Attention to quality and customer experience

In the run-up to a digital auction – where physical products are no longer always present at one of our locations – reliable product photos and information become even more important. That’s why we worked together with growers and buyers to improve product information, product photos, the Quality Index and the complaint process.

Where necessary, we’ll be helping growers to improve the product information they provide. In this way, growers having difficulty with this are supported in providing proper product information themselves (including the correct product photos).We are also improved the current Quality Index. This is the indicator on the clock front indicating the reliability level of a grower. We are going to incorporate the data from corrections made to supply information.

Even if there is the option to inspect the product and the product information is correct, things can still go wrong. To enable us to handle your complaints quickly and efficiently, we are unifying the complaint process across the three export locations and making it easier to submit a complaint.

We are working with growers and buyers to improve the buying experience. This will allow buyers to have greater confidence in the product information that growers provide. And growers will have an increasingly better and more reliable marketplace where they can differentiate themselves based on quality, sustainability and reliability.

Improved complaints process
The process for submitting a complaint was different at each location until now. In addition, the process was considered overly complicated. Therefore, a number of buyers in Naaldwijk were chosen to test the submission of complaints via WhatsApp. In addition to the necessary details about the complaint, buyers can also send photos. This will allow complaints to be handled quicker. The test was a success and this process will be rolled out further in the near future. We will start the deployment in Naaldwijk and later extend it to Rijnsburg and Aalsmeer.

In Aalsmeer, the buyer no longer needs to come to the desk to submit a complaint but instead employees from the Product Claims department go to them. They currently only do this for the first complaints of the day to reduce the peak traffic at the desk. However, this will soon be available to all buyers. With this change, we hope to better serve the buyers in Aalsmeer.

RFH photo: an update
Plants growers can now use RFH photo: the app with which they can easily make high quality and reliable product photos.

Plant growers can now take high quality photos effortlessly and rely on the automatic check of the clock front photo to ensure that the photo rules are complied with. In addition, they can take and provide several photos of each product, which will allow them to better inform potential buyers of the product offered. With RFH photo, an automatic link is made between the grower’s photos and their supply via Floriday.

Flower growers can also use the app. We are currently working on improving the algorithm for the photo rules for checking the clock front photos. This will allow flower growers to rely on the advice of RFH photo.

Buyers will soon also be able to use RFH photo: this will allow them to view product photos of the auctioned and next to be auctioned products on a second screen in high resolution. Buyers can currently view the additional photos in FloraMondo.

Want to see our progress so far? Or do you have some feedback for us? Attend one of our demos. Keep an eye on this page to see when the next demo is.

The renewed Quality Index

Suppliers are responsible for providing correct product information. We do help them to improve the product information they provide. The Quality Index serves as a tool for this. For buyers, the Quality Index helps with the selection and purchase of their products. They can better assess which supplier is reliable and what risk they are willing to take when purchasing products.

The current Quality Index is based on the number of complaints received by suppliers on auction batches in the past eight weeks. One claim is not included in the calculation as standard. However, a large proportion of the complaints are caused by a relatively small group of suppliers. If, in the table below for example, we only consider growers with a C-score, it appears that they only supply 6% of all batches but cause 34% of all complaints. This is not however clearly reflected in the current Quality Index.

In order to demonstrate this insight more clearly, we are working on a new Quality Index. The renewed Quality Index shows what percentage of the batches is delivered by a supplier without errors. This percentage is based on the number of discrepancies in delivery information that growers received on auction batches in the past 62 weeks. That is therefore a much longer period than the current Quality Index. These discrepancies may have been noted both before the auction (through quality checks) and after the auction (through complaints).

Suppliers who deliver less than 50 batches in 62 weeks will not be scored. This concerns approximately 0.2% of the batches offered. In September, we will tell you more about our approach to rewarding growers who almost always supply faultless products and penalising growers who generate a lot of complaints.

Inspection and improvement

The vast majority of the supply information provided is correct and reliable. A lot, therefore, is actually going well already. However, the supply information and the photos are often still incorrect or not representative. And in absolute numbers, this still involves many batches. This causes plenty of problems for buyers.

Every day, before the auction starts, our inspectors specifically check for possible irregularities such as quality and grading characteristics and product photos. If an irregularity is identified during an inspection, the inspectors update it so that we can show the correct information on the clock front. After the auction, we contact the supplier. Together we are working to reduce incorrect and irregular supply information.

We will continue to support inspections for the time being
Inspections will continue to be possible for the time being with some practical changes. Since we are making our logistics process more efficient, the products will soon no longer be shown in the auction sequence. To help buyers find their inspection items more easily, we will announce the position of the products. Inspection can take place up to 30 minutes before the start of the auction. We are working on a solution for the future.

Workstation for buyers
We find it important to offer a good workstation to buyers who are visiting our locations for buying. We are consulting with buyers to determine the essential features of a buyer’s workstation. The buyers survey revealed that buyers find it important to have an overview of the auctions in the auction room, to gain a feel of the market and to inspect the products. Seeing the physical products at the auction is also important to them. With the further digitisation of the auction, this makes product photos and correct product information even more important for making purchasing decisions.

We are researching how we can continue to support buyers when trading at our locations. However, the results of the survey give us a lot to go on.

Using the (Dutch) dashboard below, we’re providing you with monthly statistics on the reliability of product photos, product information and the number of complaints.