“You used to be able to sell everything by the pallet, but nowadays that is no longer the case. There is much more of a fragmentation these days. My German customers now rather buy small amounts every day of the week instead of one large order. However, this is a development that has been in the making for a while already.”
This was said by Aart Hak, who has been working as an exporter on the German market since 2003. With his company I.F.P. Holland, which stands for Independent Fresh Partner, he wants to supply his customers with a wide variety of products in an independent way. “I go to the market every day to look for the best products of the highest quality without having to import or produce them myself. This means I am not depending on any suppliers or (large) clients whatsoever.”
To Aart, Germany is the most important market. “The German importer/ wholesaler is our biggest clients, but he does manage to keep on improving his connection to the Netherlands and the rest of Europe. For instance, products that used to go through the Netherlands are now directly being shipped from Spain to Germany.” A lot has changed since he started all the way back in 2003. “Not only has the trade fragmented a great deal, but the product range has greatly expanded. I would like to say that you can’t dig down any deeper than that. Many of the products these days are called ‘specialties’. You can still make a name for yourself in that segment if you have everything going for you and have your product ready in time to unload it on the market. Most of the time, logistics are the biggest challenge. Eventually what matters most is that the customer gets what he has ordered and that it is delivered on time.”
Completely cooled warehouse
Recently, I.F.P. Holland has been investing in a warehouse of their own. The warehouse has been completely renovated in the past few years, both on the inside and outside. “Now we own a completely cooled warehouse with great loading capabilities. That is needed in order to be able to process orders at maximum efficiency. We buy new products every day, but every night our warehouse is almost empty. That is a way of working I can wholeheartedly believe in. At the same time, however, it is also a very intense game.”
The game is called trading and it involves a lot of trusts. When you are a somewhat smaller exporter, this becomes even more important. “I rarely have customers that only come to buy once in a blue moon. The customers we have come in nearly every day. The relations we have with our customers go way beyond just taking their order. Because you end up seeing them every day, you end up really bonding with them. Our greatest strengths are our service, dependable deliveries, and our great attention to the quality, and of course, having fun with each other is also very important. A German would say; ‘Klein aber fein’. Small but mighty, and that’s just the way it is!”, Aart decides.
This article previously appeared in the 4th edition of the 33rd volume of the AGF Primeur trade journal. See www.agfprimeur.nl.
For more information:
I.F.P. Holland Ltd.
www.ifpholland.nl
Aart Hak
aart@ifpholland.nl