Digitisation in floriculture requires not only technology, but above all collaboration and support. OZ-Planten took that step together with software supplier Adfocom. By using Floriday not just to pick up supplies, but actually ordering from suppliers, the ordering process changed fundamentally. Meanwhile, 95% of order requests are processed this way, with fewer errors and more peace of mind in the organisation.
Floriday spoke to Michael Houwaart, operations manager at OZ-Planten and Martijn Kempen, consultant at software supplier Adfocom about the approach and challenges of implementing Floriday.
© Floriday
Strong partners in floriculture
OZ-Planten, part of the Dutch Flower Group, has been around for over 25 years and exports plants mainly to European countries. The company has a strong presence in Southern Europe and Scandinavia and distinguishes itself by fine-tuned trading and a personalised approach. Adfocom specialises in software for the floriculture industry. For flower and plant traders, Adfocom developed Greenline: an industry-specific solution based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. For customers using Floriday, Adfocom developed an additional integration module for this purpose.
From only collecting supplies via Floriday to ordering from supplies
Michael: "Floriday was already linked within OZ-Planten to our old ERP system, where we only collected supplies. When we switched to the new ERP system Business Central in 2024, it was a logical time to work with Adfocom, to properly implement and link Floriday. So not only picking up the supplies but also making sure that we started ordering based on supplies in Floriday."
Martijn continues: "Business Central is an ERP package that many companies worldwide use with all the benefits that come with it. For this package, we have developed a module specifically aimed at floriculture: Greenline. This offers everything you need to trade; so the integration with Floriday, but also, for example, invoicing and logistics support.
Phased project-based approach
Michael: "For the integration with Floriday, we first started with flowering indoor plants, then garden and indoor plants came into play. There has been good support from Floriday. They have brought us together as an exporter with a leading group of growers. Once these first growers were up and running, we started scaling up and brought more and more growers on board. Because we could do this in phases for each supplier, we could also check: has the supplier set the right delivery conditions?' If not, we — or Floriday — would contact the grower to arrange this. In this way, we were able to switch from the old to the new ordering technology in phases."
Moving on immediately to stickers
Martijn: "Despite some startup problems, we technically tackled the ordering process fairly quickly. However, when you start converting a grower, additional services such as stickers soon come up." Michael: "We order based on our customer's need, and our customers also have requirements in terms of stickers. So do they want a pot sticker or a keg sticker? And what should be written on it? OZ-Planten offers all kinds of possibilities for this, such as a customer logo, a price, a barcode, etc. To implement this more efficiently via Floriday, we at OZ-Planten played a pioneering role in a leading group with various exporters and growers. The aim was to make the sticker process for day trading as efficient as possible, so we provided our input there too. A lot of time went into it, but it is now paying off."
Preferably everything centrally in one package: Floriday
Michael: "From OZ, I want to promote joining the Floriday flow as much as possible; then you have everything centrally in one package. That also makes it easier for a grower. I know from other exporters that they send the order request via Floriday and the growers have to collect the stickers from another external portal, for example. Having the order request and stickers bundled into a single solution is the preferred route for us and is also easier for growers."
Michael continues: "The moment we have ordered from Floriday, we check if stickers are also required, and if the supplier can apply the stickers, we immediately send a PDF with the stickers along via Floriday." The grower then applies the sticker on site. We no longer have to do that and saves us a lot of work in logistics by placing the work at the source".
Getting colleagues and growers on board with a different working method
Martijn: "I think the hardest part of the implementation with Floriday was getting people on board and making sure that information is accurate with the grower. Quite a lot of time went into that. You really need to order differently. In the past it was "I send my order and see if it gets accepted," and now it is actually ordering based on supply, providing faster certainty and confirmation.
Michael adds: "What did happen in the industry was that an internal note was placed on an offer line with the product colour 'red': 'Please supply blue'." That is, of course, the same as ordering red pens from bol.com and adding a comment saying you would prefer blue pens. You may not be able to imagine it anymore, but that is what happened in practice". That also meant running into error messages and having to fix all sorts of things afterwards. This different way of ordering is, of course, something people have to get used to, but in the end it results in a lot of efficiency."
With today's knowledge: taking more time anyway
Michael: "Despite the positive result, in retrospect I wouldn't make two major changes in such quick succession. Five months after the ERP implementation, we already started rolling out Floriday, and that demanded quite a lot from the organisation. We also started with one procurement group initially, but now I would choose to roll it out to all procurement groups immediately. Simply because then several people are involved instead of putting the pressure on a single person. Then you can distribute the burden and knowledge in the organisation much better."
© FloridayPhoto: Michael Houwaart (left) and Martijn Kempen (centre) receive a cake from Floriday's Ruud Schuurman to celebrate the Floriday implementation.
Martijn: "What I am especially proud of is that we have reviewed quite a bit of technology for the Floriday integration and that this was rolled out at OZ-Planten without any problems."
Michael: "I think that thanks to the Floriday integration we now have a much more efficient ordering process, and what we do is right. As many as 95% of our orders are in supply and the sticker process saves us a lot of work in logistics. We also see that Floriday Explorer is an inspiration tool for purchasing to browse the range and put together the assortment. Logistics information is now also available in our ERP, telling us where goods are located, when they arrive, or when they have been delivered.
"I think we are really reaping the benefits of the Floriday integration now and that everyone sees that. By now, everyone has 'come around'."
