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In This Issue ...
- CalFlowers FedEx Discount Improves to Over 69%
- CalFlowers/FedEx IPD Program
- CalFlowers Members Make Big Showing at WFE 2016
- Transportation Updates
- New Members
Going Social ...
Members, please follow us on Instagram @CalifFlowers and hashtag #CalFlowers. Watch for event or news-specific hashtags. And we welcome your photos! Please share with Michael LoBue at [email protected].
Upcoming Events
IFE
June 20 - 22, 2016
Chicago, IL
AIFD
July 3 - 7, 2016
Orange County, CA
Save The Dates
2016 Member Meetings:
8/9/16 Hyatt Regency Monterey, Monterey, CA
8/16/16 Park Hyatt Aviara, Carlsbad, CA
8/18/16 Fess Parker, Santa Barbara, CA
2017 Fun 'N Sun:
August 9 - 12, 2017 Park Hyatt Aviara, Carlsbad, CA
CalFlowers News
Our goal is to communi-cate on a monthly basis with the membership and interested parties about recent past and upcoming events, program updates, and general information about how CalFlowers is engaging in the industry on behalf of the membership.
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CalFlowers FedEx Discount Improves to Over 69%
Just in time for Mothers Day, our CalFlowers FedEx Express discount just got better! We are pleased to announce Calflowers members will now enjoy FedEx Express rates discounted over 69% off of list rates (up from 66.5%). This includes Priority Overnight as well as Standard overnight. Other FedEx services like 2 Day and Express Saver will also see significant improvements.
But that's not all. We also have new "Rate Caps" in place for 2017 that limits the annual increase that FedEx typically employs in January. Our increase will not exceed 3.5% which is expected to be significantly lower than their usual 5% increase. Other important contract items are left intact such as our 250 DIM factor and various fee waivers.
These new rates are effective now. We have posted an updated Program Summary on our website. Complete new rate pages are available in the Members Only section of our website as well. If you need a copy, please check our website www.cafgs.org or contact Chris Johnson for more information (760) 533-5580 or [email protected].
We announced this new program to the membership on March 31st. The summary of the program can be found at: FedEx International Priority DirectDistribution.
We are offering to, qualifying CalFlowers members, access to a customized version of the highly successful FedEx IPD program where members can enjoy all the benefits of its expedited airport-to-door service with pricing and conveniences typically unavailable to lower volume shippers plus a variety of special features and fee waivers designed specifically for our members.
The Program highlights are:
- Saves time
- Provides a quick response shipping solution for your needs
- Reduces steps in the distribution process thus providing fresher product
- Excellent pricing and lower fees
- Advanced FedEx tracking provides up to date information
- Provides an excellent door-to-door international shipping solution
Interested?
Interested CalFlowers members should contact Chris Johnson to determine suitablilty for this program. All CalFlowers members are eligible, but since this program is still new, we're looking for members who think they will average between 15 and 20 boxes per week. Chris, along with our FedEx representative, will help obtain the necessary documentation and get linked to the program. Members will be guided through the onboarding process.
Members can contact Chris Johnson, Director of Transportation at 760-533-5580 or [email protected]. You can also visit the IPD Program webpage for more information. Thank you for your membership and we hope this program helps you to help more Americans enjoy more flowers more often.
CalFlowers Members Make Big Showing at WFE 2016
  When we first announced the opportunity for our members to exhibit again at WFE 2016 in Los Angeles, we thought we would get a few more exhibitors than last year. We were very please to see that the number of exhibitors grew from 22 exhibitors in 2015 to a total of 33 exhibitors this year.
Once again this year, there were more flowers grown in California on display at the show than there were from any other country! We had over 6,800 square feet of California grown products in our pavillion, which included an impressive collection of cut flowers grown in the state and it also incuded CalFlowers' distributor members.
CalFlowers was featured prominently at the show, with CalFlowers' board president Mike Mooney opening the event by welcoming growers and attendees from all over the world to California. 
HPP Exhibitions, the show's organizers, held six hands-on, floral design workshops that featured California flowers donated by CalFlowers members. Class attendees were able to pick from classes such as table and funeral decorations, hand tied bouquets, wedding decorations, frame bouquets and experimental designs.
In addition to the hands on classes at WFE, J Schwanke of U-Bloom was in attendance this year and did a presentation on "Flower Trends for Today." Schwanke discussed how trends develop and how they change in the floral industry.
Events like WFE 2016 help grow U.S. consumption patterns through information and knowledge sharing and through meeting and collaborating with individuals and companies working to nurture a robust and competitive floral industry in the U.S.
Click here to read The Produce News article about WFE 2016 (see page 86).
Transportation
- We are pleased to announce your FedEx Express Discounts just got better and just in time for Mother's Day. We have just signed a new contract that improves members FedEx Express discounts to 69.2% (up from 66.5%). Also other services such as 2 day and Express Saver will significantly improve as well. Our special DIM factor of 250 and other fee waivers stay intact. Additionally, in January when FedEx raises their rates typically around 5%, we will only have a 3.5% increase which will further enhance our discount. For more info, look for our email announcement or visit our website at www.cafgs.org.
- As you may have seen, CalFlowers has just launched the FedEx IPD program last week. This program is tailored to our wholesale members and allows fast 3 day airport to door import of product from Colombia and Ecuador. Our program offers excellent rates and a special two box minimum. Other special waivers apply and members just need to call to inquire.
- Southwest Airlines has new "all in" flower rates available. These rates are very competitive and offer the value of including Fuel and Security surcharges. For a copy of Southwest Cargo new rates, please visit our website (www.cafgs.org) or contact me directly for your copy.
- For our OnTrac shippers, we are finalizing a survey that we asking shippers to complete. This short survey will help us monitor the program and track any issues shippers are experiencing. Please keep an eye out for this important survey. Thank you.
- For members wanting to take advantage of our new American Airlines shipping rates, be sure to email me your PAL number - [email protected]. We will then link your company to the pricing plan. For members who do not currently have an AA PAL number, please visit www.aacargo.com to get started.
In other OnTrac news, all shipping CalFlowers members should now be on-line booking with OnTrac. WebOnTrac is an excellent tool that can help shippers with most everything they need when booking a shipment. Using paper waybills adds complexity and risk to their digital system. WebOnTrac software even has provisions that can catch errors before they can be submitted. If you are not using OnTrac's free booking software, we strongly recommend you do, and it's easy to start. Just contact OnTrac for more info at 800-334-5000 or visit www.ontrac.com.
NOTE: Transportation Rate information and documents are now viewable/downloadable (as PDFs) on the CalFlowers Members Only site. Please note that these documents are considered sensitive material and are available to the primary contacts for Ag Buddy, Associate Floral, Associate Grower, and Floral members only.
To access the Members Only site, simply login using the Member Login button in the top-right corner of our website.
Click Here if you dont know or dont remember your username and/or password. This document will help you login.
New Members
In March 2016, we were pleased to welcome the following new CalFlowers members:
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Floral
Alans Flowers
San Bernardino, CA
Mountain Crest Gardens
Etna, CA
Associate Floral
Charleston Wholesale Florist, Inc.
Charleston, NC
Jacobson Floral Supply
Boston , MA
Salem Wholesale Flowers
Salem, OR
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Associate Grower
Painted Tulip LLC
Waterbury Center, VT
Associate Service
Ultra Mobile
Costa Mesa, CA
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