Digitalizing the floriculture sector will get a serious boost now that Royal FloraHolland and FloraXchange have joined forces. The global marketplace for flowers and plants took out a controlling interest in the FloraXchange platform.
This cooperation marks the starting point of the creation of one single digital platform for growers. The platform will result in global trading in the floriculture sector to become more accessible and simpler, and hasten the process of much-needed innovation.
These past few years, the two companies have been working separately at digitalizing floriculture, each using its own systems. As a result, growers often have to enter the same data twice, which is undesirable. The cooperation will lead to an integration, step by step, of all modules a grower uses from both FloraXchange and FloraMondo. The best modules from both systems will be used to create a new global platform where growers can manage their product offerings, orders and logistics. This goes for growers of flowers and growers of plants, as well as members and non-members of Royal FloraHolland.
The platform will be called Floriday.io. Growers can access different trade channels via Floriday.io, such as FloraXchange and FloraMondo. Eventually, a grower should have one single dashboard with which he can sell his products in several ways, be it the auction or direct trade.
The cooperation between the two companies will take the shape of a joint venture. This joint venture won’t only set up Floriday.io, but will also seek collaboration with exporting companies in order to further develop the FloraXchange channel. The plan is to turn it into the ultimate channel for trading companies that conduct direct trade with growers
An important goal is to improve the interface between FloraXchange and the systems of the exporting companies. Royal FloraHolland, on the other hand, is going to further improve FloraMondo. This trade channel will focus on the auctioning of both flowers and plants.
Independence
While FloraXchange is evolving and improving, it’s very important this trade channel doesn’t lose its independence and the business models of the exporting companies remain intact. Therefore, the joint venture is convinced that a further digitalization of the floriculture sector can only be successful when the trading companies have a real stake in the trade channel. One of the first things to do is to agree upon – and to put in black and white – who owns the data and in what way the data can be used.
Royal FloraHolland and FloraXchange already regularly met up to talk about connecting the different systems they use. At the end of 2016, Royal FloraHolland presented its digital strategy, in which the cooperative stays it intents to invest more in digitalization. This cooperation is proof of that intention. Gerhard van der Bijl, CDO of Royal FloraHolland: “As a global marketplace we are convinced that we can offer all growers and their clients better and quicker digital trading opportunities. Joining forces with FloraXchange is an important step towards realising that goal. We can use each other’s knowledge, resources and connections to boost trade in the floriculture sector.”
“Ever since we founded FloraXchange we’ve been striving for more efficiency in the floriculture sector by improving the link-up between grower and buyer. A year ago, we decided to change course and become a more open organisation, in the interest of floriculture as a whole. The talks we held with Royal FloraHolland have convinced us that the interests of the exporting companies are safeguarded too. The joint venture feels this is a requirement if you want to significantly improve the sector”, states Martijn van Andel (FloraXchange).
