Novozymes BioAg Ready For Next Chapter
This upcoming season will be the first for Novozymes BioAg to return to a direct-to-customer relationship with retailers. The North American business results in almost 1/3 of the company’s sales revenues.
“This is a big change for us,” says Jason Ward North American commercial operations lead for Novozymes BioAg. “We’ve added 15 people to promote our products in the U.S. and Canada, and our newly formed team is excited to work directly with retailers, distributors and farmers.”
Ward says the transition from having a commercial relationship with Bayer has been a three or four month project.
“We’ve had great conversations with customers who have come to respect and appreciate our products, and they’ve been experiencing those products through Bayer. So we are aggregating as much feedback as possible,” he says.
The company’s biological product portfolio includes enzymatic and microbial solutions. In the next year, the company could introduce as many as 14 new products.
“There’s one thing I know: we are very focused. If you are looking for experts in enzymatic and microbial solutions, we want to the be leader. We are undiluted by other interests,” Ward says.
He points to Optimize as the company’s flagship brand which is now offered with specialized strains for different crops ranging from peanuts to soybeans to alfalfa.
“This is a well recognized product in the marketplace, and this year we are bringing forward a new formulation of Optimize that allows for improved yields and longer shelf life,” Ward says. “While many biologicals have a one-year shelf life, the new Optimize formulation will have a two-year shelf life.”
He says inoculants have been a good product category to springboard additional biological product use because farmers and retailers recognize there are naturally occurring biologicals in the soil that can be used to stimulate plant performance.
As for goals for the year ahead, Ward says the team is focused on one thing—building strong relationships with its customers.
“We need great customer service. This is all about when, where and how customers need products. We will be very good at talking to and working with customers to be a reliable supplier. This is the foundation for our business,” Ward says.
As part of its focus, Novozymes BioAg is working to provide a three-day turnaround on all orders. The company has located distribution points so if an order is placed on Monday, it’s delivered on Thursday.
The company’s production facilities in North America are in Salem, VA, Milwaukee, WI and Saskatoon, Canada. The typical lead time in the fermentation process for production is only eight weeks, which provides advantages in the supply chain.
