Benefits Throughout the Agribusiness Distribution Chain
For Ag supply manufacturers, distributors and retailers, AgGateway's mission translates to improved profitability, decisions made closer to real-time impact in the marketplace and savings in overhead and potential liability through efficiency in product inventories.
Environmental and Product Stewardship and Safety
AgGateway also recognizes and promotes the many environmental and product stewardship opportunities provided by electronic commerce. When we reduce inventories that are just sitting in a warehouse, we are also reducing the potential liability associated with these materials. Improving information flow is as much a product stewardship issue as a way to manage inventory.
It's well within our reach to have a retail dealer print out his farm customer's product order and have all the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) and updated worker protection information print out at the same time. Integrating the supply chain and sharing nonproprietary information is an essential component of our industry's regulatory compliance and competitive success.
The linkage tools identified by AgGateway include innovative technologies such as "smart cards," bank ATM cards, and bar coding scanners. This functionality enables you to track the life cycle of a returnable pesticide container via bar coding or product identification. The industry will be able to maximize the use of these containers, then remove them from the supply chain before the end of their life expectancy and minimize the risk of environmental or employee injury using tracking technology.
Business Efficiencies through Inventory Management
Every segment of the agricultural input industry has something to gain from a "linked" supply chain. Ag supply manufacturers will have access to more timely and accurate information about sales and inventory levels, enabling them to make better production and packaging decisions, as well as decisions on where and how to allocate resources.
For distributors, the ready flow of information will mean they can do a better, more effective job of managing inventories and moving from manual record keeping to an efficient, electronic approach.
Retailers, who provide the vital link with farmer/users and are on the receiving end of any farmer questions or problems, will benefit too. Product supply and inventory information will be readily available, as will answers to questions about regulatory compliance, stewardship and product replenishment.
Reduced costs and improved efficiencies obviously lead to an improved bottom line. Studies have shown that the crop protection industry has approximately $1 billion in excess product inventory at the close of each season. A fully linked supply chain could reduce that industry- wide inventory by as much as 50 percent. Plus, we could reduce the estimated $40 million spent annually to finance the cost of that inventory.