{"id":26456,"date":"2017-11-15T22:24:33","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T03:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/taking-a-byte-out-of-the-supply-chain-how-winfield-can-win-in-the-next-agricultural-revolution\/"},"modified":"2017-11-16T15:53:45","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T20:53:45","slug":"taking-a-byte-out-of-the-supply-chain-how-winfield-can-win-in-the-next-agricultural-revolution","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/taking-a-byte-out-of-the-supply-chain-how-winfield-can-win-in-the-next-agricultural-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking a byte out of the supply chain: How Winfield can win in the next Agricultural Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe are in an AgTech revolution,\u201d says a Winfield VP. [1]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although farming isn\u2019t known for being cutting-edge, over $25B was invested in agriculture technology in 2015. [2] Many of the companies attracting investments are promoting the \u201cFuture of Farming\u201d, aiming to digitize the value chain using cloud computing, the internet of things, and an army of sensors. Seeding these investments is the growing concern that modern farming techniques won\u2019t be enough to feed the world\u2019s population, projected to reach 9.7B mouths by 2050. [3] With an agricultural revolution upon us, retailers such as Winfield must adapt to new market conditions.<\/p>\n

Focusing specifically on US row crops, there are three primary players in today\u2019s value chain: (1) seed and chemical companies, (2) retailers and (3) growers. Traditionally, retailers have played the role of distributors, delivering seed and crop-protection to local growers. [4] Recently, however, retailers have been pressed to offer data-driven insights to their farmer-customers. This has largely been driven by two trends: consolidation and digitization.<\/p>\n

Since 2000, a wave of supply-chain consolidation has swept the midwest. [5] Farms have been getting bigger. Between 2001 and 2011, \u201cvery large farms\u201d (2000+ acres) grew in number by 29%. [6] \u00a0As their customers have consolidated, upstream companies have followed suit. Growers increasingly rely on technology to manage fields they can\u2019t see from their front window.<\/p>\n

Farm digitization has been underway over the past twenty years. Planters and combines purchased today are self-driving and come equipped with advanced GPS systems and yield monitors. Over 70% of cornbelt farmers now use automatic steering. [7] Seed and chemical companies have also taken advantage of technology, improving warehousing and installing track and trace systems. [8] It seems that digitization of the farm will come in two phases, and most of the improvements to-date have been \u201cPhase 1\u201d. Within Phase 1, Retailers have been struggling.<\/p>\n

The outcome of Phase 1 will be the exhaustive application of data analytics, cloud computing, and IoT for the purpose of improving planning and execution within each component of the supply chain.<\/p>\n

Phase 2 will focus on Procurement 4.0, collaboratively forecasting, planning, and on-demand sourcing up and down the supply chain.<\/p>\n

Phase 1 has taken place primarily outside of the retail business. Farmers have taken advantage of new OEM and software technologies. [7] \u00a0Seed companies have built out a \u201cconnected\u201d seed production system, and have focused on cutting down seed-loss throughout shipment. \u00a0Every Monsanto seed truck is equipped with temperature, pressure, and geolocation sensors – data which is accessible in real-time on each manager\u2019s iPad. [8]<\/p>\n

Winfield\u2019s digital investment has been in the development of two tools, AnswerPlot and R7, which are on the earlier end of the \u201cPhase 1\u201d spectrum. AnswerPlot is a benchmarking tool to track hybrid performance under various conditions, making data available to Winfield agronomists who can then add insights to build value with growers. R7 is a tool that marries AnswerPlot data with satellite imagery and soil data. Winfield halted investment in R7 in 2016. [1]<\/p>\n

Many third party software platforms have questioned whether they should go direct-to-grower or sell through distributors. For retailers, whether selling their own software or a third-party, the catch-22 is that agtech solutions claim benefits through more efficient use of inputs. [7] Retailers are being pushed to promote a product that results in fewer sales for their core seed and crop-protection business.<\/p>\n

The first signs of Phase 2 have come from a startup called Farmers Business Network, which aims to bring transparency to input pricing and performance, arguing that in today\u2019s system the retailer who sells these products is a biased and imperfect advisor. [9]<\/p>\n

In the next 10 years, retailers will fight to hold on to their position in the supply chain by adding insight-based services that require a local advisor. With consolidation projected to continue, it\u2019s unclear whether farmers will value an agronomist relationship, hire their own data scientists, or trust a software platform.<\/p>\n

Perhaps Winfield should press towards Phase 2. As a nationwide distributor, they\u2019re uniquely positioned to foster transparent demand forecasting across growers and seed companies. Winfield\u2019s current business is full of complex logistics and long lead-times, placing orders pre-season, selling and delivering to growers in time-and-weather-sensitive windows, and processing returns.Their business model would greatly benefit from the improvement of planning and sourcing, and it may help them maintain a position between growers and seed companies.<\/p>\n

Retailers, in an ever competitive landscape, have yet to prove whether they can transition from distributor to partner. The question that will be debated in the next decade is whether they can make themselves essential to Phase 2 in the digitization of the supply chain. If not, can we expect an \u201cAmazon\u201d for seed and crop protections, and data-driven insights from a cloud-platform rather than a local agronomist?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>
Digital Agriculture doesn’t help with forecasting, yet<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Word Count: (798) | Digitization<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sources:<\/span><\/p>\n

[1] Smith, R. 2016, “Ten ways technology will change the way retailers support farmers”, <\/span>Southwest Farm Press, <\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

[2] “Boston Consulting Group and AgFunder: Agricultural Tech Investment Rises to Record $25 Billion”, 2017, <\/span>Professional Services Close – Up, <\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] Fields of the Future: Demystifying the Modern Farmer 2016, , New York.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

[4] “THE EVOLUTION OF WINFIELD”, 2013, <\/span>AgriMarketing, <\/span><\/i>vol. 51, no. 2, pp. 24-25,27.<\/span><\/p>\n

[5] Drabenstott, M. 1999, Consolidation in U.S. Agriculture: The New Rural Landscape and Public Policy, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

[6] MacDonald, J. 2013, “Cropland Consolidation and the Future of Family Farms”, Amber Waves, , pp. 4-10.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

[7] Meersman, T. 2014, <\/span>Precision agriculture becomes mainstream in Minnesota<\/span><\/i>, Washington.<\/span><\/p>\n

[8] McGowan, B. 2017, “Data science key to Monsanto improving its supply chain”, <\/span>Cio, <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

[9] Farmers Business Network; Farmers Business Network Raises $15 Million in Funding Led by Google Ventures; Company Taking the First Farmer-to-Farmer Network National 2015, , Atlanta. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Agricultural retailers, in an ever-competitive landscape, have yet to prove whether they can transition from distributor to partner. The question that will be debated in the next decade is whether they can make themselves essential in the digitized supply chain. If not, can we expect an \u201cAmazon\u201d for seed and crop-protections? And data-driven insights from a cloud-platform rather than a local agronomist? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10139,"featured_media":26535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[28,4109,3235,835,4108,1921,3631,4110],"class_list":["post-26456","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","category-digital-agriculture","category-digital-supply-chain","category-farming","category-farming-cooperatives","category-precision-agriculture","category-supply-chain-40","category-winfield-solutions","hck-taxonomy-organization-winfield-solutions","hck-taxonomy-industry-agriculture-and-agribusiness","hck-taxonomy-country-united-states"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/rc-tom-challenge-2017\/","yoast_head":"\nTaking a byte out of the supply chain: How Winfield can win in the next Agricultural Revolution - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/taking-a-byte-out-of-the-supply-chain-how-winfield-can-win-in-the-next-agricultural-revolution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Taking a byte out of the supply chain: How Winfield can win in the next Agricultural Revolution - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Agricultural retailers, in an ever-competitive landscape, have yet to prove whether they can transition from distributor to partner. 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