Why do the Dutch continue to play a central role in the global production, sales, and distribution of flowers? What are the origin and history of the bulb and flower industry in the Netherlands? How are Artificial Intelligence (AI), complex algorithms, and modern distribution systems ensuring that fresh flowers reach their destination on time? This very entertaining and informative book introduces readers to the global flower business, and highlights the surprising factors that helped the Dutch become global leaders on the flower markets. The book reveals the complexity of the flower markets in terms of their ability to produce, transport, and deliver fresh flowers on a global scale. In addition, it explores how information advantage is created by blending business with technology, from robotized glasshouses to the use of AI-driven algorithms for flower production and distribution. In closing, the book presents lessons learned regarding the circular and digital transformation of the high-speed flower business and markets in order to deliver sustainable value for customers. Combining the light beauty of flowers with the harsh language of the digital universe is a masterfully executed task in this book, organized as a bouquet of algorithms, data science, and digital platforms. Mandatory reading for all those interested in the flower business as well as for those who want to know more about the perfume emanating from digital systems. Eduardo Diniz Professor and Head of the Technology and Data Science Department, Escola de Administracao de Empresas de Sao Paulo, Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Sao Paulo, Brazil This unique book leads you through the bulb fields and auctions of the Netherlands, through history, logistics, auction design, and Internet technology, to draw lessons in business management from the study of flowers. With beautiful illustrations. A tour de force. John Kay Economist, Author of Radical Uncertainty and Greed is Dead, and Fellow, St. John's College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom If you want to understand the impact of information and technology on a fascinat- ing industry, this book is a must-read. The author explains in a highly intriguing way how innovations propelled the flower industry from the sixteenth century till today. Whether you are working in the flower industry, a business student, academic, or just intrigued by the business behind flowers, you will enjoy this book! Martin Mocker Professor of Information Systems, ESB Business School, Reutlingen University, Reutlingen, Germany. Research Affiliate, MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research, Cambridge, USA

Scientists from management and strategy, information systems, engineering and telecommunications have discussed a novel concept: Smart Business Networks. They see the future as a developing web of people and organizations, bound together in a dynamic and unpredictable way, creating smart outcomes from quickly (re-)configuring links between actors. The question is: What should be done to make the outcomes of such a network 'smart', that is, just a little better than that of your competitor? More agile, with less pain, with more return to all the members of the network, now and over time? The technical answer is to create a 'business operating system' that should run business processes on different organisational platforms. Business processes would become portable: The end-to-end management of processes running across many different organizations in many different forms would become possible. This book presents you the outcomes of an energizing and new direction in management science.

Scientists from management and strategy, information systems, engineering and telecommunications have discussed a novel concept: Smart Business Networks. They see the future as a developing web of people and organizations, bound together in a dynamic and unpredictable way, creating smart outcomes from quickly (re-)configuring links between actors. The question is: What should be done to make the outcomes of such a network 'smart', that is, just a little better than that of your competitor? More agile, with less pain, with more return to all the members of the network, now and over time? The technical answer is to create a 'business operating system' that should run business processes on different organisational platforms. Business processes would become portable: The end-to-end management of processes running across many different organizations in many different forms would become possible. This book presents you the outcomes of an energizing and new direction in management science.

Markets are transitioning from place to space - but as the collapse of the initial B2B boom demonstrated, the journey won't be easy. Pioneering market makers from eBay and British Petroleum to the Dutch Flower Auctions and ChemConnect are leading the way to create new value through markets. Their experiences make two things increasingly clear: success in the marketspace will require new ways of operating, and participation won't be optional. Ajit Kambil and Eric van Heck - respected authorities on electronic markets - argue that online auctions and exchanges will soon be an essential part of business practice. They explain why companies must adopt electronic markets now if they hope to compete in the future. And they prove that success lies not in achieving "first-mover" advantage in new markets, but in creating winning strategies to design and use markets to manage the supply chain, connect with customers, increase efficiency, and make decisions.Based on the authors' decade-long study of nearly one hundred successful and failed electronic markets in the United States, Europe, and Asia, the book reveals how market makers are rewriting the rules of commerce. They offer a strategic blueprint for designing, implementing, and profiting from electronic markets. "Making Markets" shows how companies can: creatively use markets in procurement, resale, and clearance, and in more novel applications such as prediction, risk management, and decision making; design, deploy, and stimulate the successful adoption of online auctions and exchanges; utilize technology to support - not replace - human interaction; leverage information to become more profitable buyers and sellers; innovate in trade processes from pricing, payment, and authentication to logistics and product representation; and, grow markets through partnerships, alliances, and mergers.This highly practical guide will help companies create the ultimate market: one that captures the feel and trust of a physical community but leverages the power and efficiency of technology to benefit all participants. Ajit Kambil is Associate Partner and Senior Research Fellow at Accenture's Institute for Strategic Change. Eric van Heck is a Professor at Erasmus University's Rotterdam School of Management, The Netherlands.