


Sipk Is Made on Formation of Delivery Pools 
FIVE TYPES ARE FAVORED 
; eS FID Field Men Are Busy in Various Towns 
_ By JEAN NASH 
- In F.T.D. News 
Formation of delivery pools by 
florists seems to be making head- 
way. Readers will recall that the 
SF reported the recent action of the 
PART D Association, when it called in 
its five field men and put them on 
the job of assisting members (and 
incidentally non-members) in the 
formation of workable plans by 
which rubber and equipment would 
be saved. Below we are reprint- 
ing from the March F.T.D. News its 
review of accomplishments to date. 
In the West Coast department of 
last issue, our Los Angeles corre- 
spondent told of activity in that 
- area, dropping incidentally the state- 
ment that 33 pools are now operat- 
ing in the Los Angeles district. 

the part of FTD field men are 
being felt now in _the increas- 
ing numbers of cooperative delivery 
pools which are being organized ev- 
ery week by FTD florists. 
From every section of the coun- 
try, reports are coming in to FTD 
headquarters in Detroit, reports that 
bespeak the fine spirit which many 
FTD members are showing in their 
willingness to pool their deliveries 
with those of their fellow members 
and other florists in their communi- 
ties. 
RR ihe bar of a month’s effort on 
; Co-ops Vary 
The type of pools which are be- 
ing formed vary as much as the 
personalities of the various flower 
shops in the organization and the 
nature of the communities which 
they serve. As to size, they range 
from corporation pools to which 
large numbers of florists belong in 
our big metropolitan centers ‘to in- 
formal agreements between two 
shops in small villages. Although 
complete details have not yet been 
made available, in the city of Chi- 
cago it is reported that following 
a meeting last month, between 25 
and 30 groups of varying size were 
in the process of organization. Just 
for contrast, out in Boone, Iowa, 
Bernie’s Flower Shop reports that it 
is now pooling deliveries with a 
bakery. The significant fact about 
this little co-op is the spirit of 
friendliness. that it reflects between 
two. retail merchants in a small 
community. Also, the florist reports, 
the plan is working out well. An- 
other: interesting story about a pool 
between a florist and other retailers 
comes from LaGrange, Ill, where 
A. W. Blank, the Shangri-La Florist, 
states that he has been “sharing 
the ride” with a group of 15 grocers 
since last July 4. He reports that 
the system is both “convenient and 
profitable, and that three trucks 
now satisfactorily do the work for- 
merly performed by 11 trucks. The . 
pool has enabled the members to get 
along without three of their pieces 
of delivery equipment. 
In the process of organizing pools 
a number of valuable ideas have 
been brought to light. For exam- 
ple, the cooperative ad has been 
used successfully by many groups 
of florists to explain the system to 
the public. One of the most recent 
examples of cooperative advertising 
of this nature was that used by the 
florists of Galesburg, Ill., when they 
organized their pool a short time 
ago. They bought space in the lo- 
cal newspaper for a series of four 
ads explaining their delivery pool 
and its methods of operation. Simi- 
lar advertising was used by the flor- 
ists of Rochester. 
Favor Sunday Closing 
Another important factor, one that 
has been incorporated into a rule 
by many of the pools, is that of the 
Sunday closing. In many cases, the 
subscribers to the pool have united 
in their stand on this subject with 
mutual profit in the result. 
Still another feature of delivery 
pools is the use of delivery stamps 
on packages to eliminate bookkeep- 
ing. 
A fourth significant development 
in the short history of the pooling 
delivery equipment is the resolution 
to come out of the Jan. 19 board 
meeting of the Florists’ Publicity 
Association of Milwaukee. When 
they urged their members to form 
pools, they also asked each of them 
to report any violation of ODT reg- 
ulations by other florists in the com- 
munity. Here is the resolution: 
RESOLVED: That members of the 
Milwaukee Florists’ Publicity Asso- 
ciation institute a campaign of po- 
licing by its members; that is, each 
member to report to our secretary, 
David M. Puerner, 811 Majestic 
‘building, violations of rules govern- 
ing the use of trucks. Where the 
violation warrants, the secretary is 
instructed to present the names of 
such offenders to the Office of De- 
fense Transportation for action as 
‘they see fit. 
Here are the rules: 
A. No special deliveries. 
SOUTHERN FLORIST AND NURSERYMAN 7 
B. No use of trucks for personal 
affairs. 
C. Mileage must be cut over 25% 
after the elimination of special de- 
liveries and callbacks. 
D. Not more than one delivery 
a day to any house or building, ex- 
cept funeral homes. 
“Single orders,” the Association 
told its members, “long crosstown 
runs for one or two orders must be 
stopped! On distant orders insti- 
tute a program of transferring or- 
ders to a florist in the neighborhood. 
You won’t lose any business. 
“This rule of policing means that 
personal grievances against your 
neighbor florist are out for the du- 
ration. You must cooperate with 
him in pooling deliveries. We are 
fighting the Germans and Japs, not 
ourselves.” 
The Milwaukee florists’ reply to 
their organization’s request that they 
forget ‘business as usual’ and bury 
their differences with their competi- 
tors resulted in the formation of 16 
pools, each having from two to five 
members. These are still in the 
process of organization. 
Five Kinds of Pools 
There are five types of delivery 
pools in operation today among 
members of FTD in the United 
States. It is part of the field man’s 
job when he goes into a community 
where pooling is still in the forma- 
tive stages to discuss the matter 
with local florists and try to help 
them reach a decision as to which 
type of pool will best fill the spe- 
cific needs of their locality. 
Type 1. This is a simple cooper- 
ative pool, in which members take 
turns in making all deliveries for 
the group, rotating on either daily 
or weekly shifts. Pools of “Group 
1” classification are now operating 
in Schenectady, N. Y.; Pittsfield, 
Mass.; Evanston, Galesburg, Knox- 
ville and Monmouth, Ill; Marlin, 
Texas; Bristol,.Tenn., and Va.; At- 
lantic City and Elizabeth, N. J.; 
Lynchburg, Va., and Wheeling, W. 
Was 
Type 2. Cooperative delivery 
groups in this classification pool 
their equipment, but ownership is 
retained by the individual flower 
shops. Deliveries are handled by 
drivers hired and paid jointly by 
members. Among the towns where 
this type of pool is in operation are 
Little Silver and Trenton, N. J. 
Type 3. This sort of pool works 
out best in large cities. A separate 
delivery organization, usually a cor- 
poration, is formed with a paid 
manager and drivers. Equipment is 
either sold or. leased by the mem- 
bers to the corporation, or uniform 
equipment is purchased or leased 
by the corporation as required. 
These corporation pools are now 
(Continued on page 15) 
