Charlie Hall, Ph.D.
How are industry companies implementing and leveraging business-to-business e-commerce technologies — and what do changes, shifts and disruptions in those tools and buying behavior mean for floral professionals all along the supply chain in a time of accelerated change brought on by the pandemic? These are some of the questions nine floral trade associations have come together to answer via a joint research project led by Charlie Hall, Ph.D., the Ellison Chair at Texas A&M University’s Department of Horticultural Sciences.
Hall will highlight some of the results of that research Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. ET during an all-industry webinar from the coalition of trade associations behind the research, including the Society of American Florists.
This week, Hall shared a preview of what he plans to detail during the Nov. 4 event — including why the research is especially relevant to floral industry business owners now operating in a pandemic environment with an ever-growing focus on digital platforms.
SAF Now: What are some of your own big-picture takeaways from the research?
Charlie Hall: Just by asking floral industry members about B2B e-commerce tools and technology, we’re learning more about gaps that exist along with opportunities and bottlenecks in every sector of the floral supply chain. We captured usage rates for these tools and technologies — things like e-commerce platforms, artificial intelligence, social media integration, and mobile apps — and we found some surprises. I don’t want to give away too much ahead of the webinar, but something that’s not surprising: Certain sectors have adopted this technology sooner than others, and we’ve seen structural changes in the industry because of that, even as other folks have been reluctant to change their business models.
SAF: How did the pandemic change your research?
CH: This research was conducted in June and July, right in the midst of COVID, which is a good thing, in terms of the research itself and the results. It means the information is timely. It’s been said that B2B e-commerce in general experienced 10 years of growth in the last seven months. People will see some of that trend illustrated in the webinar and our results — and why it matters to their operations.
SAF: What other shifts are you seeing that you plan to explore?
CH: In our floral supply chain, we’ve historically had neat boxes we tend to stay inside, in terms of who we are, what we do. Interpreting between the lines of our findings, there are firms moving from that box shape into more of an amoeba form. There is just more willingness to experiment. COVID erased a lot of fear of channel conflict and people are now thinking, “If I’m going to survive, I have to do this and make these changes.” That mentality is giving people the freedom to adopt B2B e-commerce technologies that they might not have otherwise, and it could lead to relationships developing that are unprecedented in our industry. At the same time, the change we’re talking about is tempered — and there is so much uncertainty still. A lot depends on how long the pandemic lasts, but as long as COVID is an influence, interest in B2B e-commerce will continue to grow.
Register today for the Nov. 4 webinar; the form includes room for questions posed to Hall ahead of time.
Mary Westbrook is the editor in chief of Floral Management.
