Royal FloraHolland: The Dutch Floriculture Supply Chain

Description

In January 2016, the program director of Royal FloraHolland and a supply chain consultant met to develop a supply chain strategy that would allow Royal FloraHolland to adapt to the changing competitive environment that jeopardized its business model. Royal FloraHolland was the largest floriculture auction organization in the world, selling more than 30 million flowers and plants daily. Located in the Netherlands, Royal FloraHolland was a co-operative owned by 4,500 growers. A century-long tradition, where buyers purchased flowers and plants through the Dutch flower auction clock, was being threatened. Pressures facing Royal FloraHolland included emerging global competition, industry consolidation, and customers bypassing the auction process to buy directly from the growers. The two supply chain experts considered opportunities and challenges that lay ahead for the organization.

Learning Objective

This case is suitable for an elective course in supply chain management or logistics, in an undergraduate or MBA program. It can also be used in an operations course as an introduction to supply chain management. After completion of the case, students will be able to: ·explore issues related to supply chain strategy in the context of an evolving global competitive environment; ·discuss the evolution of the Dutch flower cluster and the unique features of its supply chain; and ·evaluate the centralized coordination, industry collaboration, and declining price auction clock for one of the world’s most interesting supply chains.

Keywords

Globalization Logistics Supply Chain