An Open Letter to the U.S. Floral Industry from Joe Dugan CEO and President of WCO.
A lot of people are asking what is the future of WCO and Floraplex. It was erroneously reported in a recent issue of Floriculture International that WCO was shutting down Floraplex in the U.S. That is incorrect. The facts are that we are applying Floraplex Technologies to the traditional brick and mortar floral businesses. This new technology brings true value to those customers.
WCO is the global leader in e-business supply chain solutions for the Floral Industry. New products have been released this spring that allow floral businesses to use the Internet to optimize their supply chain and collaborate with their trading partners. This includes the Auctions, large retailers, exporter/importers, wholesalers and retail florists. WCO is helping customers save thousands of dollars each month to their bottom line with this new technology. WCO's suite of products is alive and well; its business model has changed but that is because we are listening to our customers.
As the CEO and President of WCO I am excited by our success and our future. It is true that there have been many changes at WCO and Floraplex in the last six months, but those are positive changes and good news for the U.S. Floral Industry.
The following points highlight what is happening at WCO.
- WCO's first quarter revenues of $1.5 Million are higher than the cumulative revenues of the company from inception through 12/31/2000.
- WCO has expanded beyond the perishable markets and developed and implemented a CPFRTM solution that includes planning, replenishment and transportation optimization systems for the consumer product goods industry. The nation's largest brokerage firm supplying the retail grocery industry is now using the system.
- GE Global eXchange Services has signed an exclusive cooperative marketing agreement to resell WCO's entire suite of Retail Supply Chain Management Applications. WCO will be integrating its customer's applications with GE's E-Commerce Service Centers (ECSC) to connect new trading partners with GE's existing community of 100,000 plus trading partners. At present, over 80% of the Global EDI business in Flowers is handled by GE.
- WCO was selected as the exclusive technology provider of Pre Clock internet trading technology for the BVH Westland Auction in the Netherlands bringing five thousand buyers and sellers together daily.
- WCO is pioneering the new technology required to track and trace flowers, produce and meats from the field and farm to the consumer, insuring not only freshness, but addressing the concerns around genetics and disease control.
To our loyal group of Floraplex customers we are committed to your success. Thank you for your continued support. WCO is committed to executing the vision of web enabling the global floral industry in a manner that improves quality and profits from the grower to the retailer. We look forward to an exciting and profitable future for WCO and its customers.
Sincerely,
Joe Dugan
CEO and President, WCO
jdugan@wconet.com