Achieving Operational Excellence

John S. Wilkins

V.P. Logistics

• DVFG is a provider of fresh cut flowers, floral supplies & logistical services.

• Founded in 1959 DVFG remains a family owned business in its 3rd generation

• DVFG serves over 2000 customers nationally, concentrating primarily in the Mid Atlantic region

• Our customers are retail florists & mass markets

• One of the largest floral distributors with annual sales of $130,000,000

Delaware Valley Floral Group

Our Challenges

• Product is highly perishable

• Maintaining the cold chain at every link

• Product is purchased on speculation

• Product is sold while in transit

• Inventory management

Fresh Flower Supply Chain• Fresh Cut Flowers are sourced & purchased globally

every day. Over 1500 SKU’s are purchased and sold daily.

• 70% of our flowers are grown in South America.– Consistent year round temperatures– Lower production costs

• Once flowers are purchased, orders can be allocated to product while in transit.

• Product is harvested, packaged and delivered to the airport under refrigeration.

• Flowers are flown on DC-10 air cargo carriers from Latin America to our hub in Miami.

• Product arrives in Miami 48 hours from when the order was placed.

Fresh Flower Supply Chain

• Over 900,000 boxes of flowers are flown annually.• Product is cleared through customs, pre-received via RF

scanners and loaded onto 53 ft. refrigerated trailers.• Within 24 hours our fresh flowers arrive in NJ where

product is received and processed under refrigeration.• Flowers are picked loose and in bulk from trucks arriving

same day.• Inventory turns 2.5 times per week.• Processed orders are loaded onto our fleet of 85

refrigerated delivery trucks and delivered.– 634 deliveries daily– 6080 packages delivered daily

Our Core Beliefs• A search for simplicity

– To make everything we do as simple, efficient and perfect as possible.

– Utilize Lean– Continuous process improvement– Use cross functional teams to share knowledge

• Expectation of excellence– Become a learning organization– Utilize state grants to support continuous learning and

improvement

• Commitment to our customers– Committed to fulfilling all of our promises to our customers all of

the time