As farmers turn to technology, agriculture chemicals manufacturers are bracing up to meet the new challenges in the agriculture industry. Especially when it comes to the agrichemical supply chains, the industry is still struggling with synchronizing the entire work process and meeting the ever-growing demands for the chemicals cost-effectively.
Is going digital the ‘panacea’ for problems in the agriculture chemicals supply chain?
Supply chain disruptions and changes in customer needs are the two major pain points faced by manufacturers of agrichemicals. Along with this, providing end-to-end services is another area which calls for focused planning of players in the agrichemical market.
By switching to digitization and investing in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) technology, industry experts believe that the loopholes in the supply chain can be easily tackled. IIOT and predictive analytics facilitate better redressal of the supply chain woes. As predictive analytics makes use of machine learning to decipher patterns in the unstructured data, it becomes easier for market players to respond to changing demands from the customers in an automated manner.
Secondly, by aligning business and digital strategies, agri-chemical companies can gain better ROI. At the moment, majority manufacturers are using digital technology on the front end alone. The result is a decrease in production costs, increase in yields, and sustainable growth. Such improvements in the work process is advantageous for farmers as well as players in the agrichemical industry.
However, to gain long-term results, experts recommend the use of digital technology in strengthening the back-end mechanism as well. The supply chain is the major back-end mechanism which needs to be highly agile to deal with the fluctuating demands from the customers’ end. A digitally-enabled supply chain is sure to leverage the changing market dynamics to the company’s advantage.
Lastly, it will be wrong to assume that adoption of digital technology alone is sufficient to add value to the business. Manufacturers of agrichemicals must realize that it is essential to build a platform which is a synergy of the local resources, regional culture, and digital operations. On its own, digitization is not going to bring in any huge change in the functioning of the businesses. What is needed is an intelligent placement of digital solutions in the organizational structure, so that an element of flexibility is added to the entire work process.
Infiniti’s take on digitization of the agriculture chemicals market
The agriculture chemical industry is undergoing one of the most exciting changes in the past one decade. Digital disruption has in fact added more dynamics in the supply chain and opened up avenues for increased innovation as well as competition.
