One of the product highlights for Agworld this year was the launch of Shed by FarmReady. Shed is the fully integrated inventory management option for Agworld users, offering you a solution for tracking all inventory inputs. One of the main benefits voiced to me by Agworld users is that even though Shed is a separate offering to Agworld, because it is seamlessly integrated, users not only have access to a powerful tool for managing on-farm inventory but that they get it without adding ‘clutter’ or ‘complication’ to Agworld itself. When an input is used in an operation and recorded in Agworld, the quantity used is automatically deducted from your Shed inventory, and your up-to-date inventory levels from Shed are then displayed on the map of your Agworld app. As I said, seamless…
I recently spoke to one of my agronomy friends from my old stomping grounds in New South Wales who mentioned to me how much he loves having his growers use Shed - which was a bit surprising to me as the Shed product is mainly targeted towards growers. When we discussed his reasons why however, I came to realise that agronomists and ag retailers can also significantly benefit from their grower clients using Shed and some of the main use cases we discussed are:
Checking stock levels
When an agronomist creates a recommendation for a grower, many growers ask the agronomist to automatically organise the delivery of said product as well. However, this can often lead to a lot of partial drums or shuttles collecting dust in different sheds, without ever getting used again. Unless someone is constantly checking this and adjusting new orders with their retailer, which is often difficult to achieve when the season is at its busiest and everyone is flat-out spraying, it’s easy to build up an inventory of old stock.
When growers utilise Shed, they will see a Shed ‘Frame’ displayed on the map of their Agworld app showing up-to-date stock levels in all of their sheds and storages. The best part? Frames activated by a grower are visible to all connected users as well! So, if you are an agronomist and your grower uses Shed, you are able to see their up-to-date chemical, seed and fertiliser inventory in your Agworld app as well - no action needed from you to activate this. Now, when you place an order on behalf of your grower client, you know exactly what’s in stock already and how much additional product you need to order… It doesn’t get any easier than that!
Consignment stock control
Many ag retailers have ‘consignment stock’ arrangements with their, often larger, growers. While every arrangement can be different, the principle is that the retailer places a certain amount of stock in the grower’s chem shed which they only get invoiced for when they’ve actually used said product. Advantages for the grower include having access to product when they need it without having to finance a large inventory. Advantages for the ag retailer include being able to spread deliveries out throughout the season instead of just delivering at peak-use times and creating an offering that invokes loyalty from the grower.
With some growers located hundreds of kilometres from their nearest ag retail store, keeping track of the consignment isn’t always easy for the ag retailers. Between needing to invoice the stock that has been used and ensuring that enough stock remains available for upcoming jobs, gaining remote visibility into a grower’s inputs shed, is highly advantageous for any ag retailer that employs this model.
When a grower with consignment stock on their farm uses Agworld to convert recommendations to actuals, which automatically updates the stock levels in Shed, it will save many hours of lost time in driving and manually counting stock by agronomists or stock controllers, as well as enabling the ag retailer to improve their service level by the grower always having enough stock-on-hand. A stock controller can now see exactly what is happening in each of their grower’s chemical Sheds from the comfort of their desk, and take immediate action where needed.
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The Agworld ecosystem is based on the principle of collaboration and that by having data visibility across the different stakeholders in the farming process, everybody experiences improvements. Shed’s position in the Agworld ecosystem reinforces this principle even further, and the rapid adoption of Shed by Agworld users since it was launched less than 6 months ago has been a true testament to this. Curious about the benefits of Shed whether you are an agronomist or grower? Get in touch with the Agworld sales and support team to find out more.
