Dutch cooperative and auction operator Royal FloraHolland has postponed the deadline for the rollout of its 100% Digital initiative as the industry will not meet the original timetable of 31 March 2021.
The project aims to ensure that all transactions held in the Royal FloraHolland marketplace are conducted digitally using the new Floriday platform, partly to improve efficiency and reduce errors, but also to meet the requirements of stricter European financial legislation. It was originally planned that all non-digital transactions would be phased out by the end of March, but this has now been delayed as it became obvious that not all those who needed to use the new system would be up and running in time.
In a statement Royal FloraHolland said, ‘The rollout of 100% Digital is more complex than we estimated in November 2020. In order to fully support trade between growers and buyers through Floriday, a push back of the deadline is inevitable.’ A new deadline has not yet been set, with the statement continuing: ‘In the coming weeks, we will discuss the follow-up approach for the roll-out of 100% Digital with various parties in the market.’
David van Mechelen, CFO of Royal FloraHolland, added, “First and foremost, we would like to express our appreciation for everyone’s efforts over the past few months. We also take the signals from the market and from our Members’ Council seriously. We are aware of the impact of the changes on business operations in the garden and among buyers. The changes require care, familiarisation and more time. The success of our customers’ businesses is our focus.”