Komet Sales Acquires Floral Computer Systems to Become Leading Provider of Floral Wholesaler ERP and E-Commerce Solutions

Originally published Monday, Jan 29, 2024

Komet Sales merges its solutions with Floral Computer Systems (“FCS”) to create the most comprehensive software solution for the floral industry and announces the development of a new “Wholesaler 3.0” solution. This announcement follows news of Komet’s acquisition of Unosof, the leading flower farm software vendor, in October 2023. The combined company now connects more than $2.5 billion of inventory across all three tiers of the floral supply chain - growers, importers, and wholesalers.

DORAL, Fla., December 12, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Komet Sales (“Komet”), the premier software provider for floral importers and wholesalers, and the operator of the Komet-to-Komet (K2K) E-commerce platform, is excited to announce its acquisition of Floral Computer Systems. Floral Computer Systems is the creator of the SMARTSystem, the leading business management software system for floral wholesalers. 

Collectively, with the acquisition of FCS and Komet’s October 2023 acquisition of Unosof, the combined companies create unparalleled reach by helping their customers manage over $2.5 billion in floral product transactions annually. This represents the largest digital B2B floral network in the Americas. The acquisition will allow SMARTSystem customers to seamlessly connect to supply at Unosof farms and Komet importers for more efficient floral procurement and time-savings through automation. For Unosof and Komet users, the connection of FCS wholesalers to the K2K network will broaden the sales connections available on the K2K network, increasing sales opportunities.

Komet’s K2K Network seamlessly connects live vendor inventories with upstream seller platforms, allowing wholesalers to sell on-hand inventory as well as their suppliers’ on-hand inventory with complete automation at each step in the chain. K2K increases product selection and availability across the floral industry while it reduces inventory risk and enables sales personnel to focus on building stronger customer relationships instead of serving as order-takers. 

Chris Beals, CEO of Komet, will continue to lead the combined entity. FCS’s Founder and CEO, John Henderson, will continue to lead FCS and serve as an integral part of the development of Wholesaler 3.0, with expected completion of the first version in the first half of 2024. 

"This acquisition is a huge game changer for floral wholesalers," said Chris Beals. "By integrating FCS's wholesaler and production operations expertise with Komet's robust SaaS E-commerce and inventory platform, we'll be better positioned than ever to provide an unparalleled solution that addresses the challenges faced by flower wholesalers as well as delivering a significantly expanded sales channel to growers and importers on the K2K network. This is a win-win-win for floral growers, importers, and wholesalers, and in turn a boon for retail florists’ procurement as well."

While SMARTSystem customers will continue to see exciting new features built, the development of Wholesaler 3.0 will be a future option for customers. Wholesaler 3.0, a cloud-based product developed from the shared vision of FCS and Komet, will combine the best aspects of both software platforms. Komet brings the K2K network and the scalability of cloud-based software while FCS and its team of floral wholesaling experts brings new functionality tailored to the wholesale tier, notably bouquet management and sales by the stem and bunch. Upcoming roadmap projects for Wholesaler 3.0 include:

• Launching the ability to do bunch and unit-based E-commerce transactions with retailers;
• Developing enhanced capabilities for servicing the mass market segment; and
• Providing the ability to power E-commerce on wholesaler websites with easy-to-use web embeds.

Additionally, SMARTSystem customers will enjoy the benefits of Komet and Unosof efforts to create an interoperable product catalog and product matching system to help floral brands and growers to standardize their product descriptions and images. This initiative will reduce errors and manual data entry, ensuring a smoother and more efficient experience for B2B floral customers

John Henderson stated, “I have been friends with Alejandro Pérez, [Komet’s Founder] for over 20 years and have spoken about joining forces many times. Over the last year or so, we have been working on projects integrating K2K with SMARTSystem to improve workflows for wholesalers. Formalizing our relationship with this merger is the logical next step that only brings more benefits to our customers.”

Chris Beals commented, "John and his team have built trusted relationships with their clients based on years of trusted service - we could not be more excited to welcome the FCS team into our growing Komet family."

About Komet Sales:

Established by Alejandro Pérez in 2010 and now led by Chris Beals, Komet is the leading provider of ERP and E-commerce solutions catering to importers and wholesalers in the cut flower/floral industry. Through its cutting-edge technology, Komet has revolutionized operational practices within the floral sector, enhancing efficiency and streamlining processes. Komet's K2K E-commerce platform stands as the largest B2B E-commerce network, facilitating global transactions and payments of current and future inventory between farms, importers, wholesalers, and retailers. With the acquisition of Unosof in 2023, Komet also offers the leading software system for floral production in the Americas as well. Leveraging Unosof and Komet software, farms are able to seamlessly commercialize their product throughout the Americas. 

About Floral Computer Systems:

Floral Computer Systems (FCS) was established by John Henderson in 1986 working with Importers in the Miami market. During the late 1990s, recognizing the need wholesalers had for business software, John shifted operations to develop software for wholesalers. SMARTSystem was created, which is Business Management Software for Floral Wholesale Distributors. Over the years, FCS has expanded throughout the USA and Canada with software products and services, including:

• SMARTSystem™ provides real-time inventory management software information for management decision-making to streamline business operations, including inventory management, receiving, purchasing, sales, billing, warehouse management, and delivery.
• SMARTSite™ is a fully interactive E-commerce website with advanced capabilities.
• SMARTScan™ uses the latest technology to manage Inventory-related areas using bar codes on a mobile handheld scanner. 
• Mobile-on-the-Move™ which creates sales orders for remote order entry designed for tablets or mobile phones. 

For media inquiries, please contact: Elena Mejia, elena@kometsales.com