We are visiting Quattro Plant, exporter in plants. A household name in the industry for more than 13 years. We will be talking to Bente Budek (purchasing supporter) and Rinze Schaper (account manager sales) about the importance of good product photos and the correct product information.
The customers of Quattro Plant are dispersed all over Europe. And beyond that, they are exporting more and more plants as well. To properly supply these customers, a good purchasing- and sales process is essential. Rinze: "Our sales are largely through our webshop. The products are retrieved real-time from Floriday through the API-link. Customers search the webshop for the desired product and place their orders there. These orders are collected and at fixed times we transfer them to the growers. Whereas previously all orders for growers were done via phone, email and Florecom messages, 70% now go through Floriday's purchasing dashboard."
Desire to retrieve and place orders through Floriday
The aim is to have everything linked through Floriday, so in addition to retrieving the product also placing orders automatically. Work is being done together with software vendor Advisor to make this possible. Until then, Rinze and Bente have been working a lot in the Floriday Explorer and growers' stores to place orders . Rinze: "The Explorer works very well. Big advantage is that you see right away how many items the grower has available. You can then buy them immediately. You can see the periods attached and prices for 3 weeks from now". Of course, there are also wishes for Floriday. Rinze: "At Quattro Plant, we work with our own carts. We cannot now pass these along in Floriday. For this purpose, we sometimes still call the grower afterwards, asking them to put them on our own carts. It would be nice if it were supported in the future".
Product information in order
As a purchasing supporter, Bente focuses on assortment management and supply in Quattro Plant's webshop. "When buyers ask for a particular product, I go and find out if we can offer it. I search for the desired product and approach the growers. Then the product is included in our webshop. The quality of the information with the product, which we forward to our webshop, is essential in this regard. I check on a daily basis whether the products that are in the webshop are correct."
Correct product photos
Especially important are current photos, availability, correct VBN codes and the correct packaging. Rinze: "Customers really buy based on the photo in the webshop. If the customer receives a thinner plant than was shown in the photo, this will be disappointing. The photo just has to be correct and realistic, otherwise the product will be returned. This causes a lot of headaches and costs money". Ideally, Quattro Plant would like to see a clear photo of the entire product. And what happens to product lines without a product photo? Bente :"Those are not sold at all. Customers never order products that do not include a photo. When we see this, we immediately contact the grower to adjust it. This is often picked up quickly."
Availability
In addition to the photo, availability is also an important part. Rinze: "We get everything in via the API link. If it later turns out that it is not available, you, as a salesperson, have to communicate this again to your customer. And our customers in turn pass that on to their customers. Ultimately, 3 to 4 links in the chain suffer if it turns out that a product is not available after all. Because the carrier also takes this into account. You can often find another alternative, but it saves a lot of trouble and time if availability is correct. Growers should be alert to this."
Product information
In Quattro Plant's webshop, customers often search based on a number of product features. These are included in the product lines from Floriday. Bente: "If a grower has linked the wrong VBN code, the item will have different properties. In the webshop, this product will then not come to the fore when searched for." In addition to the correct VBN code, transport height and packaging are also important. Rinze: "If the transport height is not correct, it affects the planning of logistics. A few centimetres too big doesn't seem like much, but out of 100 carts, it can easily make a difference of 1 or 2 carts. If these are then not scheduled with the carrier, things still go wrong. Fortunately, we see many growers taking this into account. And if it differs, this is often included in the comments via Floriday as well. In this way, Quattro Plant always works well with their growers for an optimal process.
Reporting missing products
It has recently become possible in Floriday to create a notification for products where something is missing. Bente makes great use of this feature. "Before, I would take screenshots and send an e-mail to the relevant grower. Then I had to keep track myself of whether it was updated. 9 out of 10 reports in Floriday are handled well by growers and updated the same day. This is then passed on correctly in our webshop. This saves me a lot of time".
One place
From Quattro Plant, they like to work towards operating from a single digital system. Rinze: "By linking to Floriday, we all operate from one system. Then all the information is recorded in one place, and it is clear to everyone. With our growers we are already well on our way, but also have important steps to take. If that succeeds, it will save us all a lot of time and energy."
Also want to get your products in order?
- We'll be pleased to assist you! To support growers in getting their products in order in Floriday, we have developed a white paper that offers more insight into what it takes to get these products in order. Download this white paper here.
- Do you need extra help with this? We organize workshops where we explain step by step how to do this in Floriday. Sign up!
- You will also find more information at this page.