CNGA Looseleaf Dec 2018 Jan 2019

17 colorad o nga.org LooseLeaf December 2018/January 2019 “More and more customers would rather order material across the season, instead of receiving all of their inventory in the spring,” she said. “Plant brokers can deliver any time of year when they have growers in several different regions growing several different types of trees, including container-grown, grow-bag and B&B trees with root structures that can be dug any time of year (as long as the ground is not frozen).” For nurseries in areas with seasonal freezes, they can grow at least a portion of their trees in containers to make them readily available year round, she added. Martin Hanni, General Manager of Northwest Shade Trees in Salem, Ore., agrees with the concept of shipping trees “on-demand” when customers prefer to get some inventory at times other than the main shipping season in spring. But, Hanni said, “Due to the continuing tree shortage, many of our bigger customers place a large order at the beginning of the season to increase their chances of finding the trees they are looking for.” “The choice of available material for summer harvest is limited,” he said. Plus, for B&B “shade trees to be successfully harvested in the summer, the trees need to be root-pruned before they break dormancy in the spring.” In fact, root pruning, fertilization, watering, and other growing practices are all very specific for summer harvested trees to en- sure their survival. If done correctly, though, a tree dug in summer will look fresher than a dormant dug tree at planting time, espe- cially in the second half of the summer, he acknowledged. When suppliers are able to deliver trees as customers need them, customers require less storage space and spend less on labor and overhead expenses for tree care, compared with storing a large order delivered all at once in the spring. “Just-in-time inventory management is easier on the cash flow,” he noted, and for the supplier, “It provides an income stream throughout the summer months.” For those reasons, Hiatt said, shipping year round is a huge benefit to everyone’s bottom line, that works well for all types of customers. Customers require less use of loans and lines of credit, plus accounts payables and receivables are settled more closely together. “With Plantivity, we can even ship the entire load directly to your customer so you don’t have to touch it, saving you all kinds of unloading, loading, and storage costs,” she added. Most of the motivation for suppliers to ship year round is to break out of the short window of digging between the spring thaw and when trees break dormancy, she believes. If suppliers find ways to harvest and ship trees year round either by growing in containers and grow bags or in areas where field digging is not limited by freezes, they are no longer held hostage by the weather. “Now you can dig any tree out of your field at any time. You can see how this is not only more efficient for the grower, but also for the grower’s customer as well,” she said. Suppliers don’t have to dig on speculation, guessing what custom- ers may need later in the summer, because they can dig based on orders. Customers don’t have to order on speculation because they can order as they need to restock (that grocery store mentality!). “Customers also avoid the problem of being left with a lot of un- sold material that they have to sell at a discounted price right be- fore winter or hold over the winter. If they hold it over, they spend “With Plantivity, we can even ship the entire load directly to your customer so you don’t have to touch it, saving you all kinds of unloading, loading, and storage costs.” – Katy Hiatt Photos courtesy of Plantivity continues »