The world is moving online. From social interactions to health, business and finance – online mechanisms have been integrated into our daily lives. For goods like clothing and household appliances, online shopping has long been the norm but now the fresh produce industry is making the move. Recent figures have shown that as much as 51% of all wholesale fruit and veg trades occur online.
The last few years have changed the landscape of business but offered fertile ground for online trading platforms to flourish. In response to the pandemic, trading online grew rapidly as demand for goods remained while personal interaction was increasingly restricted. With the fresh produce trade following suit in digitisation, we want to explain the ultimate guide to buy fruit online.
Online trading platforms are becoming increasingly standard, offering quality assurance, quick, reliable transactions and improved logistical efficiency. The traditional market is facing limitations that online trading aims to overcome. Whether you are seeking fresh fruit, dried fruit, or exotics – online markets are offering smoother and more reliable access routes to these commodities. Let’s dive into some reasons and best practices to buy fruit online.
The traditional fruit trade still relies on manual and sometimes archaic processes. Take transport as an example. When a farm or importer is sending distribution to a transport company, that company is working on a static document that has to be received by midday for an order to be put out by midnight. Therefore daily planning is still completely manual and largely outdated. For buyers, transport is also a headache because of poor transparency and the need for constant checking with the supplier about the delivery information.
If you are buying fruit online, these outdated processes are hugely upgraded and ultimately, more profitable. Buying online means improved information sharing such as highly accurate delivery times, reduced waste from overordering or poor communications and vastly more efficient logistics. With all these improvements comes greater logistical transparency, allowing buyers to make clear and effective plans based on reliable and up-to-date digital information.
On FruPro marketplace, you have the advantage to know the transport company for each product a supplier has and you will be notified by the seller when they dispatch the products to you. So, you can save a lot of time for your actual business rather than dealing with the transportation.
Few expected the pervasive effects of the pandemic and many are only just experiencing some freedom from its grasp. However, it is only realistic to expect further changes to traditional trading with climate change beckoning and world power relations falling prey to instability. So, how do we find some stability here?
One consistent theme is the increased digitisation of many trade sectors. The fruit trade is no different. Those who see the benefits of digitisation in the fresh produce industry early will benefit the most from it. As online fruit selling has become commonplace and more reliable, it is prime time to explore options for buying fruit online amidst a market that is competing to give you the best offer. With online buying, you won’t rely on manual, slow and complex processes to find your fruit online. FruPro makes communication simple and offers you an all-in-one platform where you can connect, communicate and trade without wasting your money and your time.
Buying fruits online usually offers access to a wider network of suppliers. In addition to a wider network comes wider access to products of different shapes, qualities and sizes.
With customer demands becoming increasingly sophisticated and diverse – sellers may be required to match this demand with increasingly sophisticated and diverse suppliers. Digital fresh produce marketplaces are the perfect place for this, offering simple and easy communication with a wide network of vendors that allow businesses to meet the growing needs of clients and also allow buyers to buy fruit in a cost-effective way.
One advantage of buying fruit in person is that you can check the quality of goods by looking, touching, smelling and feeling the product. For most of us, seeing is believing and the chance to check the quality of produce in real life brings reassurance. Some online marketplaces have adapted to this.
Our fresh produce marketplace has taken steps to ensure quality screening in a number of ways for all businesses looking to buy fruit online. Firstly, any vendor using FruPro must pass a vetting process that confirms companies are who they say they are and meet a professional, consistent standard. And more than just the vetting stage, FruPro also provides clear measurements for the quality of goods.
Alongside each product listing, there is a Cat1 or Cat2 label that indicates the quality of an item. This way, buyers can rest assured knowing the product will meet the standards they expect and that there is professional accountability if this does not happen. You will also access store ratings and reviews where you can see other buyers’ assessments of the seller. This provides a better understanding of the seller and ensures trusted trading.
On FruPro, buyers also submit arrival reports for each order where they can state the amount they received. If any of the products fail to meet the expectation, they can provide photo proof and an agreement is made with the seller for the amount to be invoiced. This process is specifically designed to prevent unnecessary discussions and time losses you might experience otherwise.
No longer a question, but a fact – companies of all varieties need to factor sustainability into their business model. The increased demand to buy fruit online matched with a call for more sustainable practice is the perfect elixir for the online fruit trade to thrive.
If food waste were a country, it would be the third-biggest greenhouse gas emitter after the USA and China. This sobering fact begs the industry to reduce its carbon footprint and doing so requires improved efficiency. The reason online trading is vital to this is that it allows food that would otherwise be wasted to be redistributed and ensures that logistics run smoothly to prevent over-ordering or food going to waste before reaching its destination.
Early in our development, we completed a huge challenge by redistributing 251 pallets that would have gone to waste, generating £100,000, and feeding 500,000 people 5-a-day. Buying fruit online offers quicker and more efficient ways of ordering. With FruPro, you will always have access to a wide range of suppliers and easily avoid any surplus ordering which will result in food waste.
Here are the most essential tips for businesses looking to buy fruit. There are elements of trading online that may bring doubt to those familiar with traditional methods. For example, how do you test the quality? How do you trust vendors you haven’t encountered before?
Thankfully FruPro has found solutions to these problems and factored them into our fresh produce marketplace. Follow the key tips we have outlined here and make sure if you are trading online or making to move online, you check these five essential criteria to help your online fruit business thrive.
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