Expanding the range with Floriday Daytrade: 'More choice for our customers and new opportunities for growers'.

Kobitex, an established name in the export of flowers and plants to Italy, sees Floriday Daytrade as a valuable addition to its sourcing strategy. With Daytrade stock, Kobitex can now offer its customer base of over 140 garden centres, florists and small businesses an even wider and more varied range alongside the existing Auction Presales stock. A win-win situation for both buyers and growers.

One-stop shop for customers in Italy

Kobitex has been active in the floriculture sector since the late 1960s. What started out as a commercial nursery grew into a specialist export business with a permanent team in Honselersdijk and six representatives in Italy. Machiel Rijsdijk, joint owner of Kobitex: “Our customers order from us quite infrequently and expect a one-stop shop when they do place an order,” explains Machiel. “From cut flowers to dried, potted plants, labels, packaging and decorative materials, everything is custom ordered and delivered direct to the customer.”

Kobitex uses several integrations with its software package. They use the API link to Floriday for their direct trading. For Auction Pre-Sales purchases, they currently still use the VMP (virtual marketplace) interface. For flowers and plants, about 70% are purchased directly from established growers and the remaining 30% are through Auction Pre-Sales and now Daytrade offerings. “That mix makes us versatile and means we can offer our customers something new every time.”

Daytrade makes stock dynamic

Kobitex recently discovered Daytrade stock on Floriday. The stock was recently added ti the range of items made available to customers via the VMP interface in their webshop. “For us, Daytrade enhances our product offering,” says Machiel enthusiastically. “We are seeing new stock included in Auction Presales that we would otherwise not be able to supply. End customers in particular appreciate this: they increasingly need something new and more exclusive, which is not available everywhere. In addition, Floriday Daytrade offers growers an opportunity to market their products more widely and reach new buyers."

Efficient interfacing with VMP

The success of Daytrade hinges on a reliable link between systems. For this, Kobitex uses a VMP interface which is connected directly to their webshop. “This basically works very well, but we have learned that details such as accurate delivery times are crucial. Customers want fast delivery, so information has to be correct. Thanks to Floriday and our software supplier working well together, any teething problems have largely been resolved.”

Advice for growers and buyers

Kobitex sees a lot of potential in Floriday Daytrade, provided the whole chain takes advantage of it properly. “Our advice to growers? Don't hesitate, make your products available on Daytrade. There are some good opportunities here, especially for growers looking to reach new buyers. For example, try Naaldwijk and Rijnsburg first if you cannot start in Aalsmeer yet. There's little risk involved.”

Machiel also has some clear advice for other buyers: "Dare to experiment with Floriday Daytrade. It really adds value for your end customers and makes your range more dynamic.”

Looking ahead

Machiel is confident about the future: "We see Florida Daytrade continuing to develop and more and more growers joining. In the future, it will be important for software vendors to enable this in their software packages. However, it is important that everyone involved has their processes in place so that delivery and communication run smoothly. Only then can we, working together, achieve the chain's full potential.”

“This new business opportunity propels the entire floriculture chain forward, not just ourselves. The broader and more dynamic the product offering, the better we can serve our customers – and at the end of the day, that's what matters.”