Nothing has challenged Digital Transformation strategy more than the events of last year. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased the need to digitise. High street stores closed, people were asked to stay at home and businesses were asked to embrace a new online world. Almost overnight, businesses and customers had to adapt to a new way of doing things. Invariably, that new way, involved a company undertaking some form of digitisation. For those that have been delaying Digital Transformation, 2021 is a pivotal year. COVID-19 has accelerated Digital Transformation across all industries. Within the agricultural sector, this situation is no different. All stakeholders, be they customers, partners, farmers, wholesalers or suppliers, now expect a certain level of digitisation. Communicating, carrying out tasks and conducting business online has become the norm. Companies that don’t get on board are in serious risk of becoming obsolete.
In March, with the need to digitise ever-growing in importance, ActionPoint published a free whitepaper ‘Digital Transformation Key Trends 2021’. In it, we discuss the growing need for digitisation and Digital Transformation strategies. We also look at four sectors that we have gained vast experience working in over the last number of years.
One sector that we have become hugely familiar with over the last few years is the agriculture industry. Within Agri, like any other industry, successful Digital Transformation is about focusing on the needs of the user.
Embracing New Technologies
According to research by Forrester, digital customer interactions will increase by 40% in 2021. This underscores a belief that we have long held at ActionPoint i.e., at its most fundamental level, digital transformation should be about the customer. Successful digital transformation projects are those that focus on customer experience and building digital services around the user.
Within the Agri-sector there is one obvious fact that is often overlooked. And that is that farmers are the heart of the industry. They are the ones who will drive change and the speed of adoption depends almost entirely on them. With farmers at the core of the industry, embracing Digital Transformation needs to be embraced from the centre out. That means starting with the needs of the farmer.
According to a recent Skillnet and IFA report, six in 10 Irish farmers say they are likely to invest in digital technology on their farm in the future. Therefore, a winning strategy for all agribusinesses is to adopt technologies that make life easier for farmers. When building a digital transformation strategy, it pays to keep asking how this technology or system will positively impact farmers. How will digitisation make them more efficient, effective and reduce their workload?
ActionPoint gained invaluable experience within this sector when we helped Munster Bovine to develop their revolutionary app, FarmOps. Munster Bovine’s vision was to build a ground-breaking app that was built by farmers for farmers. In order to fully realise this objective, ActionPoint took a hands-on approach to research and development. ActionPoint worked closely with Munster Bovine, breaking down complex processes and business requirements into something that could be productised. FarmOps revolutionised the Irish farming industry, optimising herd management and keep farmers compliant.
Download the Whitepaper Here
In this free whitepaper, we look at some of the key trends in the agriculture industry. We discuss insights gathered in 2020 as well as grants and schemes that are available. We also hear from some key players within the industry.
For more on this and to find out more about how other industries are embracing digital transformation, check out ‘Digital Transformation Key Trends 2021’ from ActionPoint. Download here.
