Services and the forcing house bench

Six working stations inside one flower trade

Lily Worldwide Company Limited runs a forcing house and cut-stem flower trade from its Causeway Bay desk. The six services below are the stations of that house, from bulb lot intake to retail bundle. Each section explains what happens at the station, what the buyer receives, and how the work connects to the rest of the calendar.

Greenhouse Bulb Lots

Greenhouse bulb lots are the starting point of everything the forcing house does. We receive lots in numbered trays, inspect them for firmness, calibre and skin condition, and record the storage temperature from the hour the tray is accepted. A lot sheet is raised for each tray group and carries the variety, the calibre band, the supplier reference and the date the tray entered cold store.

Buyers can reserve bulb lots ahead of a forcing cycle or take them as a straight trade for onward growing. When a lot is reserved, the reservation is written onto the same lot sheet, so there is no separate booking document to lose. We inspect reserved trays at the halfway point of the cold period and report any tray that has softened or shown mould before the buyer hears about it from a third party.

Cut-Stem Auction Parcels

Cut stems are closed on the bloom auction rail in parcels. A parcel is a defined group of stems, graded by length and head count, bound together and weighed at the rail. Each parcel receives a tag with a parcel number, the grade band and the closing time. The tag stays with the stems until the crate is sealed, and the parcel sheet is filed against the buyer name.

The rail runs in short windows rather than all day, because stems settle best when they are cut, graded and closed without long waits on the bench face. Buyers who attend a window see the stems before the parcel closes and can ask for a re-grade if a bundle does not match the sheet. Re-grades are recorded on the parcel sheet with the time and the reason, which keeps later disputes short and factual.

Export Crate Packing

Export crate packing is done on a dedicated bench with vented liners, moisture pads and stem braces. The crate is built to the parcel sheet rather than to a generic size, so the stems sit without movement and the crate weight stays predictable. Packing staff weigh each crate before sealing and print a sap tag with the lot number, destination port and packing time.

The tag is treated as part of the crate, not as a label added afterwards. If the tag and the parcel sheet do not match, the crate is reopened and repacked. Buyers receive a packing list that mirrors the sap tags in sequence, which allows a receiving dock to check a whole consignment against one document in a few minutes rather than opening every crate.

Forcing Schedule Plans

A forcing schedule plan sets the cold period and the warm-up curve for each bulb lot so that bloom arrives in a chosen week. We build the plan backwards from the market date, then test it against greenhouse capacity, mist line load and the number of lots already in cold store. The result is a dated table with review points at the middle of cold storage and at the start of warm-up.

Plans are written for the buyer rather than for internal use only. A client can see which lot is in which week, what the expected bloom stage will be on the target date, and where a small change in temperature would move the date forward or back. If a market date moves, we revise the plan and issue a new version with a clear revision number, so nobody is working from an old calendar by mistake.

Cold Chain Flower Runs

Cold chain flower runs move sealed crates from the packing bench to the export gate and onward to the buyer dock. Each run has a start time, a temperature band, a named handler and a route sheet. The sheet is signed at every handover, including the gate, so there is a short written trail from bench to dock rather than a single promise that the crate stayed cold.

If a run is delayed or a temperature band is breached, the buyer is contacted before the crate reaches the gate. We do not wait for the receiving dock to discover a problem. The run sheet carries the time of any deviation and the action taken, which gives the buyer a fair basis for deciding whether to accept, re-route or hold the crate for a later collection slot.

Retail Bundle Programs

Retail bundle programs assemble mixed stems into shelf-ready bundles for florists, market stalls and event buyers. Each bundle carries a plain English variety label, a stem count and a packing date. Bundles are wrapped so that the heads are protected on a shop counter and the stems can be trimmed without unwrapping the whole bunch.

Standing programs repeat on a fixed weekday with a fixed count, which lets a shop plan a display without renegotiating every week. A change to the count or the mix is confirmed by email before the run begins. Shops that run seasonal displays can also add a short special mix to the standing order, provided the request reaches the planning desk before the weekly cut is confirmed.

How a lot moves through the house

The six stations are not separate businesses. A lot enters at the bulb bench, passes through the forcing calendar, closes on the auction rail and leaves in a crate. The steps below show the order of work and the document that travels with the lot at each point.

1. Intake and grading

Bulb lots are inspected, graded and entered on a lot sheet with storage temperature and arrival date.

2. Plan and cold hold

The forcing plan sets the cold period and warm-up curve. Review points are agreed with the buyer in writing.

3. Cut and close on the rail

Stems are cut, graded and closed as parcels on the auction rail, each with a tag and a parcel sheet.

4. Crate and seal

The packing bench builds to the parcel sheet and seals the crate only when the sap tag matches.

5. Cold chain run

The run sheet follows the crate to the export gate, signed at every handover with any deviation noted.

6. Bundle and hand off

Retail bundles are counted, labelled and handed off on the agreed weekday for the shop display.

Ask for the current forcing calendar

Write to support@dingyueintl.buzz or call +13863810509 to receive lot sheets, the auction window dates and a sample export crate packing list.

Contact the desk