The Greenery is the Marketing and Sales organisation representing a Dutch cooperative of fruit and vegetable auctions. While most of its growers are based in the Netherlands, it also operates in Germany, the UK, France, the Nordics, Switzerland, and Italy. It also has contracted suppliers across Southern Europe.
The Greenery has modernised the operation, expanded and now sells Dutch and other European produce across the continent. It has developed new channels to market and shortened supply chains. Aiming to get sustainable, fresh, safe and healthy fruit and vegetables to consumers daily.
The Greenery selects Rootstock and Salesforce
It recently looked to modernise its technology platform, based on SAP, as part of a digital transformation strategy. After reviewing the market, The Greenery selected the combination of Rootstock ERP and Salesforce. It believes its solutions will help streamline processes, enhance visibility, and drive efficiency across its expansive operations.
Erwin van der Graaf, Director of IT, Digital, and Data at The Greenery, explained why they chose Rootstock and Salesforce. “We needed to transition away from our legacy ERP solution, so we decided to explore new options. Our survey of the market allowed us to see the value of a platform approach. We ended up going with Salesforce and Rootstock to benefit from a unified data model, enhancing our capabilities from CRM, ERP, and beyond.”
Enterprise Times asked van der Graaf which other solutions they considered. He replied, “In addition to Rootstock ERP on the Salesforce Platform, The Greenery considered two other solutions on their shortlist — SAP4 HANA Cloud Public edition on the SAP platform and Microsoft Dynamics 365 on the Microsoft Platform.
“However, after a detailed evaluation process that included product demos, The Greenery ultimately chose Rootstock and Salesforce. The key factors that influenced their decision were the ability to deploy everything on a single platform, which offered better integration, flexibility, and a future-proof solution that aligned with their strategic goals for digital transformation.”
The deployment of Rootstock and Salesforce is part of Focus 2025, its transformation strategy, which aims to maximise value creation for its growers. Focus 2025 will flatten the organisational structure and operations. It will make the business more flexible to meet the changing market demands.
The Objectives
The project will see The Greenery adopt digital commerce and sales and operations planning (S&OP) to increase operational efficiency, usability, data transparency, grower and customer satisfaction. With Rootstock using the Salesforce platform, the S&OP elements are seamlessly integrated. Which was one of the factors that determined the selection. Rootstock will also help automate operations, streamline processes and provide real-time data and insights to improve decision-making.
Van der Graaf commented, “Our goal is to create consistent, exceptional experiences for our growers, customers and employees. Rootstock ERP will enable us to facilitate transparency and speed, allowing our growers to access real-time information and our customers to benefit from personalized service and insights. The platform will also help deploy customer and grower portals and to leverage AI for advanced insights and automation, ultimately contributing to our long-term success.”
The Project
The Greenery will work with Balanced Force, an SI partner based in the Netherlands. A partner of both Salesforce and Rootstock. Based in the Netherlands it has deployed both solutions at several organisations across Europe. That international experience will be relevant for The Greenery’s deployment.
Martin Uwland, Account Manager at Balanced Force, commented, “The ecosystem approach will enable The Greenery to use additional Salesforce AppExchange solutions. We’re thrilled to contribute our solutions expertise to ensure efficient implementations and overall project success.”
The Greenery plans to implement the solution in a three-year, phased approach. The intent is to minimise disruption to the business and maximise the benefits from each phase. Phase one will see the implementation of CRM and SRM (Supplier Relationship Management), as well as the S&OP functionality. Future phases will include the roll-out of a new eCommerce Solution, customer portal and the complete integrations of Rootstock.
Enterprise Times asked van der Graaf what eCommerce solution it was looking to deploy. He replied, “The Greenery plans to deploy a B2B e-commerce solution on the Salesforce Platform as part of their broader digital transformation strategy.”
The Rootstock system will also include the replacement of the EDI integration with SAP. Enterprise Times asked van der Graaf about this project element. He replied, “The Greenery currently utilizes EDI as part of their SAP solution to manage seamless transactions with major retailers, with Descartes as their external EDI message broker.
“When The Greenery transitions to Rootstock ERP, they will connect Rootstock ERP to their EDI message broker, ensuring a smooth transition without disrupting operations.”
At the start of a journey with a clear destination
It feels as though van der Graaf and The Greenery have this project well mapped out. There will be some significant changes to its operations.
Van der Graaf added, “As we embark on this transformation journey, we are confident that Rootstock and Salesforce will help provide the robust, scalable solutions needed to support our growth and innovation. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in our strategy to optimize operations and deliver exceptional value to our growers and customers.”
For Rootstock this is another win in Europe. It will help cement the growing relationship it has with Salesforce in the region and elsewhere.
Rick Berger, CEO of Rootstock Software, commented, “Bringing The Greenery on board is a testament to the transformative power of Rootstock and Salesforce. We are excited to support The Greenery’s ambitious Focus 2025 strategy and help them achieve greater efficiency and growth. By leveraging our ERP solution, The Greenery will be able to streamline its operations and provide exceptional value to both its growers and customers.”
Jeroen Heijmans, Head of Enterprise & Deputy Country Leader, The Netherlands at Salesforce, added, “We are thrilled to play a role in The Greenery’s digital transformation journey. Our Sales Cloud, Manufacturing Cloud, and Experience Cloud capabilities, along with Rootstock ERP, will enable The Greenery to enhance their e-commerce and S&OP processes, helping drive innovation and growth across the European produce market.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Another significant win for Rootstock, in combination with Salesforce. With Dreamforce starting next week, the announcement is timely. Rootstock will have a significant presence at the annual Salesforce event.
For The Greenery, it is embarking on a three-year journey that will see it replace most of its technology stack. As a long-time SAP customer, it also demonstrates that while SAP S/4HANA is the right choice for some organisations there are better alternatives for firms that are using legacy SAP products.
The announcement also shows the breadth and flexibility of Rootstock ERP. The Greenery is not a traditional manufacturer, which Rootstock is often perceived as supporting. The Rootstock platform has S&OP capabilities as well as the internationalisation that made it the strong choice for The Greenery.
