Quit The Paper Chase, Go Digital
There is no time like the present to throw off the albatross of “we’ve always done it this way.” The COVID-19 pandemic’s lasting influence is seeing how business can be done a bit differently and definitely more remotely, but the pandemic also spotlighted obstacles and limitations in how ag retailers use data management systems.
“We need to respect the history of how we’ve done business, but we should focus on what’s the best way—and the most efficient way—to deliver experiences to the grower and how do data and technology play into that. Ag retailers need to have a path in how that plays into your organization,” says Tom Ryan, vice president of business operations and retail alliances at WinField United.
Ryan says it’s more about how a team uses its tools. He’s seen how the human element relies on technology for work, and through building out internal processes, teams have realized the full benefits on the backend—including freeing up people’s time to work on more valuable tasks than manual data entry and double entry of data.
As an example, he shares the story of launching Evolve within WinField United this past year. The tool digitized every order in the company’s system, so there was an electronic record that customers could view and track the status of no matter how the order was placed across 520 retail locations and 1,000 ship-to locations.
“We are going through the largest volume of invoicing we’ve ever done, and we have the fewest invoice corrections or credit rebills. It has dramatically reduced the amount of error on the largest-volume year ever. That’s what marrying technology and data can do,” Ryan says.
One way to ensure technology and team members are working efficiently is having the technology as close to where the work is happening as you can.
“Do you have the right tool to access the right information at hand when you are making a decision?” asks Ernie Chappell, CEO at EFC Systems. “There is a lot of complexity in ag, and systems are simplifying it. People have this misconception that all data is incredibly valuable. But it’s only relevant if you can take an insight out of it.”
Proximity, Process and Progress
Chappell says people are the stars in moving the needle in how ag retail can use technology—and the technology itself is just a supporting role.
“Everyone thinks the magic IT companies will solve the problems. But you have to have the mindset to change the process down in the trenches. You don’t need to print a report. You need to build a mindset of doing business differently. No ERP solves this. Process change is the lead. And you need technology to support that change,” he says. “It’s about accessing the data. There still might be some silos behind the scenes, but put the right pipes between them.”
Ag retail is challenged with managing, securing and connecting data across multiple systems: financial, third-party ERP, machine data, blenders, agronomy, imagery and mapping, grain, feed and oil and energy.
Farmers want to see all of the data they provide and collaborate with ag retailers on. And ag retailers want to analyze data for agronomic decisions and business insights.
“It’s a lot of little simple things. Combined through the chain, they become really impactful in what you can deliver as an output,” Ryan says. “How do you bring it together in a usable format to the retailer and back to the grower and create a differentiated experience. That’s the holy grail.”
Stranded data strangles those opportunities. Ryan points to as-applied data as one of the most common “data islands.”
“We’ve worked to provide connections across platforms because, particularly with as-applied data, when you remove any need for manual entry, we are able to access a lot more information and unlock many more insights,” Ryan says.
3 Data-Derived Insights To Focus On Right Now
- Margin management: What are you really making?
- B2B ordering: Have you shifted from a location mindset to an organizational mindset in inventory management?
- Farm planning: Can you have intentional discussions with growers to define and refine product needs?
Knock Down Siloed Data
Both Ryan and Chappell see a future where the business data of ag retail are even further intertwined with agronomic and on-farm data.
“The ERP is the core of the retail organization. It’s the central information store and should be the record of truth. Spatial data is becoming increasingly important, and those data sources have to work together closely. It’s about driving deeper connections between agronomic and economic—because the less-than-ideal customer service experience is having a bill that was wrong or unclear what field it was for,” Chappell says.
When technology tools are optimized, you can provide the ideal customer experience and maximize the business opportunities.
WinField United has been working to use data for unlocking sales potential for its retailers’ agronomy sales teams. As an example, its Acre program automatically generates reports on top customers, top orders and order histories.
“This helps show where you may be leaving loose ends untied. And what growers have orders completed and which growers are still outstanding,” Ryan says. “This particularly has dramatically reduced our churn with seed sales.”
What To Do In The Next Six Months
“Step back, and say, ‘What is the experience I want to deliver to grower-customers?” Ryan advises retailers to consider. “Once you do that, it makes it easier to say what pieces of data do I need to incorporate to execute that experience. That could be ‘I want to be able to provide an agronomic recommendation proactively, so I need this level of data. Once they make the application, I want to move it to this system and build the plan of connectivity and transparency.’ It becomes clear as you build out this defined experience, and it allows our people to work with the retailer to support them.”
Chappell encourages retailers to focus on staying close to the work they do, and technology should only bring them closer to customers, not be a barrier.
“My vision is to run your company through your phone,” he says, “because agriculture happens out in the field. Now, there are still many activities suitable for desktop. But teams should have access to what they need to do to help the grower, and that’s where they have the real interaction.”
