The Greenery, Europe's leading grower-owned fresh produce specialist, has introduced a brand new Grower Portal, www.greendirect.nl. GreenDirect, which went live on October 2, is an innovative extranet developed by The Greenery and available exclusively its growers, providing them with online access to general, as well as personal, data.
Important components of the new portal include the Remote Supply Prognosis System (AP) and the Remote Supply Registration System (AR)*. The former allows growers to post their predicted long-term harvest (annual plan) and thereafter to post it on a weekly and/or daily basis. This provides The Greenery's sales personnel with clear insight into supply volumes.
With the Remote Supply Registration System, growers are able to give an indication every morning of the amount, quality classification and packaging of products that they will deliver in the afternoon. This information is then immediately saved onto The Greenery's administrative system, enabling The Greenery to ensure improved coordination of supply and demand as well as efficient and timely implementation of logistic processes.
In addition, the growers will have online access to a wealth of information including weekly product newsletters, the product manual, information on quality assurance systems, the facility to request forms, information on issues on safety, as well as grower activity calendars, transportation requests, and opening and delivery times. Up-to-date news and a host of information on the VTN (Voedings Tuinbouw Nederlands) horticultural cooperative will also be included.
A major advantage of GreenDirect is that it allows growers to conduct a number of business activities with The Greenery via their PC and at their own convenience. In addition, the automated processing of data reduces the risk of errors and lowers administrative costs.
GreenDirect is managed entirely in-house and can, by means of a content management system, be operated quickly and simply and kept up to date by different departments within the organisation.
In follow-up phases, other services will be added to the grower portal, such as online ordering of packaging and transport, as well as daily and weekly statements and invoices being made available on-line.
A technical advisor for research and development at The Greenery developed the Remote Supply Registration System. This application received the Computerworld Honors Program Award in June 2002 in Washington in the category for agriculture, environment and energy. It is one of the most prestigious prizes in the field of information technology. Other award winners were from large businesses, such as Boeing and NASA.
Every year, a specially petitioned committee of a hundred directors from leading IT organizations selects the most groundbreaking IT applications. The application rationalises the complex flow of information between The Greenery and its growers.
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