All Saints’ Day is a day off in Brazil, but this year the IT staff of Veiling Holambra had to work. We were rebooting all our systems in preparation for the introduction of the electronic delivery note. I can hear you think: ‘Didn’t they have that yet at Veiling Holambra?’ No, we didn’t and that was mostly because of governmental regulations.
We had to get special permission from the São Paulo state government for the use of a digital delivery note. Because the delivery note is also considered an invoice in the state of São Paulo. Tax officers have to be able to check it during transport.
It has cost us a lot of time and effort to convince the government that our electronic process would run smoothly and that they would still be able to check all our information any time. We even had to submit a video demonstrating both the old and the new process! But finally, our members and the cooperative will now be able to benefit from the advantages of an electronic delivery note.
You won’t find any software suppliers such as AntEater, SDF, Novasoft or Priva here, though. Our cooperative had to develop everything in-house and we will manage the system ourselves. At least it saves on time discussing all the different package options with various companies. I once was project leader in electronic administration myself in Aalsmeer, back in 1996. That’s 21 years ago!
Is our auction so far behind? Not really – we’re very innovative in other fields. In the next couple of weeks, we’ll present a great plan to our members with regards to the development of our digital platform. Members will be able to vote on the proposal during the AGM on the 23rd of November. So, I can’t say much about it at this moment, other than that I’m very excited about it, just like our Board and management team. As far as our digital platform is concerned, we’re definitely not behind!
All Saints’ Day went well by the way. It’s a real peak period in Brazil. Our sales were good this time, too. There was even a shortage of potted chrysanthemums. It was clear that the shops were also doing good business. It isn’t just potted chrysanthemums that are popular. Kalanchoe is becoming more popular for All Saints’ Day, too. Flowers and plants are given a more prominent place at the entrance of the supermarkets these days. Consumers are learning that they can buy good quality plants and flowers for a reasonable price there.
The next couple of weeks at Veiling Holambra will be all about the upcoming AGM. Our annual plan for 2018 is looking good. We are ready for the future. Cooperative Veiling Holambra is in good shape!
André van Kruijssen,
CEO Veiling Holambra
