FloraHolland prides itself on being a reliable business partner. That is possible only if the reliability of the traded products and the information provided is guaranteed. And that is the task reserved for the Quality Control Service. Inspection of the product and the information provided before auctioning, assistance to growers, repeat inspections and customized inspections are part of that task.
BI and the bonus norm. What’s it all about?
Standard BI at FloraHolland as of July 14, 2011
At the end of 2010 we informed you about the planning and implementation of a standardised Reliability Index (BI) system at FloraHolland. By harmonising the BI and bonus norm systems, FloraHolland’s inspection and quality policy can be carried out in a more equal and balanced manner. Read the newsletter.
Product clustering
The basis of the BI calculation is usually the supply of cultivars within one product group (such as Rose and Tulip). A number of smaller product groups have been combined for the BI calculation. Suppliers with a broad and diverse range, in particular, can get their BI for a 100 lots much more quickly by using product clustering rather than product type. The updated product clustering table has been compiled on the basis of VBN’s crop level and market and growers’ data. The new standard product clustering with product groups will be phased in at FloraHolland from 1 December onwards. From mid-2011, product clustering will also be introduced to FloraHolland Aalsmeer together with the standardisation of the BI and bonus system.
Click for more information on:
- New tabel on product clustering 2011
- Standardised BI system and bonus norm
- Questions and answers
Higher Reliability Index (BI) Wrong info, higher fee
You as a supplier are responsible for providing supply information of quality and sorting specifications (grading codes for length, weight, maturity/ripeness stages,stages of opening) correctly. The only thing you need to do is provide the right information for the products, as set out in the product specification. Provide an honest indication of the quality, stem length, weight, etc. If you have provided incorrect information on your products, this means extra work for corrections.
‘Violators’ will therefore be charged for the extra work by means of a penalty. The penalty, known as the BI correction, must be increased to cover costs.
Read more in the International suppliers Newsletter of December 2009.
Electronic checkpoint
The inspection is done through an electronic checkpoint (ECP). That’s basically a laptop on which the quality inspector can retrieve the supply history (recently-made agreements, corrections) of a grower. This method guarantees an extremely efficient inspection.
Before the auction corrections are processed in the clock information. You, as grower, get the correction information via the day statement.
Customized services
For clock suppliers who would like extra assistance or guidance, a customized service has been set up within FloraHolland. This is in order to improve the reliability of the supplier and his products for the clock. The same applies to intermediary transactions. Commissioned by the intermediary organization, supplier or buyer, the Quality Service regularly conducts inspections of the delivery specifications made by the parties. This is done to give the buyer the certainty that the specifications he wants are indeed being met in what is actually supplied.
Durability testing
FloraHolland has extremely modern, ISO-certified research facilities in Aalsmeer, Naaldwijk and Rijnsburg. Here you can have your products tested. That will give you information, for instance, about the (internal) quality of your product during transport, in the shop or at the consumer.