At Veiling Rhein-Maas, the Import department ensures that flowers and plants arriving from countries such as Israel, Ethiopia, Kenya, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Italy and other countries can be auctioned successfully. The Import department's work includes e.g. unpacking and preparing products, an initial check of quantity and quality as well as the administration of imported goods. Stefan Nitsche and Gheorghi Bolgar are responsible for the handling of airfreight pallets at the Import department of Veiling Rhein-Maas.
Destacking of air freight pallets
“Every day we receive cartons with flowers packed on airfreight pallets in the Import department. The working day of Stefan and Gheorghi starts with destacking these cartons”, says Angela Neubauer, Head of the Service and Import Center at Veiling Rhein-Maas.
The destacking is more complicated than expected, because the cartons are placed on the stacking trolleys following specific criteria. “First of all, we are measuring the temperature of the products and document the results”, explains Gheorghi. “Then we scan the labels on the products and place them on the trolleys sorted by type, length and weight. Working with four different types, two lengths and five weight classes at one trolley is not uncommon. When it comes to roses, there are even more sorting criteria. In addition to the normal criteria we distinguish between products destined for the auction clock and products for the Clock Service. Beneath roses we are also receiving airfreight pallets with Gypsophila, Hypericum and Limonium.”
The experienced employees of the Import department are working with up to 40 destacking places at once in order to work as fast and error free as possible. Legible labels play an important role here. Stefan and Gheorghi favour printed labels, because they offer a fast and clear overview and avoid any problems that might appear with handwritten labels.
Final product check
“After we have destacked all airfreight pallets, we conduct a final check. Therefore, we count the cartons and compare the number with our customs documents and the packing lists that we have received earlier. If there are any discrepancies we inform our colleagues from the different departments so that they can speak directly to customers and suppliers”, says Stefan.
Following the final check, the cartons are placed at the belt conveyors for further product preparation, where the other employees of the Import department start their work at 06:00 am. Stefan and Gheorghi can now focus on other tasks for the rest of the day.