The deadline for 100% Digital of 31 March 2021 has been postponed. After consultation with parties in the sector, Royal FloraHolland has concluded that the speed at which they want to realise 100% Digital is excessively ambitious. They have also discovered that certain functionalities needed to be able to trade completely digitally are missing in Floriday. The need to further digitise does however remain and Floriday as a platform is widely supported by the sector.
FloraHolland understands and isresponding to the criticism and concerns of the market. The rollout of 100% Digital is more complex than estimated in November 2020. In order to fully support trade between growers and buyers through Floriday, a push back of the deadline is inevitable. The signals from the Members' Council weigh heavily in our deliberations.
In the coming weeks, they will discuss the follow-up approach for the roll-out of 100% Digital with various parties in the market. These include the Members' Council, FPC chairmen, the various software suppliers, Blueroots, Plantform (including the flower group), SLB (part of the VGB), VBW and Flora Futura. The aim of these discussions is to determine which functionalities are still needed for users to work with Floriday and what can be improved. On the basis of these discussions, they will draw up a clear phased plan and a timeline in which users and software suppliers are given sufficient time to implement Floriday carefully.
"First and foremost, we would like to express our appreciation for everyone's efforts over the past few months. We also take the signals from the market and from our Members' Council seriously. We are aware of the impact of the changes on business operations in the garden and among buyers. The changes require care, familiarisation and more time. The success of our customers' businesses is our focus. Particularly with the approaching peak period, it is important that they can continue to trade. Floriday is built on the basis of intensive cooperation with groups of growers and buyers. You only notice what has changed or what is missing once you start using it. Digitisation is more than just replicating current practices. It is a complex process that requires significant attention from all parties. It requires a different way of working and thinking. Helping one another is key. We therefore want to slow things down a bit", says David van Mechelen, CFO Royal FloraHolland.
For more information:
Royal FloraHolland
www.royalfloraholland.com