Working in the flower industry somewhat seems like a forever partnership and commitment. The same is evident from Gerard Wijma's journey, when first started in the industry, left for a different field but later found himself going back and now he is the managing director at Adomex.
This week on the 10 questions on Thursd, he delves into his floral career journey, his current role at Adomex the vision of the company in general, and the current developments within the sector. Great read for sure, enjoy!
Question 1
For those who don’t know you, who are you, and what do you do?
"My name is Gerard Wijma, 58 years old and for almost three years I have been the managing director of Adomex, the Dutch leading importer of cut greens, fillers, and exotics. I am married to Annemieke, she is a teacher, and the proud father of Clara and Ella, who are students.
My career in the flower business started in 1996 when I joined Sierafor, a bouquet company supplying mostly discount supermarkets. I had to learn all aspects of that business in the first three years, such as production, buying, sales, and finance. I left Sierafor as the director of operations in 2007. After a brief spell outside the flower business, I joined Broekhof Verpakkingen as director of finance and operations. Broekhof was a major supplier of packaging and decoration materials to horticultural companies and is now part of Paardekooper. I joined Adomex in 2021 as CFO and took over as managing director in 2022."
Question 2
What is so special about your job?
"As anyone in the flower business can tell you, no two days are the same. Working with products from Mother Nature, we constantly deal with weather influences in different parts of the world, disruptions in the supply chain, and keeping our suppliers happy without ending up with too much inventory. On top of that, I have a great team of about 140 colleagues worldwide without whom we would not sell a single box of greens!"
Question 3
Are there any specific challenges or obstacles you’ve faced at work, and how did you overcome them?
"At Adomex we decided to expand our assortment by including fillers (such as Hypericum, Gypsophila, and Solidago) and exotic flowers (such as Protea, Brunia, and Leucadendron). Compared to our traditional greens assortment we had to deal with several challenges. All these new products have to be processed and put in water when they arrive at our warehouse, increasing the need for more production labor. Also, we decided to simultaneously upgrade our existing OrcaGreen brand and add two new labels OrcaFloral and OrcaExotics.for the new product groups, and to make it even more challenging we decided to start selling these new products on the auction clocks, something we had never done before.
After a bit of a rocky start, we managed to make these new products become an integral part of the Adomex assortment mainly through perseverance and the hard work of our great team, both in sourcing, logistics, and sales."
Question 4
What are the threats in the industry, and if so, do you have any solutions for them?
"Especially in the last couple of months, it seems that in the Netherlands many people tend to put far more emphasis on the sustainability (or perceived lack thereof) of flowers than on the crucial role flowers play both in the happiness and well-being of the consumer as well as on the economic role horticulture plays in many parts of the world, not necessarily the richest parts.
In my opinion, we should try to emphasize again the positive effects while working on reducing the environmental effects of the growing and transport of flowers instead of the other way round."
Question 5
How has technology like e-commerce platforms or digital marketing affected your industry, which strategies have you employed to stay competitive?
"Adomex is becoming more and more data-driven. All transactions are recorded in our data warehouse which is the source for many daily, weekly, and monthly reports. We also use our data (increasingly with help from AI) forward-looking to forecast demand and help us with our price settings."
Question 6
Who (in or outside the floral industry) is an inspiring example to you? And Why?
"I greatly admire the late psychologist and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman who wrote some brilliant books on behavioral economics, thereby creating a whole new science by combining the fields of psychology and economics."
Question 7
How do you handle stress or difficult moments in your life?
"To clear my mind from stress I started meditating years ago, a practice I try to keep daily. Also, a nice walk with my dog on the beach always helps me to come back in the moment and clear my mind."
Question 8
What has been the best (floral or non-floral) news for you lately, or of the last year?
"By far the best news I recently received was that a colleague diagnosed with melanoma discovered the cancer had not spread. Such a tremendous relief and a sign of hope."
Question 9
Which is your favorite flower/plant and why is it good for you?
"My favorite flower is the Protea, especially the Arctic Ice variety. The white and silvery hues combined with the unique structure give it an almost enchanting appearance. The fact that we added Proteas to the Adomex assortment makes it even nicer!"
Question 10
What are you doing this weekend?
"Plans for this weekend include a visit to our youngest daughter in Groningen, all the way up in the north of the Netherlands. I hope to get some cycling time in, either through the dunes along the coast or inside on a spinning bike, depending on the weather. With the lousy weather we’re having right now I also look forward to a nice evening, next to the fireplace with a good book."
All pictures courtesy of Gerard Wijma.
