Many decisions are made by experienced experts in the floriculture sector. In addition, the decision-making process is increasingly data-driven in our sector. The combination of data analysis and human domain knowledge creates new possibilities and insights. Each organization within the sector has its own data. By itself these data are insufficient to gain insight into, for example, market developments or defaulters within the sector. That insight is obtained when you share data in these areas. That is exactly what Floridata has been doing successfully since the beginning of 2014. We talked about this Dutch company, its growth and the latest developments with Wesley van den Berg and Sophie Eveleens.
Alternative to HBAG
Until 2014 HBAG collected debtor and export information. HBAG was discontinued, but the need for these services remained. Bert Buis was one of the initiators who wanted to establish Floridata and received positive reactions. Soon he managed to get key players around the table and there proved to be enough support to get started. Floridata participants now represent 75% of export revenues and this percentage continues to grow. Besides new participating traders, growers and breeders are now also joining. Not only the number of participants is growing, but the services package is also expanding.
The export figures published by Floridata constitute an important part of their core services. "The export figures and insights by sales channel offer participants the opportunity to benchmark performance with the sector," Wesley indicates. "Something sensible can only be said about the growth of one’s own organization when it can be compared with the growth of the entire sector." Next to this market information Floridata also provides insight into import flows and practical import information.
Bert Buis and Sophie Eveleens
Debtors
Another important core service is providing credit information. Participants can ask Floridata for unlimited accounts receivable reports. These provide information about the debtor, particularly the purchase and payment behavior. This was one of the tasks of HBAG in the past, which transferred its accounts receivable history to Floridata in 2014. This history and the high coverage rate in the sector results in the platform having very extensive and current accounts receivable information. At the time of the HBAG no information was recorded on domestic debtors. Currently the payment behavior of 18,000 domestic debtors are already known at Floridata. Based on these data, we can provide our participants with accounts receivable reports. Floridata also acts as a warning system. They often signal problems much sooner than the trader and then proactively alert the participant. Additionally Floridata receives notifications of participants in case of a delivery stop or direct debit. Involved parties are immediately informed based on these problem notifications. Further defaults are therefore often avoided and the problem debtor is prevented from shopping around for other suppliers.
Credit limits
Floridata has made agreements with the three largest credit insurers: Atradius, Coface and Euler Hermes. Sophie: "This is a great benefit for our participants and much use is made of it. Because of the extensive accounts receivable history and insight into payment behavior, our information is seen as highly reliable by credit insurers and we may extend credit limits." Once Floridata issues a credit limit on an accounts receivable report, the debtor is immediately insured up to maximum €25,000. This of course only applies if the participant is insured with one of these credit agencies.
Sustainability scan & Floridata Analytics
Recently Floridata has begun offering two new services. The platform has launched a tool with which procurement sustainability can be measured. Participants can use this free of charge. It allows them to gain insight into the sustainability of their purchases. This information is provided by vendor, country of origin and product group. The tool also enables convenient selections! "With these insights participants can make effective decisions towards more sustainable procurement," Sophie says.
Bert Buis explains more about the initiative in a short video.
Floridata’s newest service is Floridata Analytics. In most companies there is insufficient knowledge and capacity for a thorough data analysis. Hiring a specialist agency or consultant is often expensive. Floridata now offers participants the opportunity to hire data analysis capacity. They want to make this accessible and therefore offer competitive rates.
This is mainly about analyzing the data sets of the organizations and answering specific internal issues. “Every organization has a lot of own data. More data are generated during daily operations than the organization is aware of," Wesley says. The data analyst gladly thinks along about opportunities to answer internal questions and possibilities with existing data. Wesley: "Participants apply this, for example, to calculate process optimization, improvement projects, branding and sustainability. In addition, as a 'Trusted Third Party' we also offer benefits in terms of chain collaboration and research into a more robust trading chain. We can unlock results irreducibly, so that the organizations can share the results without gaining insight into each other's data."
Reliable
For the participants it is important that information is dealt with confidentially. The data often contains competitive-sensitive information. Floridata indicates that the confidentiality of data has the highest priority. The information of the platform is not traceable to any individual participant and is never shared with others without consent. Floridata is a non-profit foundation. In addition, an independent board has been appointed from outside the sector. A Supervisory Board has been set up with a lot of care, to represent the interests of the participants. The members of this board are, deliberately, from very diverse organizations.
Pride
In short, the scene at Floridata is a busy one and you wonder how many people work there. Sophie: "The platform is highly digitized, so we can handle things with a compact team. This week our colleague Nikita returned from maternity leave. That's great given the expansion of our service package and the growing number of participants. Lately we’ve been on the road a lot to present Floridata and to raise more awareness of our services. We’re certainly active and it is a nice place to work; Floridata is a young organization that provides support to a well-established yet dynamic sector in a changing time."