At the time of the merger it was agreed that every supplier and buyer at FloraHolland would be given a unique administration number that could eventually be used for all services at all locations. The procedure required to create these unique FloraHolland customer numbers has now begun. A lot of administration numbers now used at Aalsmeer will change. It is important that you use these new numbers starting at 1-1-2010. Your Customer Number can not be used automatically at all FloraHolland Locations. If you would like to start at a new location please contact your accountmanager at 0031 (0) 174 63 45 58

The merging of the accounting systems at Aalsmeer and the other FloraHolland locations will result in increased efficiency, and this is one of the key benefits of the merger. In order to merge the accounting systems, a unique customer number (administration number) is necessary. The rest of the floriculture chain could also benefit in terms of efficiency from this identification of individual FloraHolland customers.

You can look up the new customernumbers at this page

Even if your customer number does not change, you still need to consider the change of numbers from other Floraholland buyers and growers. For example: when you send an order to FloraHolland Connect you should use the correct buyers customer number in your Electronic Delevery Form (EAB). EAB software will have to be adapted in the course of 2009 in accordance with the specifications and planning of the FlorEcom release round 2 – 2008. This will enable the software to process the six-figure customer numbers. The software suppliers of the growers have been informed of this. Your new number will not actually be used until after 1 January 2010. Please use the information on this website to prepare your business for these changes.

The administration numbers of Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer have been adapted in accordance with the six- figure numbers of former FloraHolland, creating a new customer database with unique customer numbers. As a result only the Aalsmeer supplier and buyer numbers have to be changed.

In the case of overlap, the Aalsmeer suppliers have been given a new number. This new number is very similar to the old number. As the administration numbers of the buyers and suppliers partly overlap at Aalsmeer, most of the buyer numbers at the Aalsmeer location have been changed.

The customer numbers of the suppliers are visible on the clocks, which means that suppliers can be recognised by their numbers. For buyers, plate numbers are used for clock identification. The debtor number is intended for payment purposes and as such is only used in the accounting system. The greater commercial significance of the supply number is therefore the reason for opting to amend the buyer debtor number (administration number) in overlap situations.

At present the new FloraHolland customer number can be used at all the former FloraHolland locations. If a customer does not yet utilise services provided by locations other than Aalsmeer, this number can be activated via Account Management/Relations Management. There is still a lot to do at the Aalsmeer location and within the chain in the coming year. Many computer systems have to be adapted to ensure compatibility with the six-figure numbers and preparations have to be made for the number conversion. From 4 January 2010 the new FloraHolland customer numbers will be used in Aalsmeer as well.

Concentrating the changes at one location restricts the scale of this expensive and complex operation. If this operation were to be executed at all locations, it would be even more complex, the preparation time would be longer, and the project would be more expensive.

During the merger in 2007, the importance of having one FloraHolland customer number for all locations was acknowledged and expressed. However, the realisation of such a system is complex and far-reaching, and at that time there was no available capacity for this.

a) If you do not yet supply goods to the Aalsmeer location but would like to start doing so, you must contact the Account Management/Relations Management office. They will decide whether you can start using your new FloraHolland customer number. If this is not possible, you will be given a temporary supply number for the Aalsmeer location until the systems in Aalsmeer have been modified to process your customer number. b) If you already supply goods to the Aalsmeer location, you must continue to use your existing number and nothing will change for the time being. We will provide you with precise details concerning the transition in good time. The actual number conversion will take place between 31 December 2009 and 3 January 2010.

You can use the new number for the locations Naaldwijk, Rijnsburg, Venlo, Bleiswijk and Eelde and for certain projects such as the Danish Container balance and Webb-Twist. Before the number can be used to supply the Aalsmeer auction, the necessary modifications have to be made. If you wish to begin supplying another location, you must first contact Account Management/Relations Management, who can make the necessary arrangements for you.

FloraHolland releases different kinds of tools for testing the conversion of customer numbers. You will find them here. PLEASE NOTE: The data in the tools is incomplete and only for TEST purposes. The conversion should absolutely NOT be carried out in production environments of software before 31 December 2009. The final versions of these tools will follow later this year.

You can find a list of involved software vendors here. Is your software vendor not involved then you should contact them immediately and inform them about these changes. If you maintain your own software, then you should consider .the information on these pages.

At FloraHolland we are working as much as possible with other parties in the chain who are known to use the FloraHolland administration numbers. In connection with FlorEcom we have made arrangements with the software suppliers of growers and buyers, and FloraHolland is holding discussions with other chain operators such as the transporters, Kissit, and MPS.

At present if you supply (or have supplied) both the Aalsmeer location and the other FloraHolland locations, you have two administration numbers. For each administration number there is a separate accounting system, and these have to be combined under one number. Within FloraHolland careful consideration has been given to the question of how we can switch to the new unique FloraHolland customer number as cost-effectively as possible and with minimum disruption to the smallest possible group of suppliers and buyers. This can be achieved by concentrating the changes at one location (Aalsmeer). This regrettably compels us to make painful choices. All business systems of former FloraHolland and FloraHolland Aalsmeer store (historical) data on the basis of the administration number. For instance, this concerns financial systems, container and auction trolley administration, Connect, clock systems, RI systems, electronic services, etc. In total we are talking about approximately twenty services per location. These systems have to switch to one single number and the data and balances have to be combined. This calls for extensive modification of all these systems. In view of the large scale, the risk of error and the lead time, this process has to be automated in order to minimise inconvenience. The integration process must not be disrupted unnecessarily, so we cannot allow any deviation from the chosen customer number strategy. This would increase the risk of breaking the link with the underlying administrative data and causing administrative chaos, and this must be avoided at all costs. We do appreciate that an administration number can have an emotional significance, but however painful it may be, we cannot afford to deviate from the chosen course. Furthermore, our external relations (such as FlorEcom, group transporters, buyers and growers) also have to introduce changes to their business systems. It is therefore essential that we can rely on a stable customer number database that rests on a clear philosophy.

It is always possible for a supplier to make a restart under a new number. However, you should realise that you will then need to restart all services and that existing accounts will be discontinued. We advise against this for a number of reasons: a) Experience has shown that this causes all kinds of practical problems for you and your customers. b) We are currently in the middle of a meticulous and comprehensive process in which we are informing all internal and external parties about the number changes via conversion tables. This allows them to adapt their accounting systems accordingly without losing any data. Changing to a new administration number in the middle of this process would completely eliminate all connection with your current registration, further increasing the risk of your data being mislaid in accounting systems throughout the chain.

Changes may be necessary in order to send or receive FlorEcom messages with six-figure customer numbers, print or scan delivery forms, or convert the customer numbers in the system. For exact details of the changes, growers and buyers can contact their software supplier, who has been informed about the project by FlorEcom and FloraHolland. You can also find more information about this subject at "Modyfying your companysoftware".

If you still have unanswered questions, please contact your account manager or relations manager or the account management/relations management office. For suppliers: Naaldwijk +31 (0)174-633667 or Aalsmeer +31 (0)297-392857 For buyers: +31 (0)297-398802 From 1 March you can also obtain the latest information on this subject via www.MyFloraHolland.com and www.floraholland.com. This information will be kept up to date throughout the project. For technical questions relating to software, you can call your software supplier or the Aalsmeer Service Desk on +31 (0)297-397000 menu option 2.

All parties within the floriculture chain who actively use auction numbers in their computer systems or business tools will have to implement changes. The extent to which this is required depends strongly on the individual situation. This step therefore calls for all parties to make a contribution, although we certainly expect this contribution to be recovered in the long term due to the greater efficiency of the systems.

Until the last day of auctioning (12-30-2009) you must use your existing customer number. It is important for you to know that things will change and for you to take these changes into account. For example, you should not order large stocks of stationery bearing the old number, as this will eventually be replaced with the new customer number. In some cases it may be useful to state both the old supply number and the new customer number (e.g. on bucket cards or numbered packaging materials). mid-October you can order delivery notes with your new number. Please visit "MyFloraHolland.com" to do so. The new delivery notes will be deliverd to you in December. As from January 4, 2010 you must use delivery forms containing your new customer number and matching Electronic Delivery Notes.(EAB)

No. The integration of the accounting systems of the Aalsmeer location and the other FloraHolland locations is a separate process that will take place individually. The introduction of the unique customer number is, however, an important precondition for this integration.

EAB software will have to be adapted in the course of 2009 in accordance with the specifications and planning of the FlorEcom release round 2 – 2008. This will enable the software to process the six-figure customer numbers. The software suppliers of the growers have been informed of this. Your new number will not actually be used until after 1 January 2010.

Nothing. Existing accounting systems will be converted in accordance with the new customer number.

No. The existing Aalsmeer supply number can only be used at the Aalsmeer location.

No. The classification of a customer group under a certain series of numbers will be discontinued. In principle each new customer will get the next customer number available regardless of the type of customer.

The website PlantConnect.nl will be changed to be able to display the six-figure customernumbers. If you use Plantconnectfiles for downloading information you might need to change your software. You can find more information about this subject at "Modyfying your companysoftware".

No, customer numbers are "at max" 6 figures. There is no need to use a shorter number combined with extra zero's. However for some electronic messages you must use 6-figures. You can find more information about this subject at "Modyfying your companysoftware".

Small differences will be changed by us. If you insist to use different company names at our locations, then you must use separate customer numbers. In that case please contact your accountmanager.