Managing the Murky Waters in Ag Retail Software
Editor’s note: This article originally published in October 2021.
I recently received a call from my consultant friend, Lisa Prassack, President of Prassack Advisors. I lean on her expertise occasionally when I’m trying to make sense of technology trends … she’s usually got a nugget or two (or 10) of solid perspective for me. Anyway, turns out she’s been puzzling over some of the same things I have about ag retail software, and where the industry is headed.
“I’ve been doing some background work on the companies, and there are still so many of them out there,” she says, then starts to ramble them off one by one. I lose count after the first dozen.
Among retail software systems there are of course market leaders with significant share coast-to-coast, and some regional players with strong customer loyalty in specific market areas. But the number of players for our continuously consolidating distribution channel is not proportionate to the potential number of customers.
Retailers across the board noted in thinking about their farmer-customer’s digital experience that delivering on the key elements of the retailer-farmer relationship, from account and order access to field status, are table stakes in whatever the form the offering takes. And, of course, it needs to be simple to use for farmers at any level of technology aptitude.
They also noted that their efforts are extracting a tremendous amount of financial, temporal, and human capital to build the digital bridge to farmer-customers. And the roadblocks are endless — incompatible software and data, partners with changing priorities and systems, evolving customer demands, the looming specter of sustainability and carbon programs that will need tracking, etc. It’s a wonder that anyone gets any sleep.
Then there are the myriad applications and software services that must be vetted and, if found of value, integrated.
I’m putting this out there because it feels like we’re at a key inflection point in the retail software market, and any retailer that’s embarked on a software evaluation journey understands that this is wildly difficult.
We’re starting to see consolidation and collaboration among players — Semios’ acquisition of Agworld, which has gained some traction as a player in the Midwest, will definitely have an impact on the direction it takes moving forward. Telus and Agrian wasn’t that long ago, nor was Proagrica and CDMS. Companies are making moves that will make their offerings diverse and sustainable, and that will leave some folks behind, or open to merging or acquisition.
For their part, many retailers are making their own bid for long-term viability by addressing the digital customer experience. We need to move forward, but we should also be engaging with our technology partners and making the best possible choices. Making a move that doesn’t fit with your future goals, or not making a move you need to make, is growing increasingly dangerous in an uncertain market.
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