The countdown to 100% Digital has begun, so sign up for the Flori2days event on 4 and 5 November!

The year 2020 is a crucial year for the program 100% Digital and the digitisation of the industry. The goal of Royal FloraHolland is to sustainably grow the floriculture industry and connect growers and buyers through Floriday with all parties in the floriculture industry. This is how we, as the floriculture industry, become smarter, more sustainable, increasingly efficient and more future-proof. Laura van der List, Implementation Consultant with Royal FloraHolland, helps growers and buyers on a daily basis to get started with the digital trading platform Floriday. She provides an update on how much of a challenge going 100% Digital is for the industry.

Diede: Can you tell us a little bit about your duties concerning Floriday?
Laura: “I’ve been working for Royal FloraHolland for two and a half years now, and since then, I have been closely involved with Floriday. Recently, I have mainly been focusing on activating growers on to the Floriday platform. In other words, I explain to them how the platform works, and give them advice on how they can best start using it. I do this together with colleagues, among others by giving workshops, both physically and online. I try and take growers by the hand, and give them more clarity with regards to the possibilities, to help them start using Floriday. I'm also going to do this together with my colleagues during our online event Flori2days on November 4th and 5th.

Diede: Where do we currently stand in regards to the linking of growers and buyers to Floriday?
Laura: “The past few years, we, from the onboarding team, have mostly focused on the supply side of Floriday. Partly thanks to these efforts, there are now more than 2,500 growers who actively make use of this platform. The first half of 2020, we had our first major success in terms of demand, the buyer’s side of Floriday. Needless to say, buyers are essential to be able to trade completely digitally. We are noticing that increasingly more parties, both at the supply and demand sides, are seeing the benefits of trading digitally. But there is still plenty of work to be done. The responsibility to act is now truly in the hands of the growers and buyers themselves. They can use their own software package, which will be linked to Floriday or work directly from the screens in Floriday. A new system like that can be difficult to get used to in the beginning, and it also does take a bit of time to set everything up in a such a way that it will save you time in the future. We understand this better than anyone, which is why we want to help with the set-up wherever possible. The Flori2days event is the moment to get to know Floriday and 100% Digital and to get started. During this event the Floriday experts will give several workshops, which we want to encourage growers and buyers to take action and prepare them for 100% Digital. In this way, we want to provide tools to support every type of grower while working with Floriday".

Diede: Why is digitisation and 100% Digital important for the industry?
Laura: “The most important premise is that digitisation is the future. This is not so obvious to everyone. Nowadays, a lot of trade in flowers and plants still takes place over the phone or via email. The world continues to innovate, however, and this can offer so many benefits to trading parties, in any sector. Through our platform it is much easier to connect growers and buyers, and various extra services can be offered that support the trade. This year, we are working with growers and buyers to digitise the entire trade in one go. From my perspective, I can see that growers have a lot of free time, after they have invested time into setting up their catalogue, thinking about price groups and consistently offering their supply online. This saves them time on administrative duties and allows them to focus on other important matters. In addition, the importance of digitisation is no longer in question. All direct trade has to be conform the PSD2 legislation at the end of this year. A transaction at Royal FloraHolland for direct trade has to take place through Floriday. Trade through the Connect EAB will no longer be possible. This year, 100% Digital will not change anything for the clock trade.”

Diede: What can growers and buyers expect during the coming months?
Laura: “We have another quarter to go with 100% Digital. In the coming period, we will continue to host many online workshops, in which we will provide information and give advice to growers and buyers. During Flori2days, growers and buyers get to know Floriday through 30-minute workshops, including all new functionalities. You can choose to connect online for a whole day. You can also divide the workshops over two days. Or you just follow one specific workshop where you want to learn more about. During Flori2days you already have the possibility to follow a workshop about the new contract module for growers and buyers.

Diede: What would you like to pass on to growers and buyers for the coming period?
Laura: “If you are not yet trading digitally for the direct sales and are still using the Connect EAB, take action as soon as possible! It can sometimes be difficult to get started and make changes. But as soon as you start, it will also be more appealing to the imagination. If your software supplier does not have a link yet, you can - even temporarily - already make use of the screens of Floriday. We offer all kinds of support for anyone who has to get used to working in a new system. We explain this clearly in the various workshops that are given during Flori2days. If everyone takes responsibility and truly commits, then I am confident that 100% Digital will be a complete success and we can grow the industry together.”

More information

• Would you like more information on 100% Digital? Check out the website
• Registration for an (online) workshop is available here.
• Would you like support at the nursery? Email support@floriday.io.
• Would you like more information? Please contact the Floriday support team (+31 (0) 174 352070, support@floriday.io).