9 Knots Solutions: "The Connect-EAB is an old standard and that produces a lot of errors"

More and more software packages support the ability to handle direct sales via the Floriday API. This allows growers to handle the direct order without needing to use the Connect-EAB. As a result, growers benefit from more trading opportunities and gain more insight into the deliveries. 9 Knots Solutions is one of the software vendors that developed this capability for its customers with its software package GreenMaster. We talk to Jim Leliveld and Mohamed Zaraa about this.

9 Knots Solutions is a relatively young player among all the established software vendors. The company started about six to seven years ago with an application for growers to easily direct their supply. Back then, there were many different marketplaces and growers wanted to serve multiple marketplaces from one stock and one place. A standard was then developed for this: GreenMaster In three years' time, the software package grew enormously: some 150 growers now use it. Besides GreenMaster, 9Knots Solutions also offers software for flexible worker scheduling and accounting.

What is a Connect-EAB?
The Connect-EAB is an older messaging standard. It stands for Electronic Delivery Letter used to handle direct trade between a grower and buyer. The Connect-EAB is a proof of delivery that the grower sends via his software package to Royal FloraHolland to pay out the direct trade. It is therefore not the same as direct trade or 'connect trade', but only a proof for settlement.

From offer tool to broad business package

Jim Leliveld, responsible for GreenMaster: "It started as an offer tool for distributing and managing your supply, linked to marketplaces in the floriculture sector. It has evolved into a package in which growers can handle multiple business processes at the garden from a single system. For example stock management, term trading, quotation generation, web shop and planning for cultivation, logistics and transport."

Development based on customer needs

"We are developing GreenMaster based on our customers' needs," said Mohamed Zaraa, senior implementation specialist at 9 Knots Solutions. "Half my time is spent with growers to pick up their needs or test the software package with them. The package stands, but has never been out-developed. We make GreenMaster better every day."

Big fan of phasing out Connect-EAB

Jim: "When we started interfacing with Floriday, we preferred not to settle the direct orders that came in via the Connect-EAB. It is a complicated and outdated technology. At the time, we did know that Royal FloraHolland itself would one day say goodbye to the Connect-EAB. It is an old standard based on e-mail traffic and that results in many errors. The mail landed in the spam folder or the feedback is not working properly. There are so many factors about the Connect-EAB that can cause problems or go wrong. And apart from the EAB protocol; a lot of things, necessary for trading, do not fit into this EAB technology and, in the long run, do not allow for the proper exchange of information between growers and buyers. That is why we are a big fan of phasing out the Connect-EAB, however inconvenient it may be for the entire industry."

From 'Connect-EAB' to 'Direct delivery' in GreenMaster

Together with software suppliers, Royal FloraHolland has joined forces to develop an alternative so that growers with a software package no longer have to use the Connect-EAB for settling their direct trade. The alternative is to handle direct delivery via the API link with Floriday. GreenMaster has also developed this for its customers. Mohammed: "We did the technical development late last year and are now just about ready to roll it out to our customers. We have made as few changes to our package as possible, so it will not have a big impact for growers. As a grower, you deliver the order and behind the scenes everything is processed and taken care of. Growers should get used to a slightly different workflow in terms of corrections and cancellations. Anything different takes time to get used to."

"It offers growers many more opportunities"

Mohammed: "Direct delivery as growers will soon be able to do it simply offers more possibilities: faster feedback on the order, credit limits, checking before you deliver to customers and more sales opportunities through other payment methods What's the difference with the Connect-EAB? An example of how it works now with the Connect-EAB is that you send in your trade, half an hour later you go to your PC and see a rejected Connect-EAB. Your trade has already gone and only then do you find that the customer is not creditworthy. You won't have those kinds of issues soon because direct delivery checks and provides feedback faster. In addition, growers can soon expect more orders from buyers who order via an eWallet (digital wallet) on Floriday. Growers will thus get additional sales opportunities."

Activation support

Jim: "We offer our customers a cloud solution, so an update is quickly rolled out and available to everyone. Growers can set up checkout via Floriday themselves and we support them with explanations and documentation. In addition, our support department is ready to answer growers' questions. Jim concludes, "Our goal will be achieved when all growers with 100% of their customers have switched to the API and are working with direct delivery through our package." 

More information

Before the end of April, most software vendors will support the ability to handle direct sales via the Floriday API. This eliminates the need for growers to use the Connect EAB. From 1 July 2023, there will be a charge for using the old Connect-EAB. On our website you can see which software packages already support this capability or where they are in their development. Do you have questions about the status? Then please contact your software supplier.