supplier. If the supplier has recently made mistakes, I will be stricter in my assessment of the lots. During my assessment, I not only take qualitative aspects into account, such as divergent inflorescences, yellow foliage or damages flowers; I also pay attention to whether the grading characteristics, such as maturity and weight, have been properly stated,” Marcel Janssen explains.
Amending important characteristics
After the inspection is complete, the quality inspectors sometimes have to amend important characteristics, such as quality or maturity. “I often have to change the maturity of import roses. Otherwise, I’ll hear our customers complain that they are dissatisfied with their purchase,” says Marcel Janssen. “When I examine buttercups, I often have to change their weight, which, for this product, is a very important characteristic. In addition to my work as an inspector, I am also responsible for handling re-inspections. In the event that a customer is dissatisfied with the quality, I have to decide whether or not their complaint is valid. If the customer is right, the price might be changed, or the lot could be reclaimed.”
Intense support
Each quality inspector has a number of suppliers that he or she provides with intense support. The objective is to increase the reliability of suppliers’ data and by doing so, to take small steps towards giving the suppliers a better name at the auction clock. Eventually, improved reliability will result in more stable pricing. This serves the customers, the auction and, most of all, the supplier.
For more information:
Veiling Rhein-Maas
info@veilingrheinmaas.com
www.veilingrheinmaas.com