After extensive enquiries into the market situation and RFH’s position in the floriculture industry, the ACM has approved the collaboration between Royal FloraHolland (RFH) and the transport companies De Winter, Van Zaal and Wematrans. This means the companies now have the green light to set up logistical services provider Floriway. The ACM found that there is sufficient freedom of choice for both trade and logistical service provision in the floriculture industry.
What Floriway offers
Floriway will be an independent transport company that delivers logistical services for ornamental plants or flowers. Floriway's competitive edge will be to offer both convenience and service, and to be linked to the digital marketplace Floriday in due course. This will mean that the logistics settlement and the transport can, if so desired, be organised simply and quickly at the push of a button. This will be a fully integrated process. The flowers and plants will be picked up and delivered at the time and place that customers wish. Customers can use track & trace to track their orders.
Growers, buyers and retailers will all be free to choose whether to use Floriway's transport services or not. There will be no obligation at all to do so, not even when delivering to or picking up from a RFH location.
Why Floriway?
Floriway will allow RFH to optimise a larger section of the floriculture logistical chain. By combining transport flows for direct and auction flows, we can organise transport and logistical activities from the nursery in a smarter way, as a result of which time and kilometres will be saved. This will also help make the sector more sustainable.
Steven van Schilfgaarde, RFH's CEO, is delighted that Floriway can now officially be launched: "As a B2B (Business to Business) service provider, RFH wants to support our growers and their buyers in their business operations and further assist them. Since we are a cooperative, it is our job to achieve optimal pricing at minimum cost for our growers. As a cooperative, when you organise transport jointly with several transporters then you are able to carry this out more effectively and to provide a better service too."
Under our own steam
Toon Vos, future general manager of Floriway, says: "Floriway is there for growers, buyers and retailers. Our background as transporters means we are close to the marketplace. Floriway stands for personal and close by; we are a real floriculture specialist, and together we have a lot of knowledge of the market and experience in the sector. This is why I am very pleased that Floriway's management will consist of the transport companies' former directors and myself. Growers and buyers can rest assured that the transporters involved will continue to serve their own customers and that the existing agreements with transporters will remain unchanged. Customers will be able to continue using their preferred transporter in the future too. We want to win customers under our own steam. Our large combined vehicle fleet means we can respond to each customer's wishes quickly and flexibly."
In the coming months, nothing will change for the customers of the different transport companies. As of today, Floriway will start integrating the different companies. In time, these companies will start operating under the new name Floriway.
For more information:
Royal FloraHolland
www.royalfloraholland.com