How Verdnatura delivers fresh products at the best possible price

How do you ensure your customers can count on fresh flowers and plants, a wide assortment and competitive prices? For Spanish wholesaler Verdnatura, it all starts at the source. The company sources flowers and plants from around the world and continuously looks for the best combination of product, price and logistics. Digitalisation, and Floriday, play an important role in this. 

Verdnatura is a Spanish wholesaler of flowers, plants, cut foliage, and other products for florists. From its headquarters in Valencia and locations in Madrid and Barcelona, the wholesaler serves customers across the country. The company is expanding: Verdnatura is active in Portugal, France, and Northern Italy, and now also sells in the Netherlands. 

But no matter which market Verdnatura serves, ultimately it always comes down to the same ambition: “Our mission is to provide our customers with everything they need for their store: top quality, the widest assortment of products, and everything that entails,” according to Ximo Llopis, Purchasing Manager at Verdnatura.

The best price for the freshest product

To live up to that promise, Verdnatura looks beyond just what is available at any given moment. Where does a flower come from? How quickly can it get to Spain? And through which route can that be achieved at a competitive price?

Ximo Llopis: We always want to offer the best possible price for the freshest product. That is why, in our approach, we also look at the actual origin of the flower. The company works directly with suppliers and sources products from other parts of Europe, Africa, and North and South America, in addition to the Netherlands and Spain. Floriday helps the purchasing team quickly find the right opportunities within that wide supply range.

That freedom of choice is important. After all, with fresh products, availability can change due to factors such as weather conditions or other cultivation issues. A diverse supplier base helps Verdnatura to continue serving customers even then. Through Floriday, the company can easily find new products from existing suppliers, as well as discover new suppliers. 

Sourcing directly from Kenya

About two years ago, the company began investigating whether it could source flowers directly from Kenya. Through Royal FloraHolland, Verdnatura was given the opportunity to visit nurseries in Kenya in person. The team met new suppliers. Purchases are now being made directly via the supply offered on Floriday. With the help of logistics services that consolidate shipments and arrange transport, flowers are now purchased directly from Kenya on a weekly basis.

Floriday supports this process. Verdnatura uses Explorer to search for specific products, see which existing or new suppliers offer them and identify new purchasing opportunities. This helps the team compare products, availability and suppliers across different sourcing regions.

From purchase to sale in minutes

Speed in the process is essential for Verdnatura. That is why Verdnatura has extensively digitalised its procurement process. Purchases made through Floriday are directly integrated into Verdnatura's systems. Ximo Llopis: “As soon as a purchase is made via Floriday, we know within 10 to 15 minutes exactly when the product will be available for sale here in Spain.” This means purchased products can be offered to Verdnatura's customers almost immediately.

That means Verdnatura does not have to wait until a product has actually arrived in Spain. It significantly reduces waiting times. A customer wishing to plan ahead can access the purchased products in real time, even before the goods are physically present here. 

Knowing what you're buying

Reliable product information is also important to Verdnatura. After all, photos, specifications, and features do not only help the wholesaler with their own purchasing decisions, the information also helps Verdnatura clearly show its customers what they can expect. 

Ximo Llopis says about this: “A customer who purchases regularly needs transparency regarding the product. You shouldn't just tell the customer what they want to hear; the customer needs to see the product's actual characteristics. That is what we see through Floriday: quality standards and accurate descriptions. This allows our customer to determine exactly what they are buying. For who knows better than the customer themselves what they need?”

According to him, that transparency must ultimately extend beyond the purchaser themselves. Ensure that the information is available not only to you but also to your customers, so that they too can make the best decisions. 

Purchasing in five years' time

The international flower and plant trade is far from having fully digitalised. “Where will we be in five years’ time? No one knows. What is clear to me, however, is that trade needs to become increasingly digital and automated.” To scale up the entire purchasing and sales process, it is essential that every part of the supply chain digitalises, not just us. The further this digitalisation progresses, the lower trade barriers can become and the more efficiently the process can run.

Discover the possibilities of Floriday

Floriday supports buyers in various ways with the digital purchasing of flowers and plants. View the options and solutions for buyers here.