The opportunities and possibilities of a single packaging unit sticker

In the floriculture chain, placing stickers on orders is essential to the processing of the products further in the chain. Many different types of stickers are used for this. ‘Not ideal’ according to many growers. That is why at Floriday, we are looking into introducing a single ‘sector sticker’ which growers, buyers and their customers can use to organise processes more efficiently. Which possibilities does this provide for growers and buyers? We spoke about this with Danny van Bergen-Henegouwen, Purchasing Director of FM Group.

The flower branch of FM Group purchases around 13,000 trade items annually from 125 growers with whom they have a long-standing relationship. More than two thirds are purchased directly and one third via the auction. At FM Group, 78% of what comes in leaves the same day, 15% the following day and only 4% the day after. What sets FM Group apart is that they can make large volumes small for their long-standing customers and process them at a rapid pace. At the location in Aalsmeer, approximately 4,000 to 4,500 packaging units are processed per hour. Theoretically speaking, a lorry could be fully loaded every twelve minutes. This happens a few times a year, on public holidays and Mother’s Day. The conveyor belt is 125 metres long and has 25 side lanes with spots for customers (large and small).

Labour-intensive sticker process

The lots that arrive at FM Group often already contain a barcode of the supplier, usually at lot level. FM Group places a sticker – at packaging unit level – over this. The conveyor belt then reads which customer this is for and pushes it out at the right spot, for the right customer. Danny: “In our current process, each packaging unit needs its own unique barcode with a destination. As a result of this, the conveyor belt knows where it has to push out which packaging unit. At present, we check the trolleys that arrive at our company on the basis of a transport receipt. We check the order of the products on the trolley and print stickers that we then place on each packaging unit from the bottom right to top left. This is an essential but also labour-intensive task within our total processing process. If you look at this process and start dreaming about which efficiency improvements are still possible by collaborating more in the chain, then great solutions are possible in the future.”

The current set-up at our company is still very visual, but soon if employees scan a sticker, they will immediately be able to see where the trolley has to go. We are not set up for that yet. That can be achieved if we work in a uniform way and an extra sticker may still ultimately be needed for the internal distribution at the buyer.”

Specifying the contents and order of the trolley in advance

Stef Visser, developer at Floriday, states that it should be possible for the grower to specify the contents and the order of the trolley via Floriday. “A grower doesn’t have to know precisely which sticker will be placed on which packaging unit. It is primarily a verification system. This is something we want to implement with Floriday. The way in which we do that of course depends on how this is entered by the grower (in the case of direct trade), but also by the auction itself (in the case of auction clock transactions). In the case of direct sales, buyers can in principle determine how they want to have the trolley composed and send this proposal to the grower. Danny states: “As long as it is clear subsequently how the trolley is composed. This means part of our work will be transferred to the grower; we need to discuss with each other whether the grower should therefore receive remuneration for this.”

Extra information with ASN

In the future, Floriday will offer the possibility to provide an Advance Shipping Notice (ASN) with the transaction. This means that a prior notice of shipment will be sent to the buyer including information about the composition of the trolleys. At present, we use the current DESADV notice for this. Stef adds: “We wish to expand the ASN in such a way that the buyer can specify how the trolleys need to be composed.” Danny states: “ASN will help us even more when the grower place the products on the trolley soon and creates an ASN. This will work even more efficiently for us if the order of this is correct. In addition, it will also help if the order of the trolley for the auction deliveries (via Floriday) is visible for the auction and the buyer.

Tip!
It is already possible now in Floriday to add stickers to transactions confirming receipt of lots with buyers. Growers can find this under ‘additional services’. Buyers can then place this on top of an order and select stickers in the shopping trolley. View this in the Helpcenter (growers) > Customers can also send sticker instructions to a grower. Buyers can add a PDF document herein, select the types of sticker, number of copies and include instructions.

Follow-up

Together with FM Group, we are looking into a test situation in order to see whether a single sticker format can be implemented for the growers at which FM Group purchases. If you are also interested in the possibilities of a packaging sticker linked to Floriday, please contact our implementation specialists via support@floriday.io or +31 (0)174-352070.

More information

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