SK Roses on 100% Digital: "If everything runs digitally in the future, a lot of work will be taken off our hands"

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

Can you tell us a little more about your company?

SK Roses BV is a family business and active in the large-flowered rose-cultivation sector. We currently have 6 hectares of Avalanche + and 0.5 hectares of Lovely Avalanche+. We grow between 30 and 35 million roses annually. The roses are processed by 65 production employees, daily, all year round. Our roses are sold through various sales channels with a distribution of 60% direct, 37% on the clock and 3% Clock Presales.

Are you currently doing business using Floriday?

Yes, we are. Since January, SK Roses has been entering supply into Floriday and we have been using the platform. Together with other growers, we work with the 100% Floriday leading group. Together with other growers, we are working towards the objective of working 100% digitally by the summer of 2020 and supplying a number of large customers entirely using Floriday. This is well before the end of the actual deadline (2020), but we want to prepare our company well in advance.

Which Floriday functionalities are you currently using?

• Clock Presales prices. We have enjoyed this function. It is clear and easy to use.
• Managing supply lists in Floriday and putting them online.
• FloraMondo links. Ultimately, Floramondo will no longer be supported by Royal Floraholland and everything will go through Floriday. Some customers are currently leaving Floramondo and ordering through Floriday.

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

We would like to link our internal stock system to Floriday. This would allow us to manage our stock in Floriday in real-time and subsequently distribute it in a targeted manner across our various sales channels. Olsthoorn Automatiseringen’s package should make it possible to talk to Floriday. Furthermore, Floriday should make it possible to refresh this information every minute. Olsthoorn Automatiseringen expects to have the necessary adjustments ready in November.

What do you think are the benefits of 100% Digital?

All our customers and potential new customers have access to our entire product range through 100% Digital. Not only can they see information about the products they are already ordering, but also about qualities with different maturity codes or roses delivered in a non-standard way. It also makes it easier to keep track of our stock in real-time. All sales channels that we currently have and use will soon come together in a single system. This will make it much easier for us to manage the stock. In addition, it will also reduce the chance of errors. All orders are digitally processed and registered, which means fewer manual actions will be necessary. In the future, when transporters start connecting to Floriday, Floriday may even be able to serve as a platform to track & trace orders.

Why is 100% Digital important to your company?

80% of our direct orders are currently processed by telephone, e-mail and Whatsapp. This generates a lot of extra work, risk of errors and haggling over prices. If this were all done digitally, a lot of work would be taken off our hands. It is also important to be digitally visible to potential new customers. It makes it easier for the customer to have a better overview.

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

We ourselves no longer need to change very much. Our own system has been designed to process digital orders. Most work has to do with supporting our customers. They face many changes and not all of them are ready to work digitally. Supporting these customers is our main focus and something in which we are investing a lot of time!

As far as digitisation is concerned, what advice would you have for your fellow growers?

Start right away and be well prepared. We are currently in the phase where we as growers can still have specific adjustments carried out. Making adjustments will be more difficult if we begin switching en masse only once everything is already up and running.

More information

• Please visit our 100% Digital page for more information
• Sign up for one of our 100% Digital or Floriday workshops
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