Proagrica’s Carenza Harvey says the company has observed the global coronavirus pandemic is accelerating business trends in ag retail.
“The changes happening today—with social distancing impacting our processes—people are becoming more efficient and go online more,” she says. “Those trends have been happening for years, so what’s happening now shouldn’t be too threatening. It’s what you’ve already been preparing for.”
She sees a future that relies more on data, analytics, and transparency in the supply chain while keeping on keen eye on the customer experience.
“The crucial thing in this crisis that is becoming more important is an effective an online experience,” Harvey says. “The focus must be on bringing all aspects of a cohesive customer journey online, which requires an omnichannel approach.”
As a product manager, Harvey divides the functionality into two broad areas---account management (invoices, statements) and ordering. And she notes the ordering piece is where the industry has the most development to do.
“We want to enable the online experience when it’s important and use that to support and enhance the in-person interactions,” Harvey says. She notes that relationships and in-person interactions drive a lot of business in ag retail, particularly with sales agronomists.
“In-person interactions are the highest quality experiences,” Harvey says. “But there’s great opportunity to take out manual pieces. So for example, if a grower is a expecting a delivery, but they don’t know when it’s coming—put that information online and eliminate the need for a phone call.”
According to Harvey, one of the greatest challenges so far is the integration of brining all aspects of the grower and ag retailer relationship online. Her top advice to retailers looking to find success with digitizing their business is to “get your house in order first.”
“There’s quite a lot of third party data---including logistics—as well as the retailer warehouses and grower data,” she says.
Despite the investment needed, she says the return on investment is high. And after the pandemic, offering solutions online will be table stakes for success in ag retail.
“Now could not be a better time to drive agriculture to be more data-driven,” she says. “Ag retailers can use this an opportunity to think about how they sell all the way back through their supply chain. Integration will be key in providing a wholistic ecosystem for ag retailers.”
