Assortment and Import Management

The Assortment and Import Management looks back to a very successful year 2017. The amount of sold imported cut flowers has increased by 2.45 percent compared to 2016. The daily work of the Assortment and Import Management ensures that there is always a deep and wide assortment of imported cut flowers available at Veiling Rhein-Maas. Especially in the second half of 2017, the customers of the auction were strongly interested in high-quality cut flowers, most of all in roses. Therefore, the Assortment and Import Management is looking for new high-quality rose suppliers if the growing demand cannot be fulfilled with existing suppliers. Furthermore, the successful introduction of ‘Fair Trade’-roses, ‘Premium Quality’- ranunculus and gypsophila contributed to a satisfying year. The customers of the auction assessed these products as reasonable and attractive extensions to the portfolio of Veiling Rhein-Maas.

Visit in Israel
Uwe Bedenbecker (Managing Director of Veiling Rhein-Maas) and Guy Kosman (Area Manager Import) visited several suppliers, breeders and main exporters in Israel from 22 to 27 October in various locations ranging from Northern Israel to the western Negev Desert. At the same time, contact to several potential new suppliers has been established.

‘The visit in Israel showed once more the high quality of flowers, the excellent logistics in the warehouses and the high standard of professionalism of Israeli growers. We had the opportunity to discuss and share experiences, analyse market trends and developments with our suppliers and describe the quality requirements of Veiling Rhein-Maas at first hand’, says Uwe Bedenbecker.

Africa visit
From 3 to 14 December 2017, Hans Peter Riskes (Team Manager Assortment cut flowers) Jos van der Venne (Assortment Import) and Jac Vallen (Area Manager Import), visited various suppliers in Kenya and Ethiopia.

The aim of the trip was twofold: On one hand, current African rose suppliers of the auction were visited and the international market place Veiling Rhein-Maas was also presented to several potential rose suppliers. On the other hand, intensive training on cultivation, grading and packaging was provided by the employees of the auction, in order to increase suppliers’ sales and to improve customer satisfaction.

Source: Veiling Rhein-Maas