Ag Retail’s Biggest Mistakes Today
The Scoop asked a handful of big thinkers to describe the transformative power of technology. Give these thought leaders a read. Some of the challenges they highlight or questions they raise may get you on your own soapbox about how to do things differently. You can find these authors on Substack and Twitter to continue the dialogue.
In ag retail one of the most common things I see is that whoever is a good agronomist tends to end up being a precision or technology manager for the company. This makes sense because precision ag is simply applying agronomic principles at a higher resolution using technology. What becomes the next most common thing though is that whoever is the precision manager usually ends up having all technology and digital responsibilities thrown at them as if it all falls into the same bucket. This is one of the biggest mistakes in ag retail today.
Many of the core digital technologies that a retail can leverage are not anchored in agronomy, but in the customer experience, staff efficiency and data utilization to augment the entirety of sales and operations beyond agronomy.
The skill set required to effectively identify and deploy these capabilities and technologies across an organization is anchored more in understanding how people think, understanding business operations and having an enjoyment of using data to discover uncovered opportunities in programs, customer segments or inefficient operations than simply agronomic services. This isn’t to say some agronomists don’t have a skill set to deliver on those opportunities – but to assume that because someone is competent with agronomic and precision technologies means they are interested in all technologies and can juggle all aspects of precision, agronomy and cross functional digital tools is not only a disservice to that individual, but the entire organization.
In ag retail we need to get comfortable with the fact that digital tools and infrastructure are not only here to stay, but an essential differentiator for your business indefinitely. In order to tackle this endeavour it is going to take identifying (or cultivating) someone (a team?) with a digital first mindset plus the interest, skill set and autonomy to think beyond agronomic and precision technologies and into how every cross functional department can become more effective, how customer experience can be amplified and how new revenue opportunities can be identified.
Digital capabilities are the foundation that underpin every business segment. Get used to it.
Connect with Shane:
Upstream Ag Insights on Substack
