The flowers an exporter buys at the auction are immediately entered into a system which registers all the relevant data for each product including the name of the product grower and the time it was purchased at the auction.

Full traceability

Each product is given a unique purchase number, allowing the exporter to trace the specific characteristics of the product at any time in the process. Should a customer make a complaint, the exporter can check the exact route that the product took and try to determine where any possible error could have occurred.

Quality test

In order to monitor the quality of the flowers, a few stems are put into a vase which allows the quality to be screened per grower and product type. Using this information the exporter can decide to buy the high quality cut flowers from a specific grower, bypassing other varieties from other growers, and to identify the high end products in a very wide product assortment.

In turn these quality control measures provide an extra incentive for growers to supply good products and to continually improve their production techniques. If the tests show that a grower has not done his job properly, the exporter will take the matter up directly with him. This allows the grower to take measures to prevent his products from remaining unsold, due to quality issues, in future.

Vase life check

Increasingly the exporter will check whether the flowers have been harvested correctly by sending samples to a laboratory. Here the flowers are tested to see whether the grower has used post harvest techniques and that they have been done correctly. For example tests are carried out to determine the amount of substances used to improve the vase life of flowers. If a flower has been treated correctly, traces of the medium will be detectable in the stem and the flower bud.

Selection for transport

When the tests have been concluded the flowers are delivered to the customers. An important aspect of this selection involves harvest maturity. The ripest flowers are sent to the customers with the shortest transport time. The freshest cut flowers are intended for customers with longer transport times.

To prevent the risk of damage during transport cardboard boxes are equipped with an anti-slip strip on the base and lid so that they cannot slide around. The packaged flowers are pre-cooled until they are ready for transport in refrigerated trucks.

The journey to the customer

Subsequently the products are driven either directly to the customer or to Schiphol Airport to be air freighted. Each consignment is temperature checked during transport. Trucks and the cargo holds of aircraft are equipped with an apparatus that constantly monitors the transport temperature of the flowers so that they are delivered to the customer in the best condition possible.

• Read more: Maintaining and improving quality