Van der Salm: "We made a clear choice on digitalisation, we are sticking to it"

With much enthusiasm, Wietse Bakhuijzen, who is responsible for sales, presents the activity taking place at Van der Salm Nursery. With the smell of lavender and pine needles in the air, we walk past a huge range of Christmas products, and water circulation systems and also climb onto the roof where there are rows of plants growing. Efficiency and sustainability are clearly important to Van der Salm. But automation and digitalisation are also in the company's genes. Read in the interview how Van der Salm is moving its buyers along in digital ordering in Floriday.

Van der Salm currently averages 200 employees year-round in the Netherlands and Portugal and has also owned a breeding and testing site since 2012. "Through breeding, we try to introduce new varieties and provide the customer with the strongest possible plant", explains Wietse.

Automation is second nature

"Responsible growing is important to us, as such we hold various certifications and make organic choices whenever possible," continues Wietse. "In addition, there is a lot of focus within the company on recycling, both in materials and water." Automation also plays a big role in the company. Not surprising considering that the Van der Salm brothers were already experimenting with breeding robots and planting robots in the late 1980s. They are now using cutting robots in both the Netherlands and Portugal. "From cutting to finished product: everything is handled entirely in-house and is thus produced with the minimum of errors," says Wietse.

At a certain point, we switched to a new ERP system: a customised package by software supplier Aerport. They then linked us to Floriday, enabling us to move away from FloraXchange completely in 2021. Since then, we do all order processing through Floriday. It is the only way for us."

It has not always been without problems, says Wietse. "Not everything in Floriday was working smoothly in the beginning, the platform was not that advanced, and neither were many growers and exporters. We sometimes helped the buyer out by, for example, creating a buying tip or offer for them, which is how we managed to get an order in. And if more help was needed we engaged Floriday's support department, and they then assisted the buyer further. Or they would come back to us, and we would put our heads together again. A solution was always found."

"Floriday provides an overview"

Van der Salm likes working with Floriday. "It's less error-prone and that gives peace of mind. And it saves manpower. We could not enter orders manually now; we simply don't have the people for that. In Floriday you immediately see what is happening, you get an overview of all your orders at a glance," says Wietse. Van der Salm uses various functionalities within Floriday: "Direct sales, contracts, but we also recently deployed Direct Bidding."

There are several people within van der Salm who work with Floriday. Wietse checks incoming orders and monitors whether everything is properly entered in Floriday. "I regularly check how the offer looks: are the photos up to standard, is the product information in the shop and catalogue correct? This is because I often refer to it when emailing customers. As a result, they not only see what they were looking for but also other products from us that might appeal to them. They can then order it at the same time. When we speak to customers, we always try to get them to order online themselves. If customers have not done this through Floriday before, we sometimes send an offer by email to customers, so they can order it quickly and easily. We also arrange everything at the customer level so that we make it as easy as possible for customers to order digitally.

There is no such thing as 'can't'

Van der Salm has a clear corporate vision and does not deviate from it. "In terms of digitalisation, a clear choice has been made. We are sticking to that and putting our all into it, even in the heat of the moment. We are certainly grateful to the customers who join us and invest time in this. This digital way of working allows us to best serve our customers. It contributes to our delivery reliability and service. Much is possible as a result: can't, doesn't actually exist. We look at what the market wants and build on that."

Getting the basics right

Wietse: "My tip for other growers who want to encourage their buyers to order through Floriday? Get your basics right. If your supply on Floriday looks good, it becomes more attractive for buyers to order there. And notify your contacts about your supply on Floriday. Anyone who emails me will always see in my email signature that our supply is on Floriday. One click will take them to Floriday and they can view our range through the shop or the catalogue. That's how we like to help the buyer!"

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