The Holland Flower Alliance, an alliance between Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, KLM Cargo and Royal FloraHolland, is moving onto the second phase of its Ideal Flowerbox project.

According to Schiphol, the Ideal Flowerbox is a standardized box and pallet specifically designed to transport flowers by air. The concept was trialled for two months from Nairobi to Amsterdam and was able to increase the weight of flower shipments on airline pallets by 15%, resulting in a more efficient and sustainable process for transporting flowers.

“The shipment of flowers is an important activity at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, so we are very supportive of the Ideal Flowerbox project and we are excited about the initial trial results showing how the box can improve sustainability in the supply chain,” said Roos Bakker, director of business development at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. “We actively encourage innovation within the air cargo community, and we believe that collaboration with the HFA partners will continue to yield positive results for all stakeholders involved in the shipment of flowers.”

The Ideal Flowerbox project was launched to reduce unused space between flower boxes and pallets on shipments by introducing a standardized size. The project also aims to improve sustainability in the flower supply chain.

“The initial trial was very successful with a 15% increase of weight on airline pallets and boxes on the Nairobi-to-Amsterdam route, which demonstrates the value of collaboration between Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, KLM Cargo and Royal FloraHolland,” said Christo van der Meer, senior consultant of supply chain innovation at Royal FloraHolland. “The results show that with the use of the Ideal Flowerbox we are able to optimize the aircraft’s load factor, which is beneficial for a sustainable and efficient operation.”

The HFA will evaluate the results of the second phase and consider implementing the Ideal Flowerbox on more flower shipment routes in 2019, according to Schiphol.