100% Digital. Qualily: “Brace yourself and make sure that you are ready!”

A number of growers have been preparing for 100% Digital for some time. Qualily is also working hard to meet the requirements of 100% Digital by the end of 2020. In this interview, Qualily discusses the process, challenges and benefits it brings, as well as of course their experience of it!

Can you give us a little background information about your company?

Qualily grows lilies at several locations in the Westland region of the Netherlands. We produce a total package of lilies that we market under the Qualily label, including both fragrant, large-flowered lilies and non-fragrant varieties. Our dedicated team of 30 enthusiastic people grows 15 million lilies annually. Qualily has a central hub at Royal FloraHolland Naaldwijk, from where we organise the logistics and 24/7 delivery of orders. Our focus is trained on the wholesale market (florists) and we supply all varieties to the clock daily, as well as engaging in direct trade. Quality, continuity and reliability are the trademarks we aspire to in everything we do. 

Are you currently doing business using Floriday?

We work with a Greenmaster software package and use that to fill Floriday. The functionality we need for our trade isn’t yet available in Floriday. As long as we feel that Greenmaster offers us more functionality, we will not migrate.

Which functionalities in Floriday would you like to use this year? Or what kind of functionalities would you like to see in Floriday in the future?

It would be nice if we can make sure that Floriday can be comprehensively linked to the software packages already out there. We and other growers are working hard to achieve this so that in time we can meet the requirements and get onboard 100% Digital. This should be the focus. 

What do you think are the advantages of 100% Digital?/What benefits do you experience from 100% Digital?

Many of our flowers are already traded digitally, so we have plenty of experience. We intend to start using the purchasing tip and hope that it will swiftly gain traction among customers. Ultimately, it’s important that orders are confirmed immediately so that the supply is always real-time. I do still have my doubts, because the purchasing tip may actually involve more work. If we allow buyers to determine from whom they want to receive orders, invoices and messages, so that we can dispatch without confirmation, then I think that might be a good solution. In addition, 100% Digital requires less data-entry, so that’s going to save us time. 

Why is 100% Digital important to you/your company?

100% Digital is important to us because it enables us to comply with European laws and regulations and to always maintain a clear insight into forecasts, stocks and sales. These things are going to have a positive impact on trade. 

Which things do you have yet to change to comply with 100% Digital?

Digitally, Floriday still has a fair way to go. I’m curious to see whether they make it. Everything will have to function flawlessly and the links within our environment have to be correctly set.

What are your expectations for the future?

I think that in the future, we are going to move increasingly to demand-driven production. We will have to look carefully at customer demand and immediately deliver accordingly. The clock will have to become digital nationwide and include today-for-tomorrow to make things affordable, efficient, environmentally friendly, sustainable and logistically smart. If everything related to 100% Digital goes according to plan, then my outlook is favourable. However, everything will have to fall into place. It’s a rather ambitious objective.

What benefits will digitisation bring to the horticulture industry?/What is the most important benefit to you?

The greatest benefit to growers is that you have less work to do and a swift overview of what’s going on. As a result, you can divide your time differently and devote it to other important aspects of your company and doing business. 

As far as digitisation is concerned, what would you like to share with your fellow growers? 

Brace yourself and make sure that you are ready! Ultimately, we will all have to join the digital revolution of our sector, so that we can keep pace with the new world.