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Floral Industry Ready to Move Forward with Standard Data Protocols
Electronic ordering, receiving and invoicing using product distribution and tracking technologies that transformed the consumer products delivery system are about to become a reality in the floral industry.
Standard data protocols, including the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN, pronounced “gee-tin”) for boxes and the Universal Product Code (UPC) for bunches and bouquets, are now available.
The Floral Logistics Coalition, a consortium of six industry trade associations including SAF, says automation will help trading partners meet market demand and stay competitive.
Used for some time in other industries, the GTIN and UPC are part of an internationally recognized data standard behind bar-coding systems enabling supply chain partners to eliminate redundancies, reduce manual labor and minimize the chance for human error in the distribution process. Their implementation can help cut cost and error out of the floral supply chain, speed delivery and, ultimately, make a fresher and more consistent range of product available to the consumer.
“The entire floral industry needs to get on board with this quickly,” said Jim Wanko, executive vice president of the Wholesale Florist & Florist Supplier Association. “It can directly impact our ability to compete with other consumer goods.” Suppliers and wholesalers unable to conduct business electronically may soon find it difficult to do business with mass merchandisers, supermarkets and possibly some larger retail florists, Wanko said.
The Floral Logistics Coalition has been working for more than two years to define, test and refine the coding strategy so that the industry can move forward on the Floral GTIN Initiative. Best practices for box labeling, UPC item labeling and synchronizing data are being worked on by industry-wide committees.
The Coalition has created a website — www.floralgtin.com — as an online resource for growers, importers, distributors and their trading partners. On it are step-by-step implementation instructions, the full GTIN Implementation Guide, and a timeline designed to have the system operating by the middle of next year.
The Floral Logistics Coalition is made up of six industry trade organizations including the Produce Marketing Association (PMA), Wholesale Florist and Florist Supplier Association (WFFSA), Association of Floral Importers of Florida (AFIF), California Association of Flower Growers and Shippers (CAFGS), California Cut Flower Commission (CCFC), and the Society of American Florists (SAF). Also involved is GS1 US, the organization which oversees the international supply chain standard in the United States.
Industry members with questions about the GTIN Initiative should visit www.floralgtin.com or contact their respective organizations.
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Spring Pack Trials Excursion for Greenhouse Growers
A bus trip for greenhouse growers is being planned to next year’s California Spring Pack Trials from April 9 -13, 2010. Dr. Mark Bridgen of Cornell University, along with Dr. Brian Krug of the University of New Hampshire, Dr. Roberto Lopez of Purdue University, and Dr. Neil Mattson of Cornell University, have organized an intense, educational trip to several of the key Spring Trial locations. The trip is designed specifically for greenhouse growers and other horticulture professionals.
The trip itinerary is jam-packed; the days begin early and continue at a fast pace late into the evening. Attendees should plan to arrive on Friday, April 9 and will stay at a designated hotel near the San Jose Airport. The journey begins at 7 a.m. on Saturday, April 10, when the bus departs from the hotel. That first day, the group will visit Golden State Bulb Growers in Watsonville, Syngenta Flowers/Goldsmith Seeds in Gilroy, Speedling (along with exhibitors Thompson & Morgan, GreenNex USA, Hem Genetics, MasterTag, Plant Source International, and Schoneveld Twello) in San Juan Batista, and Sakata Seed in Salinas. Participants will stay in Salinas on Saturday night.
On Sunday, April 11, the day will begin with a 2 hour bus drive to San Luis Obispo, where the first stop will be Dummen USA. After a short drive to Arroyo Grande, the group will visit Greenheart Farms. The last stop of the day will be in Santa Barbara where the participants will visit Jiffy along with their exhibitors Northern Innovators, Skagit Gardens, and Florist de Kwakel.
Monday, April 12, will be a busy day beginning with the bus departing at 7 a.m. and driving for an hour to PlantHaven. Following this stop, the group will arrive at Ball Horticultural Co. in Santa Paula where displays of PanAmerican, Ball FloraPlant, Kieft Seeds, and Selecta varieties will be featured. Lunch will be hosted by Ball. In the afternoon, Green Fuse Botanicals in Oxnard will be visited along with GroLink. If time allows, the last stop of the day will be in Somis, CA to visit Suntory.
Participants will spend Monday night at a hotel in West Hollywood, CA. This hotel is conveniently located midway between the Los Angeles (LAX) airport and the Burbank Airport. There is a shuttle service and taxi service to both of these airports from the hotel.
This package trip includes the cost of first class hotel accommodations for four nights from April 9-12, bus transportation from San Jose on the first day to West Hollywood on the last day, lunches for 3 days, and experienced guides. Participants need to arrange their own transportation into San Jose on April 9 and out of West Hollywood on April 12, and cover their own dinner costs. A travel agency is available to assist with these reservations (go to the website listed below). The cost of the trip will be $450 per person in a double room or $720 per person for a single room. These rates are based on 47 participants and will be adjusted slightly if minimum capacity is not met. The trip is subject to change and may be canceled if minimum capacity is not met.
**Space is limited** Register by January 29, 2010 to reserve a seat on this trip. For on-line reservation, go to www.concepts.us.com and click on Event Registration at the bottom left of the site. Be sure to go to the site labeled: Greenhouse Growers Spring Trials 2010. If you have questions, contact Dr. Mark Bridgen at mpb27@cornell.edu or at 631-727-3595.
This group trip to the 2010 California Spring Pack Trials is a new, one-of-a-kind venture for growers! All greenhouse growers and floriculture professionals are invited to attend. It is an opportunity to meet fellow growers, breeders, and other plant company representatives to share ideas, update your understanding of what’s happening in our industry, and travel with trained professionals.
Getting better SLOWLY
The latest from Bill Conerly, www.ConerlyConsulting.com. Click on each graph below to enlarge.
Charts are in PDF at: http://www.ConerlyConsulting.com
Sustainable Sites Initiative releases landscape guidelines
The Sustainable Sites Initiative has released the nation’s first rating system for the design, construction and maintenance of sustainable landscapes, with or without buildings. It was developed through a partnership of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the U.S. Botanic Garden. The initiative’s rating system represents 4 years of work by the country’s leading sustainability experts, scientists and design professionals, as well as public input.
“While carbon-neutral performance remains the holy grail for green buildings, sustainable landscapes move beyond a do-no-harm approach,” said Nancy Somerville, exec. v.p. and CEO of ASLA. “Landscapes sequester carbon, clean the air and water, increase energy efficiency, restore habitats and ultimately give back through significant economic, social and environmental benefits never fully measured until now.”
“We are facing unprecedented environmental challenges such as water scarcity and climate change that require fundamental changes in the way that we interact with the land,” said Susan Rieff, exec. director of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at Univ. of Texas at Austin. “This voluntary rating system and guidelines covers all aspects of working with outdoor spaces of all sizes, and provides information for designing landscapes that go beyond beauty to actually improving ecosystem health and the health of communities for generations to come.”
The rating system works on a 250-point scale, with levels of achievement for obtaining 40%, 50%, 60% or 80% of available points, recognized with one through four stars, respectively. If prerequisites are met, points are awarded through the 51 credits covering areas such as the use of greenfields, brownfields or greyfields; materials; soils and vegetation; construction and maintenance. These credits can apply to projects ranging from corporate campuses, transportation corridors, public parks and single-family residences. The rating system is part of two new reports issued from the initiative, “The Case for Sustainable Landscapes” and “Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks 2009.”
To test the rating system, the initiative opened a call for pilot projects in conjunction with the release of the rating system. Any type of designed landscape is eligible, so long as the project size is at least 2,000 sq. ft. The call will remain open until Feb. 15, 2010, and the initiative will work with and oversee the projects during the two-year process.
HT: Garden Center Magazine
Existing home sales take off
From the September existing home sales report:
- Existing home sales jumped 9.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million units from 5.09 million in August. That was the highest since July 2007.
- Single-family home sales gained 9.4%, while condo and cooperative sales rose 9.7%. By region, sales climbed across the board. They were up 4.4% in the Northeast, 9% in the South, 9.6% in the Midwest, and 13% in the West.
- The raw number of homes for sale dropped 7.5% to 3.63 million units from 3.924 million in August. Supply was down 15% from a year earlier. The months supply at current sales pace indicator of inventory dropped to 7.8 from 9.3. Single family inventory dropped to 7.6 from 9, while condo inventory fell to 11 from 12.1.
- The median price of an existing home fell 1.4% to $174,900 from $177,300 in August, down 8.5% from $191,400 a year ago.
Of course, there are logical reasons for the increase. Soon the tax credit will expire, and that combined with stabilization in the broader economy and cheap home prices drove sales to the highest level since 2007. The overall supply of used homes for sale is also steadily declining, an encouraging trend considering that new home inventory has already dropped steadily. Of course, there is some concern about the lag effect. Clearly, some buyers purchased a home this summer because of the tax credit. Unless that credit is extended or expanded, we’ll see a slight reversal in the coming couple of months. I don’t think it derails the overall recovery, but it will be noticeable.
Lean flow workshops scheduled
Another topic that I have worked into a number of presentations lately is the need for growers [when looking to reduce costs during the downturn] to implement a lean flow event at their operation. I am sure that you have seen the articles in the trade press citing various nurseries and greenhouse firms who have gone down that path, but I too can vouch for the fact that I have yet to talk to a single operation that has not benefited greatly from a lean flow analysis. In fact, most growers become lean flow disciples (of sorts) after seeing the results.
So a recent email blast by FlowVision caught my attention and I thought I share the learning opportunity with you. If you are interested in learning more about lean flow, check out these November workshop offerings by clicking here. No, I am not receiving a kick-back but I am a believer given all of the success stories I have heard. Here are some of the documented benefits:
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Lead time reduction |
Creation of working capital dollars |
Floor-space reduction |
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Productivity improvement |
Less Stressful Peak Seasons |
Shrink and dump reduction |
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Increased Growing Capacity |
Defined and Predictable Processes |
Highest ROI in Shortest time |
Identify Your Employee's Hidden Talents
Today’s Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business was pretty good, so I thought I’d share:
In today’s economy, finding external talent to fill your company’s needs isn’t always possible. Nor is it always necessary. By paying attention and asking the right questions, you will likely discover many hidden talents among your existing employees:
- Turn a compliment into an interview. When congratulating an employee on a job well done, ask exactly what helped her succeed. By better understanding her process, you may uncover an unseen strength.
- Ask why employees prefer certain tasks or projects. Preferences can be a view into someone’s talents. An employee might enjoy a project because it involves a product she cares about or because it gave her a chance to design surveys. Knowing which will possibly uncover talents.
- Inquire about dreams. Ask your employees what they would do if they had their career to do over again. Peoples’ dreams often include an aspect of themselves they don’t regularly share.
Dry for a reason
Those who have heard me speak before may recognize the following statistic from some of my recent talks: 43% of the 920 greenhouse growers in the state of Georgia are no longer in business. Pike’s Nursery, who had long defined retail lawn & garden activity in the Atlanta metro market also suffered the same fate. This, of course, came in the wake of [what I thought] was one of the most severe droughts (2005-2007) the Southeast has faced in a while. Knowing all of this made the recent blurb in the newsletter for the newly branded Southeast Color Connection even more interesting:
We might have all thought they were the worst conditions possible, but according to researchers at Columbia University, the drought that gripped the Southeast from 2005 to 2007 was not unprecedented and resulted from random weather events, not global warming.
The published report (click here) examined population trends, data from weather instruments, computer models, and measurements of tree rings, concluding that the drought was “pretty normal and pretty typical by standards of what has happened in the region over the century,” said Richard Seager, a climate expert at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
Census figures show that in Georgia alone the population rose to 9.54 million in 2007 from 6.48 million in 1990, and Douglas LeComte, a drought specialist at the Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service said the new report “makes sense.” Although Weather Service records suggest the 2005-07 drought was the worst in the region since the 1950s, LeComte said. “We have had worse droughts before. I am not going to criticize any governments for what they did or did not do,” he added. “But if you have more people and the same amount of water storage, you are going to increase the impact of droughts.”
Not good news for those of us hoping this drought was a freak occurrence or something that could be prevented, but it is a good reminder that times are changing…industry professionals alike should be prepared for the next drought with internal water conservation measures, drought-tolerant product offerings, and customer education literature.
“Water is the next oil”most pundits are saying today. Without a doubt, preserving and conserving our most important natural resource is imperative for green industry firms today. That’s why we developed the recent webinar series on water quality, conservation, and management. We had a lot of folks join us for that series, but if you happened to miss them, you can listen online at the Ellison Chair website (click here).
90-year supply of natural gas at current consumption rate
From MIT Technology Review (click here):
Experts now believe that the country has far more natural gas at its disposal than anyone thought three or four years ago. The revised estimates are largely due to advanced drilling techniques that make it economically feasible to extract the fuel from shale. And while the Marcellus is the most recently discovered and possibly the largest shale-gas deposit (covers PA, NY, VA and OH), others are scattered throughout the country.
The U.S. consumes about 23 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas a year, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency (EIA). The Potential Gas Committee (PGC), an organization headquartered at the Colorado School of Mines, put the country’s potential natural-gas resources at 1,836 TCF in a biennial assessment released in June. That’s 39% higher than its estimate of two years earlier. Add to that the 238 TCF that the EIA has calculated in “proved reserves” (the gas that can be produced given existing economic conditions) and the PGC pegs the future supply at 2,074 TCF.
In other words, there is enough natural gas to supply the country for 90 years at current consumption rates. Even if we used natural gas to totally replace coal in generating electricity, domestic supplies would last for 50 years.
Natural gas offers advantages over other fossil fuels. It burns cleaner than coal, producing much less carbon dioxide. Since coal-fired power generation is responsible for a third of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, replacing at least some of that coal with gas could significantly reduce such pollution. And using natural gas to replace gasoline and diesel fuel in vehicles could reduce the country’s reliance on foreign oil.
“It doesn’t matter what the exact number is,” says Mark Zoback, a professor of geophysics at Stanford University. “The numbers are all so big it means we have an extremely large domestic resource that is going to play a significant role in the country’s energy future.”
The availability of vast natural-gas resources in the Marcellus shale and similar sediments around the United States has changed energy calculations in a fundamental way. The discovery of this large and seemingly economical new source of fossil fuel has surprised even geologists who have spent their careers studying the shale. Little wonder, then, that policy makers and politicians are just beginning to try to figure out what the discoveries mean.