Neville Stein posted an interesting blog  last week on HortWeek, looking at the recent indications that multiple retailers are such as Waitrose and Next are moving further into the plant market.  Far from being a worrying trend, he argues, this presents an opportunity. But given that margins supplying this market are low, how can growers make such an opportunity work for them?

Here’s Stein’s advice:

The key, if you want to supply this market, is to know your costs down to the last penny. By accurately identifying all your costs you will be able to determine whether the price is right for you. If your costs are too high and you still want to supply this market then you will have to strip some costs out of your business. This might involve implementing a lean management programme to identify waste in your business or aggregating your purchases with a friendly fellow grower to reduce the cost of inputs. It might even mean co-operating with competitors with distribution.

It makes sense – but it’s a major challenge, too. This is why Passfield’s production planning system was developed: for nurseries to have the information they need to plan production efficiently and increase their margins. For example, our grower users are able to plan the time each task should take – and enter actual time at the point of processing. They’re able to manage purchases with such precision that there’s minimal wastage and supplies arrive on time. Sophisticated data analysis allows them to identify and act on bottlenecks, so they’re continually streamlining processes. 

It’s a powerful system – and could help growers grab that opportunity Stein’s talking about, and protect their margins at the same time.