Long admired for world-class plant material, the $800+ million Oregon nursery business continues to lead as one of the top three plant growing and horticultural production states in the U.S. This is good news for DeSantis commercial and residential clients who care about finding the highest quality plants for landscaping projects.
Inge Shepherd, DeSantis Plant Procurement Manager, looks at sourcing plants and trees strategically, as an ongoing cycle in the search for perfection. Over the course of her career, she has achieved an unparalleled reputation among DeSantis clients for her innate ability to pick only the best.
“Clients who seek sustainable outcomes must include sustainable plants,” says Inge, whose commitment to healthy nursery stock began in her native Netherlands at her family’s tulip, lily and iris farm. “Growing plants is an exercise is patience and skill,” she adds, “it’s difficult to appreciate all the steps involved in growing beautiful, resilient and durable plants, so building relationships with suppliers you trust is key.”
Inge has over 100 nurseries on her go-to list; professional growers she knows have the healthiest plants in the marketplace. “Having quality resources for different product lines — shrubs, shade and street trees, watershed-specific native grasses or pollinator-attracting perennials, and bioswale and raingarden plants, for example, not only saves us time but saves the client money, reducing risk of change orders, project delays and substitutions,” she notes.
“Procurement is essentially fulfillment as competitive advantage,” says Chief Executive Officer, Dean DeSantis. “Reducing the time it takes to source, coordinate and deliver plants puts pressure on the entire supply chain to not only get it right, but deliver perishable products faster than ever before. It’s a fundamental shift in expectation and when we can improve lead time and move dozens, if not hundreds, of trees and thousands of plants in a matter of days to keep the project on goal. It helps us achieve process excellence and exceed client expectations at the same time.”
As a progressive company, DeSantis looks at ways to increase client satisfaction across its organization; procurement, and relationships with suppliers, is vital. “No business is an island,” adds Inge. “The strong relationships we’ve formed across our industry, the foundation of trust, and being able to move products from one end to add value to the other end, is what makes it all work.”
Inge and her family moved to Oregon from the Netherlands many years ago but her father’s wisdom, combined with her family’s tulip farming legacy, guides her to this day. “Pick something you love to do, do it well, and you’ll be happy for the rest of your life.”
We couldn’t agree more. Building and adding value to our relationships with clients and suppliers, having a strong commitment to providing plant products and landscape services of the highest quality, and harvesting the creativity and talent of our team guarantees a win-win for everyone.
To learn more about DeSantis’ commitment to quality, go to: www.desantislandscapes.com