Green Legacy, a greenhouse operation based in Ohio, represents the power of getting production planning right from the start. Owner Daniel van Wingerden knew from past experience that spreadsheet-based production management doesn't scale with greenhouse complexity, so he turned to Silver Fern's PRODUCE™ early in his operation's development. When Cora Wyers joined the team in 2024 to focus on operational excellence, Green Legacy was able to unlock even greater value from their PRODUCE™ implementation, demonstrating how the right software foundation can support continuous operational improvement.

The Challenge

Green Legacy faced the fundamental challenge that confronts all growing greenhouse operations: how to manage increasingly complex production planning without falling into the spreadsheet trap that limits so many operations. Daniel recognized early that manual planning methods create bottlenecks and errors that only worsen as operations scale.

The specific challenges were clear: multiple departments needed coordinated access to production data, inventory management required constant reconciliation with vendor deliveries, and the operation needed comprehensive reporting capabilities that could serve different roles effectively. Most importantly, the system needed to support growth without requiring proportional increases in administrative overhead.

Daniel van Wingerden, Owner of Green Legacy:"We were looking for production software that was practical, user friendly, and offered unmatched customer support."

The PRODUCE™ Solution

PRODUCE™ became Green Legacy's centralized command center for production planning, providing the scalable foundation they needed. With Cora focusing on operational optimization, Green Legacy was able to fully leverage the system's comprehensive capabilities.

Centralized Production Management

PRODUCE™ eliminated the coordination challenges that plague spreadsheet-based operations:

• All orders, customer specs, and production requirements consolidated into one comprehensive production schedule

• Live goods tracking with systematic weekly audit reports comparing inventory against vendor deliveries

• Cross-department accessibility ensuring each team gets exactly the information they need

Intelligent Reporting and Workflow Optimization

The system's reporting capabilities enabled proactive rather than reactive management:

• Ready week schedules for sales team packing slip generation
• Transplant and prop reports for strategic weekly production planning
• UPC reports for streamlined label printing operations
• Customizable views where users can select visible columns for personalized workflows
  
  
  Cora Wyers, Green Legacy:
  "I like that you can pick which columns are visible, so you can really condense the information and make it exactly what you need."

Results at a Glance

The impact of PRODUCE™ on Green Legacy's operations has been transformative:

• Eliminated Human Error: Centralized data in PRODUCE™ removes the inevitable inconsistencies and errors that come from managing complex production data across multiple spreadsheets

• One-Stop Shop for Multiple Departments: Each team now accesses specific information without requiring coordination or data sharing between departments

• Enhanced Operational Visibility: Weekly audits provide clear visibility into inventory accuracy and vendor performance, enabling proactive issue resolution

Cora Wyers:
"Having a one-stop place that several of our employees in different departments can go to and find the data that they need... just the ease of having everything in one place is really nice and not having to fumble through a bunch of spreadsheets."

What Made It Work

Green Legacy's success with PRODUCE™ stemmed from several key factors that enabled their transformation.

The Silver Fern support team played a crucial role, with Cora specifically highlighting their responsiveness and thoroughness. When technical challenges arose, such as inventory import issues, the support team provided hands-on assistance to resolve problems quickly. The support team was particularly instrumental in helping with complex data mapping challenges.

Rather than trying to transform everything at once, Green Legacy focused on maximizing core functionality that would deliver immediate value—production scheduling, inventory management, and reporting. The intuitive design enabled team members to become comfortable quickly, while comprehensive documentation and training videos supported ongoing learning.

That confidence in support enabled Green Legacy to expand PRODUCE™ usage across teams and departments—turning production planning from a daily scramble into a scalable, strategic process.

The Bottom Line

PRODUCE™ isn't just production planning software—it's the foundation for scalable growing operations. For Green Legacy, it delivered the centralized visibility, user-friendly design, and exceptional support they needed to eliminate spreadsheet dependencies and focus on growing quality plants. Today, Green Legacy's planning team is working smarter and they're managing production with confidence at scale.

The effectiveness has been validated through direct peer recommendations—when a landscaper who had merged with a nursery operation asked Cora about software recommendations, she enthusiastically recommended PRODUCE™, highlighting both the functionality and exceptional support experience.

Daniel van Wingerden:
"Silver Fern more than delivered! Now we can effectively plan and manage production through spring using true analytics and data."

Ready to see what Silver Fern can do for you?

Whether you're a small grower or a large distributor, Silver Fern scales to meet your needs—retail, wholesale, or both.

Request a demo today and discover how our platform can simplify, streamline, and strengthen your operations.

Once you reach out, we’ll send you an email to schedule a time that works for you.

📩 Or email us at [email protected] to learn more.