The preparation areas for Holland's twelve flower sales centers (FSC) are jammed with a dazzling array of flowers before six A.M. From the observation hall you can't even taken in the whole panorama with one look. White, black, greenish blues--every color known to man (or just about, anyway). These flowers are the gifts of thousands of Dutch flower farmers to the world. And getting them out to the four corners of the globe depends on Holland's unique sales system.
The name "The Netherlands" translates literally to "The Low Country." Much of it is below sea level, and soil basicity is high, making it inhospitable for crops. So early on the local farmers took to flowers. But not without obstacles.
The biggest obstacle was exploitation by the middlemen. As Ir. J. van Doesburg, Chairman of the Flower Council of Holland, explains, in the past farmers knew little of the market; traders specializing in sales had wide contacts and abundant information and could often claim that supply exceeded demand to depress prices and farm incomes. Farmers, however, had no alternative.
To try to secure adequate rewards for their labors and change from the principle of "exploitation" to one of "fair profit" for traders, the farmers created a comprehensive sales system combining R&D, production and sales, and quality control, and built around the FSC.
Members of the FSC are all growers; all of their flowers and plants are to be sold through the FSC.
The auctions which begin at 6:30 are the most obvious display of the smoothness of the sales process.
Growers box or wrap their flowers the night before or in the pre-dawn hours of the sales day, and must be at the FSC by six. The flowers are divided by type and numbered. Experienced inspectors then make reports on any defects and enter these into a computer for the reference of the buyers. This helps maintain credibility.
The Aalsmeer Flower Auction is the largest in Holland--and in the world. Adrienne Lansbergen, responsible for public relations, tells us that Aalsmeer sells 43 percent of all Holland's flowers. The auction has six sales areas and thirteen "clocks." Each area gets certain kinds of flowers. Each of the three hundred seats for buyers is equipped with a microphone, button, and ID card reader.
Anyone can be a buyer just by registering at the FSC, from the roadside vendor to the international trading company. All compete equally. And the volume can vary from one unit (ten or twenty flowers depending on the type) to hundreds.
The flowers are brought into the room, the report on them read out, and the auction begins! But this is not, as usual, from the low bid to the high, with the last bid taking the prize. Here "clocks" numbered from 1 to 100 start at the top and count down. The first person to press their button and stop the clock is "top bidder."
This system saves tremendous amounts of time; one deal is made about every three seconds. Buyers, seated in front of the stage where flowers are displayed, have their target price and products already set. But competition is still intense, because no one wants to let the other guy grab off the best flowers.
This system is also completely open. The volume, quality, and prices are known to all. The buyer does not know who grew the flowers and the growers do not know who will buy them, so it is nearly impossible to manipulate prices.
After winning the bid, the buyer then uses his mike to tell FSC personnel how much he/she wants to buy. This information is entered into the computer. The flowers are sent to the buyer in about ten minutes and the buyer pays in cash at the end of the day's trading.
Growers pay five percent of receipts and buyers pay a transaction fee to pay the costs of the hardware, software, and administration of the FSC.
The flowers are sent to the buyers' packaging plants. They are usually pack-aged in boxes or bunches of twenty. Great care is taken to avoid damage to the flowers. About twenty percent are put in temperature-controlled trucks for shipment to domestic retailers; the other 80 percent get sent to the airport with foreign destinations. Flowers can reach any major U.S. city in 24 to 36 hours, and Japan in 48. Now that's efficiency!
In order to maintain quality, the FSC's and the Dutch government invested together to establish control stations. Every ten days the level of bacteria in the water used by growers is checked; if it exceeds the limit, the grower is given a warning and a time limit to rectify the problem. "We demand zero tolerance," says Dr. Tjeerd Reitsma, director of the Research Station for Floriculture.
The flowers undergo microscopic examination. Within ten minutes the FSC has a FAX of the data; unsatisfactory flowers are rejected.
The research station undertakes research according to growers' requests--thousands of projects a year. Results are made publicly available. The station is currently focused on the environmental impact of biological and chemical technologies and of the widespread establishment of greenhouses.
As for the development of the R.O.C.'s Pin-chiang market, Doesburg suggests that every new system will have bugs in the early stage. If you want to attract more growers to join, you must raise administrative efficiency; decisions must be clear and quick. He also suggested that all growers and buyers, large and small, must be given equal respect. Everyone must have the right to speak. The more democratic the organization becomes, the better its progress will be.
[Picture Caption]
Buyers can stop the clock--they sit prepared to seize the right moment to win the bid.
A typical day at the flower market--flowers as far as the eye can see.
About 90 percent of Holland's flowers are grown in greenhouses, so they can be grown all year round.
Holland's growers do most of their production by computer to chop costs.
Dutch flowers have put down roots throughout the globe, earning 3.6 billion Dutch guilders a year.
Aalsmeer Flower Auction: Basic Data
● The largest flower sales center in Holland, accounting for 43 percent of flower sales there.
● Sells 12 million flowers and one million potted flowers daily; sells three billion flowers (including 900 million roses) and 270 million potted flowers a year.
● Has 1100 employees; including exporters, packagers, and other related occupations, it accounts for 8,000 jobs.
● Can close 50,000 deals a day through computer.
● 750 meters in length, 400 meters in width, with an area equivalent to 50 soccer fields; the largest commercial structure in the world.
● 2,000 large and small trucks and containers leave the Auction daily.
● 250,000 visitors annually.
Buyers can stop the clock--they sit prepared to seize the right moment to win the bid.
About 90 percent of Holland's flowers are grown in greenhouses, so they can be grown all year round.
About 90 percent of Holland's flowers are grown in greenhouses, so they can be grown all year round.
About 90 percent of Holland's flowers are grown in greenhouses, so they can be grown all year round.
Holland's growers do most of their production by computer to chop costs.
Holland's growers do most of their production by computer to chop costs.
Dutch flowers have put down roots throughout the globe, earning 3.6 billion Dutch guilders a year.
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