Feb. 5, 2014, Abbotsford, BC — Van Belle Nursery has re-designed its Youngplants shipping method to give customers a competitive edge when producing finished containers.
Drawing from the principles of lean manufacturing, Van Belle's FloGo Shipping System saves labour, reduces freight costs and eliminates waste.
"We've been investigating different ways we could improve how we ship to our partners throughout North America, and we're excited about the benefits FloGo offers," said Diego Martinez, Van Belle's Youngplants grower. "We're always very focused on producing great liners, but we also want to give our customers value in every part of the experience they have with our product."
Van Belle has already experienced three main benefits to using the FloGo system:
- Labour savings: Liners arrive de-potted. Customers who have tested the FloGo system report that not having to de-pot the liners helps save anywhere from one to four people on their potting lines.
- Lower freight costs: Redesigned box size, a move to standard size pallets and the space saved by shipping pot-less allows Van Belle to ship more plants in the same space.
- Waste elimination: Pots are removed prior to shipping, then sterilized and re-used.
Van Belle will continue to offer the classic waxed box shipping option this spring, however the company noted that its positive experience with FloGo thus far is a good indicator that this may become its primary shipping method in the future.
Print this page
