A long-standing pallet pooling partnership is helping global agribusiness Flamingo manage the intense logistics demand surge of the spring flower season, when shipments peak around Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.
Flamingo supplies hundreds of millions of flower stems, plants, and fresh produce to supermarkets and florists across the UK and Europe. To keep those products moving during peak demand, the company relies on pallet pooling provider IPP to ensure a steady supply of transport platforms across its distribution network.
During the early months of the year, pallet volumes handled by IPP for Flamingo can double as retailers prepare for seasonal promotions. According to the companies, this flexibility allows Flamingo to scale its supply chain quickly while maintaining service levels to large retail customers.
Flamingo works with partner growers in 19 countries and aims to deliver flowers to store shelves within 96 hours of harvest. Maintaining that timeline requires reliable material-handling infrastructure across multiple transport legs, including farm collection, packing facilities, and distribution centers.
Vanuza Machado, UK inbound logistics coordinator for Flamingo, said the partnership has helped the company navigate peak seasonal surges while maintaining consistent operations.
“We’ve been working with IPP for more than 10 years, building a strong and collaborative partnership over that time,” Machado said. “Key events like Mother’s Day bring a significant uplift in volume, so flexibility and responsiveness are crucial. IPP supports us by ensuring pallet supply keeps pace with increased demand, helping us manage peak volumes smoothly.”
Beyond pallet availability, the collaboration also includes supply chain optimization tools. IPP integrates Internet of Things (IoT) tracking technology and forecasting capabilities to help customers anticipate demand spikes and coordinate pallet flows more efficiently.
Those capabilities can be particularly important for perishable supply chains such as flowers, where delays quickly translate into product losses.
Flamingo has also made sustainability a central focus of its operations. The company has invested in renewable energy, increased its use of sea freight, improved water stewardship programs, and expanded recycling and waste-reduction initiatives.
Pooling systems can support those efforts by extending pallet lifecycles and reducing single-use transport packaging, while network optimization can reduce empty miles and unnecessary transport movements.
Demi Crabbe, commercial director at IPP, said the collaboration reflects the growing role of logistics partnerships in managing high-volume retail supply chains.
“For more than a decade, our partnership with Flamingo has demonstrated the value of reliability and innovation during peak periods,” Crabbe said. “By combining our pooling network with a circular approach, we help customers reduce waste, cut carbon, and ensure products reach retailers on time.”
For growers and retailers alike, the early-year flower season remains one of the most demanding logistics periods in the fresh-produce supply chain. With demand continuing to grow, partnerships that combine pallet pooling, data visibility, and coordinated planning are becoming an increasingly important part of keeping flowers moving from farm to store shelves.
Related Articles
IPP Pooling and Le Marché de Phalempin Mark 20 Years of Sustainable Pallet Pooling Partnership
IPP strengthens UK & Ireland leadership team with 3 promotions
Rick LeBlanc, EMBA, is the founder and editor of Reusable Packaging News (subscribe to the free newsletter) and editor of Western Pallet Magazine. A supply chain journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in pallets, reusable packaging, material handling and related operations. Rick is co-author of Pallets: A North American Perspective and Pallets & Progress: A Collected History of Pallets and Palletized Handling 1922–1945. He is also an advisory board member of the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design. Read Rick’s full bio.
