Bas La-Graauw is Product Owner at Floriday and is involved in the development of new features in Floriday every day. Together with him, we look ahead to the developments planned for 2023. What can users expect? What new features are planned?
Floriday works according to the 'agile' method, also in terms of the development calendar. Bas: "This way of working offers us flexibility. We do this because we are aware that conditions in the market can change rapidly. Working in an agile manner allows us to respond quickly and flexibly. And so that also means that we set our schedule to a maximum of six months."
"Our development capacity is distributed in a fixed way. Thus, part of the capacity is devoted to user requirements and strategic themes. But support for current features and continuity of the platform in general also requires capacity." In this article, Bas looks ahead to the major developments planned for the near future.
Setting availability in case of scarcity
A technical development started as a result of rapidly changing market conditions is the ability to set availability in case of scarcity. Bas says: "A number of growers have approached us because, due to the energy crisis, they expect less production and this might cause scarcity. During the Coronavirus period, we noticed that there was also a lot of scarcity which led growers to turn off the supply on Floriday and buyers started ordering by phone or e-mail again. Growers would prefer to be able to organise this even more easily through Floriday. We are going to work on that! In the first quarter of 2023, growers can more easily set their availability in case of scarcity."
Clock pre sales in the Floriday Explorer
In the first quarter, we will add clock pre sales supply to the Floriday Explorer. Bas: "Buyers can then find clock pre sales supply in the Explorer in addition to direct offers, and buy directly. A much-heard wish of buyers so that they will soon have just one place for their total assortment." The clock pre sales supply will be made available in Floriday's screens and unlocked via the API link with software packages.
Track & trace
Track-and-trace capabilities will also be further expanded in 2023. "The aim is that as a buyer, you can track the progress of the delivery. At different times, the delivery is scanned, allowing you to find out where the delivery is at different times. Ultimately, you can see the estimated delivery time in Floriday.
Party stickers
Bas: "By adding new standards in the sector, the chain can be further optimised. We are in talks with several exporters to see if we can adopt the party sticker more widely. The idea behind this is to add the sticker as early as possible in the chain. Now, many customers have their own portal and are asking for their own sticker at each stage. Surely that could be more efficient?"
Improve interaction through the platform
We also want to improve user interaction on the platform. Bas: "In Floriday, you can already post timeline messages at the moment. This possibility will be further expanded in the coming period. This will soon allow you to see how many people have read your post. We also increasingly hear that there is a need, for example, to reach a buyer in case of questions. A chat feature is being developed especially for this purpose. This makes it easy to contact a company or a person within the organisation."
International
Floriday does not stop at the border of the Netherlands. For our international growers, we are looking at how Floriday can even better meet user needs. "For an international user, it is a lot harder to build a network, and we want to develop useful features for this. We are also exploring whether we can make the packing list process easier for customs."
(Public) Explorer, connecting printers, sustainability, and beyond...
Beyond these somewhat larger developments, we will be working on many more in the coming period. Bas explains part of this: "The Explorer will be further enhanced to further inspire buyers and a public Explorer will be made available. On sustainability, we continue to develop to respond to the new European legislation around packaging imposed on exporters. In addition, it will soon be possible for growers to link printers through Floriday, to print the right sticker or letter with the right printer. So you can use Floriday even better to control your warehouse."
Enhancements to the Customer and Supplier API
Updates to the API are being rolled out at a regular pace. The 2023v1 and 2023v2 versions will be delivered this year. These follow the topics that are also being built on the platform. In addition, this contains new requirements from API users.
Wishes Week
"This week, we are organising another 'wishes week'. We organise these weeks to fulfil the somewhat smaller wishes users have put on the road map. We don't always have time for this besides major developments. That's why we do this 4 times a year. To select these wishes, we look at the number of thumbs up given on the wishes. So do you have a wish you would like to add to Floriday? Make sure it is on the roadmap and has received enough votes."