Suppliers Catalogs on CD

[ideasguy]

Ive now developed both Ideas Genie and Flower Genie to allow Suppliers to use the software to make their own "Catalog on CD", and have already issued samples to 2 Nurseries.

As a supplier, its very simple to add your own plants, photos and data. If you have a list of your plants in Excel or Access etc, I can convert this for you. I can help with the design of the CD and CD case.

As a customer, you'll be able to put this into your CD drive, select the supplier database on the CD using the "Other Source" pop-up, and browse the plant list.
Each plant will have a hyperlink to the BUY page on the supplier web site, so you can check out latest price and availablity, and order.
It will be categorised by criteria which they use, like:
Perennial, Annual, Bees, Butterfly, First year flowering, Bonsai, etc

If you want to add a plant to your wish list, order a plant, or just plain like a plant, you can click a button and copy the plant from CD to your own database on your computer.

In a good Catalog on CD you will have:
High resolution photos
One or more photos - Possible to have close up, plant, in combination in a garden.
More Plant Information, in IG, FG format.
Growing instructions
Sowing instructions

What do you think of the overall concept yourself?
1) as a customer- is it something you'd like to see Nurseries and Seed Suppliers providing?
2) as a Nursery or Seed Supplier - do you think it is beneficial to you?

Do you think this would be useful to you? What do YOU think?
I'd like to hear your answers.
Please reply and have your say.

[greenfinger]

 Going short, for a customer it is easy to have the descriptions with good (=representative) photos on one medium together. As this is too expensive in a paper catalog, the alternative is automatically a CD. Now I get catalogs with good but rather short descriptions and can consequently have only a slight clue about the appearance, the view of the plant. Next step is then going to search for the needed books. The used sources are shattered, but perhaps that's the sporting element in gardening. Of course, a work of reference (what a good catalog can be) is never exhaustive, but I want it as complete as possible.
For the nursery it can give the advantage of updating their yearly catalog without much effort and to hold the production of it in own hands (no printeries, ....)
So things can be benificial for both parties, but as far as my experience  goes the seed is fallen on barren soil.
Perhaps the nursery-owners still think the majority of their soil digging clientele don't have or even don't like computers.

[ideasguy]

If you look at the menu on IG Pro, you'll find a) the Nurseries tab and b) the Catalogs tab, and under that, the program GA040 - Catalogs.

Before introducing IG Pro version 3, Ive put many months of development into that suite of programs.
This has remained parked since April 2006. Now, I'm back on the case.

Under the Nurseries tab (IG Pro), Ive bene working on GA033 and GA033.
Nurseries use these programs to create Catalogs on CD

Under the Catalogs tab, Ive been working on GA040
In brief, this program is used to:
explore the Catalogs on CD, supplied by Nurseries and seed suppliers.
add plants to basket - your mail order - on YOUR computer

When you've completed your selection (can muse over this all winter at your leisure, adding and changing as you go along)
you can:
email the Mail order to the supplier - for an availability check
print your Mail order, and post it with your cheque.

You can order seed directly on line of course, but wouldnt it be nice to order a) plants you find of interest from seed, or b) plants which you wish to buy, using the IG Pro GA040 program to order by email or by post?

More to add... please return later

[NightHawk]

This sounds like a great idea and we applaud George for getting to grips with it.

The success of a project of this kind is for, in this case Nurseries, to get on board and take advantage of the ever expanding multimedia format to advertise their products.

In our experience, more and more households are getting onto the Internet and ordering online can be a very attractive and pleasant experience, so I think the potential customer resource is out there.

Generally, I think companies of all sorts are recognising the potential for sales of their products by exploiting the Internet.

The stumbling block is if companies say they don't have the staff or time to create CD Catalogues to give out to their customers.  It is this lethargy that needs to be overcome.  Maybe they need a bit harder kick up their backsides to appreciate this. 

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how many seed companies/nurseries show an interest.

Kathy & Laurie.

[ideasguy]

Heres who's already aboard on this project.

UK based Seed and Plant suppliers:
1st was Michael (gardenexpert on this forum)
http://www.imberhornelanenursery.co.uk/
Michael originally specialised in Camellias, but now has a very good range of Tree Peonies, Acers, Bamboo etc

Latest and very enthusiastic about the project is Paul Fisher
http://gower-fuchsias.co.uk/
Paul has lots to offer in another active project on the forum: Plant Labels.
He's sent me samples of the labels he uses for his business, and details about his printer. Toby (bossgard) is the driving force behind the Labels project (see GA048 in IG Pro). He's doing great work, identifying suitable labels and ink for the US market.

Ive talked about the project a few times with Pat at Chiltern Seeds. I'd love to get the plants in their extensive catalog in a Catalog on CD
http://www.edirectory.co.uk/chilternseeds/
Greenfinger has supplied a lot of photos to go with this Catalog. If you have grown plants from Chiltern seeds, and have photos, they will be much appreciated. Please send them to me by email.

US Based:
Ivy and Gene (member of the forum). Gene didnt have a web site, so I did this for him:
http://www.ideasforgardens.net/ivys/

Harold Keiner
http://keinersnursery.com

I'm working flat out on setting up the databases for Paul and Michael, and I hope to make them available as a download so you folk can do some testing with GA040, and perhaps order using GA040 in IG Pro.