Stock and supplier order lists

A tool can turn a messy pile of notes into a clean table. It can't tell you how many stems to buy. That judgement stays with you, because only you know what's in the cooler and what's booked.

What the wholesaler needs from you

Wikipedia says retail florists are mainly supplied by local growers, local wholesalers and flower auctions¹. A wholesale florist sells in bulk to the trade¹. Each supplier takes orders its own way. Ask yours what it prefers.

Most suppliers want a few plain things.

• The product name as the supplier writes it, including variety and colour.
• The quantity, and the unit: stems, bunches or boxes.
• The delivery or collection day.
• Any substitutions you'll accept.
• Your account name.

If your supplier has a price list or order form, paste its product names into the request and tell the tool to use only those names. Otherwise it may invent a variety that doesn't exist.

A sensible way to use a tool

1. Collect your inputs. Pull together the week's confirmed orders, any standing orders and a count of what you hold.
2. Write the recipe for each product. For example, a standard mixed bouquet uses so many stems of each flower. Only you can supply this.
3. Ask the tool to build a table. Columns: product, needed, in stock, to order. Tell it to show its working so you can follow each line.
4. Check the sums yourself. Don't skip this.
5. Round up for waste. Flowers get damaged, and your own records of past waste are the guide.

Keep customer names out of the notes you paste. A list of stems doesn't need them.

Why the numbers need checking

Some tools have a separate data analysis feature. One maker says its version enables accurate calculations, data visualizations, and structured logic². Whichever tool you use, and whether or not it has such a feature, add up a few lines on paper.

The same page tells readers to verify data for themselves². A supplier list is data. Check it.

Another guide suggests running one prompt several times and comparing the results, since differences can point to mistakes³. For a stock list, that's easy to try: ask twice and compare the totals. If they differ, find out why. Even so, that guide says to validate critical details, especially when the stakes are high³. An order that arrives short on a gift-day morning counts as high stakes.

A simple rule for when to reorder

Stock people use a plain idea called the reorder point. Wikipedia gives it as normal consumption during lead-time plus safety stock⁴. Lead time is the wait between ordering and receiving. Safety stock is the minimum level of inventory held as protection against shortages due to fluctuations in demand⁴.

For a florist, translate it like this. If your wholesaler delivers on Tuesdays and Fridays, work out what you'll use before the next delivery arrives. Add a small buffer. That gives you the quantity to order. The tool can lay out this sum for each product once you've given it your numbers and the buffer you want.

Fresh flowers spoil, so a big buffer costs you in waste. Unlike boxed goods, they can't sit on a shelf. The right buffer is your call, based on your own records.

Keep a record

Save each list you send, with the date. Next time, compare what you ordered with what you used. Soon you'll have your own figures for recipes and waste. They beat a guess. Gift days need extra stock, so read the rush-planning page.