Germany has been the most important sales market for Dutch greenhouse vegetables. These days, these vegetables are almost always available year round, but that does not mean that the start of the traditional greenhouse vegetable season is not the reference point for exporters of greenhouse vegetables to Germany. As soon as the availability of the Dutch product increases, demand in Germany will follow. That has been a certainty for years. There is always demand for Dutch product. What is remarkable is that the orders are increasingly diverse and the stock in the entire chain is getting smaller.
Eric Groenheide, one of the sellers at P. Solleveld Export B.V.: "Germany really is the market for us". The company celebrated its seventy year anniversary last year, and is traditionally aimed at the German market. Last winter it was a bit more quiet at the office and in the shed in Maasdijk, as usual, but now that the start of the Dutch greenhouse vegetable season is finished, the shed is filled every day with fresh product, most of which are greenhouse vegetables. "It does not matter for our customers how big we are, as long as we provide quality work, and show that we are a reliable trading partner."
Quickly process diverse orders
They have been able to do this successfully for years with their own brand Natura which is specially aimed at Germany, which Solleveld uses to sell bell peppers and eggplants. Eric: "This brand is rock solid. But our assortment is much broader than this. We can supply all possible greenhouse vegetables, meanwhile it is getting increasingly important to also supply exotics, cress, and vegetable sprouts. We see an increasing demand for such product. It is almost impossible to distinguish yourself in greenhouse vegetable products. Everybody has a comprehensive supply. You have to distinguish on quality and flexibility."
The challenge, according to Eric, is to work with the least amount of stock possible. "In this way, you can offer the product as fresh as possible to the customer, and the customer can enjoy it for the longest time possible. We have noticed that customers are coming to us with customized orders. Even if we receive such an order late in the afternoon, we still make sure that the shipment arrives that same evening in Germany. That is only possible because of our own fleet of transport vehicles, the aid of an external logistics company, and because of our way of working. To quickly process diverse orders, that is our strength."
Wholesale function
The cause for the increasingly diverse orders is that the German customer also does not want to have too much stock, and prefers to place a smaller order every day over a big order once a week and then work from stock. "Only if the customer has sold something, they come to us. Stock is increasingly minimal in the entire chain, and freshness is increasingly important. In the winter, it is mostly the smaller German customers who are not capable of importing product directly from Spain. At that point, we really have a wholesale function and the client can meet his demand with the products we buy for him. Still, you cannot escape having stock as exporter, and also during summer we increasingly have a wholesale function."
In spite of the growing power of the big retailers, Eric still sees a future for the wholesale market which is so typical of Germany. "Wholesale markets still have an important role, especially for customers with smaller orders. For us, the combination between retail and wholesale market is working very well."
For more information:
P. Solleveld Export B.V.
www.solleveld.nl
Eric Groenheide
eric@solleveld.nl