innovation is not merely for big-name brick-and-mortar stores with an e-commerce channel. But it is also becoming a buzzword with agri-tailers who aim to occupy a physical space. Bottom line: All retailers feel like they can do more. But how much of tech is agri-tech in the real world? Frivolous investments in tech may not be the most prudent approach. In the Deloitte report, Strategy, Not Technology Drives Digital Transformation, “the strength of digital technologies – social, mobile, analytics, and cloud, doesn’t lie in the technologies individually. Instead, it stems from how companies integrate them to transform their businesses and how they work.
agri-tech startups are gaining ground in the ecosystem which is populated by smallholders. Roadmapping innovation in the agtech environment. Driven by informality in the home market, lack of transparency, and unaccountability, the industry is ripe for more disruption. Farmers are stuck in a less than a lucrative loop. With digitization and tech-enabled retail and supply, a lot of domestic startups are developing solutions for synchronized planning, smart factories, intelligent supply, connected customers, and dynamic fulfillment. According to the Nasscom Report 2019, stakeholders are developing a strong retail and supply chain, like the farm to fork model which eliminates unnecessary middle persons and inefficiencies.
but there are too many tech options and multiple stakeholders which can distract ag-tech startups from simple, streamlined, and effective solutions. While the need to prioritize modern consumer solutions is urgent, understanding consumer priorities is both challenging and critical.
let’s consider the primary factors to bring out a transformation in your agritech model today.
1. channels
urban fulfilment locations with a 90-minute drive from the customers, or optimized end-to-end like click-to-ship in two hours and a strong set of ecosystem partners that allow for seamless processes are getting popular today. But it is important to invest in technologies that work for you best. It’s better to have one find tech sol
traditional supply chain networks are not built for same-day deliveries. But there is an opportunity to leverage local communities to occupy this space. Rising customer expectations for faster food delivery have triggered the development of more innovative options. Shipping products directly from farms or distribution centre is cost-efficient. Pop-up nodes are another option.
2. consumer-facing requirements
merchandising, product information, the brand story, and personalization enablers are the primary aspects of consumer-facing requirements. Faster and integrated IT systems for shifting gears include full inventory transparency across warehouses and stores, a direct transfer of order data between the webshop and in-store fulfillment, and a prioritized picking logic to allow speedy tracking of same-day orders.
besides, we’ll need specifically signed collection and return areas with sufficiently trained, equipped, and incentivized staff to pull this off.
3. business goals
balancing tactical needs with what’s right for the overall business goals and strategy is particularly challenging given all the other considerations that factor into omnichannel priorities. While the primary goals are to drive sales, increase brand loyalty and brand value, one needs to rethink the economics of the shift. Is your business willing to bear the initial extra costs involved in the shipment of a unit volume delivery? What can you afford to automate immediately? How would connected inventory work in practice for your business?
mapping your agritech sales & distribution strategy
your tech-enabled strategy needs to be unique to your business needs, goals, and customers. Six primary capabilities that you could explore are inventory, order management, delivery & returns, customer information, operational effectiveness and networks.
but you need to make sure that you meet customers where they want to be while you win support of your employees and the processes to get there are seamless. It’s important to think in terms of the big picture, yes. But it is equally important to execute until the finest detail is accounted for. This said, roadmapping should go one step at a time, at scale, and in a scientific and manageable manner.
- firstly, thoroughly assess your agritech capabilities to determine where you’re at and where you want to be.
- next, identify the gaps and define the initiatives that will fill these gaps.
- and finally, categorize these initiatives and develop a sequence of steps that achieve your capability, tech and people goals.
a thoughtfully developed roadmap is well-dimensioned, shows dependencies, is transparent to stakeholder groups relative to time. Your business needs A question that can help you prioritize your way to an agritech business is:
what will continue to work for you long after you have invested in it?
and in most cases, it is rarely innovation itself but strategic integration and change management that counts.