How to Encourage Successful Trading

I went to see a medium-sized agribusiness recently and the team got me thinking about successful trading and the barriers that agribusinesses come up against. All businesses depend on flexibility to grow and with changes in modern technology available to evolve with businesses and support this growth, there is no reason why trading processes can’t be made easier and therefore more successful, with the right solution.

Software needs to work with you, not against you, helping you to increase efficiencies and supporting you towards success. Here are my top pointers for using software to help reduce barriers to successful trading and support your growth plans:

1. Online Contracts

Manage all contracts online including any amendments or edits, as well as required signatures, which will enable you to have a full audit trail including who made any edits, and when. This also saves battling back and forth with paper copies and being reliant on snail mail – timing is everything when trading, as is getting the documentation right.

2. One Single System

Make sure your contracts are part of your central system and that you have one single system. This saves time and resources, in terms of entering contracts more than once. It also allows you to set notifications and reminders for contract renewals, which helps to reduce any slippage.

3. One Customer Screen

It can be frustrating and extremely time-consuming trying to establish previous contract details, trade information, and even just customer contact details. By having a system in place which provides one customer screen and identifies the caller on the basis of their telephone number, you can quickly retrieve the information you need. In addition, you can then create a new order in the same place, again streamlining processes and making it far easier for staff and the customer involved.

4. Easily Accessible on Mobile

Ensuring your software is accessible through mobile is becoming more and more of an expectation (just one of the reasons it’s on our 2018 development plan). It makes it easy to access and update information for staff out on the road, and indeed trading face-to-face, especially as time is of the essence. This avoids the paper trail and again the time that can be wasted with this, while also supporting your efforts to have excellent customer service and improve their experience with you.

5. Quick Review and Approval

Save time and effort with calls and emails back and forth, whilst making the contract review and approval process more efficient, with visibility and validation of changes. Plus, you can have automated notifications to speed up the processes and communicate details to the appropriate staff member.

By removing some of the barriers that agribusinesses face with efficient software solutions, the time is money approach can certainly be achieved and we all know how important timing is for any trade. Make sure you’re asking about all of the above and more when reviewing software to support your trade processes and make life easier for you and your staff.

For more information about contracting processes within any of the Primetics solutions, please do not hesitate to call a member of the team or me on 01257 279 811 or email primetics@culturatech.com.