E-Commerce and the Horticultural Industry by Kay Gee

The horticultural industry has traditionally been conservative in its preparedness to accept and embrace new technology. Gradually the industry has become computerised and those businesses which have been early adopters of technologies such as bar-coding have reaped the benefits. The industry now has to face the changes and challenges that e-commerce will inexorably bring to the market. Angus Cook, Manager of GreenNet (Aust) Pty Ltd, a Victorian-based e-commerce portal site argues that e-commerce is not revolutionary. "E-commerce will not replace face-to-face interaction, but will complement existing procedures," he said. However he emphasised that reluctance or procrastination on the part of businesses to embrace the new technology will make them less competitive in a highly competitive market.

There are aspects of e-commerce that are revolutionary though, because they have the potential to change some fundamental factors that have traditionally limited the interaction between supply and demand. The most significant of these is that for the first time in history there is a real possibility that we can achieve what has always been unachievable - perfect knowledge of the market. Buyers may have access to information on the prices, quantity and quality of goods being offered for sale right across the spectrum of the industry, and sellers may have access to statistics on what buyers throughout the industry are demanding. In addition, businesses will have the facility, via web pages, to differentiate their products from their competitors by explaining in detail the services they provide or the superior quality they achieve. Web pages can disseminate information to all parts of the country and the globe very cheaply compared to traditional advertising methods. The internet provides access to markets just about everywhere in the world.

Businesses concerned with producing and marketing greenlife have a great deal to gain from the adoption of business to business e-commerce in particular, because it overcomes some of the perennial problems that have plagued the industry. Dealing with a living product creates difficulties with variations in scheduling, weather conditions and pest or disease invasion. Conditions can change unexpectedly and the internet allows growers to be much more flexible. It is a relatively simple procedure to update the information online at any time, and as often as liked. Suppliers can respond to changes in the market by adjusting their prices or increasing or decreasing supply. Buyers can order directly online, saving time.

Doing business online has the potential to dramatically reduce costs. Take, for example, the classic horticultural situation of a plant wholesaler selling to plant retailers. With e-commerce, details of plants currently available are accessible to all buyers at the click of a mouse. There is no need to print out expensive catalogues that rapidly become out of date. Plants, quantities, sizes and prices can be added, deleted or changed within minutes at any time, 24 hours a day. Similarly, buyers can place orders online at any time. Questions can be sent by email or by an online form at any convenient time and, unlike a telephone conversation, a record of communications is always available. This form of communication is cheap and efficient. In addition, the direct communication between buyer and seller, and particularly between buyer and grower, provides great opportunities for collecting useful data and getting immediate feedback.

From a retailing point of view, e-commerce provides the opportunity to create an on-line store that has no stock - a huge saving in funds and expenditure. A true e-commerce enterprise will integrate its online sales with its suppliers so that there is a seamless interface that will facilitate smooth and efficient delivery of the product. However it is true to say that this aspect represents the greatest challenge to e-commerce businesses - to ensure that fulfilment ie delivery of the goods and services, keeps pace with orders and is cost effective. The internet can provide sophisticated tracking services that will allow the consumer and the supplier to keep tabs on the product's journey from keypad to front door. The development of WAP (wireless) facilities on mobile phones has revolutionary implications for monitoring and documenting movement of product, by providing the potential for delivery vehicles to input delivery information directly via a mobile phone.

Online plant and product retailing is set to challenge traditional retail nurseries and their best line of defence is to enhance the nursery/garden centre experience to take full advantage of the consumer's desire to make their plant choices in a real rather than a virtual environment. Increased efficiency at the checkouts, loyalty clubs, delivery services, inspirational displays and provision of friendly and authoritative personnel to answer consumers' questions are just some of the ways to keep customers walking away from their computers and through the nursery door. Today's nurseries have the opportunity to establish online facilities that operate in tandem with their traditional stores and to use e-commerce and the internet to enhance their businesses and service their existing clients even more effectively.

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This is a summary of an article by Kay Gee published in Greenworld magazine. The full article is available in Greenworld, Vol.18, No. 4, August 2000 pp.28-33.

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