Europe's farmers shop online - do you?
arrow_backTo the overview10 October 2022 | Maykers
Farmers are prepared to trade online to a greater extent, and online trading is really catching on with farmers across Europe. Therefore, the digital trading platform is ready to offer a digital solution when it comes to purchasing gear and spare parts.
Higher yields with fewer resources, sustainable production and high animal welfare in the barn. This is something that Danish farmers can be proud of, not least because digital solutions are making inroads on Danish farms.
- Digitization of agriculture is about several things. It is making inroads through, for example, precision farming or management of larger farms, but also on a closer level in the form of online trading platforms, explains Nicolai Fog Hansen, section leader at the Technological Institute and expert in digitization in agriculture.
If you want to make your production more efficient, it can therefore be a good idea to go even more digital and handle your shopping for operations online. In agriculture, this places special demands on online shopping, he assesses:
- Farmers must be able to contact you 24 hours a day, all year round. When it is harvest, they are completely dependent on their machines. There must be no trouble with, for example, getting the correct spare parts, or challenges with returns or service, emphasizes Nicolai Fog Hansen.
More farmers shop online
In the past, it has been a challenge for companies to get farmers to shop online. In 2019, on average, only 13 percent of the European farmers in the analysis had made an online purchase, and the argument was a lack of overview of products and prices.
During the epidemic with Covid-19, there has been a development in online trade in agriculture. Far more farmers want to buy products online – 36 percentage points more in 2020 than in 2019.
This is shown in a report from the consulting firm McKinsey.
- In May 2020, there was a much higher percentage of respondents who now say they prefer to buy agricultural products online. There is an opportunity for companies to change their business strategies to better meet the needs of farmers, the report says.
Trust and personal service
The digital trading platform Maykers offers agricultural companies a unified online store where farmers and farm managers can buy exactly the products they need for their machinery. In general, Maykers has noticed that farmers in particular have shown an increased interest in buying core products for the agricultural industry online.
- We have no doubt that digital trade is here to stay - also in agriculture. We must make it easy, fast and efficient for the farmer to buy his core products for production by gathering the leading agricultural suppliers on the platform, says country manager for Maykers in Denmark Jesper Knudsen.
At the same time, he is very aware that the trust that farmers have in their dealers must be carried over if digitization is to be successful. And the trust and personal service comes with it, he emphasizes.
- The Maykers platform is not a direct trade with suppliers, it is dealers known to the farmer who put together the selection and carry out the service. All the gear and machinery that the farmer is used to going down and looking at at his local dealer, they are now presented to him on the platform of the well-known dealers. The trust and security of shopping where you have always shopped is still there, says Jesper Knudsen.
Maykers shows the farmer a selection of products across suppliers and retailers in a comprehensive overview. Any dealer for agriculture is welcome on the platform.
Agricultural articles exactly when it suits you
Danish farmers are innovative and ready to change on many parameters – and now they can also do their shopping digitally rather than physically. Unique to the platform is that Maykers collects products from suppliers throughout Denmark so that users can shop around between prices, brands, models and suppliers. It is Maykers' ambition to make farmers' everyday lives easier by making trade in agricultural items available 24 hours a day.
- Today, the agricultural industry has become an incredibly complex business, where owners and managers have to be in 100 places at once. Therefore, it is not appropriate for them to have to make 10 calls, three coffee meetings and five invoices to buy in for production. We must contribute to an easier everyday life for our customers by offering them access to inspiration and advice around the clock, streamlining their production with the best products and making pricing transparent, says Jesper Knudsen, country manager in Denmark for Maykers.
Maykers is currently working on making it even easier to shop for agricultural items with Maykers' Product Guide. The function makes it possible to find the parts that fit your machine exactly. Already now find parts for the most popular agricultural machines from New Holland, John Deere, Caas and Claas.
About Makers
Maykers is an online trading platform that brings together products from different agricultural companies in one place
Maykers offers users to get all purchases together on one digital invoice, even if they have shopped with several companies
The platform has over 500,000 products from around 118 companies
This article is written by:
Maykers
Maykers is an online platform that facilitates smart connections between farmers and their partners to make the business of farming successful. We make it simple to sell, find and buy professional products based on fair prices and clear conditions. We have everything you need in one place to save you time and keep your farm running. Empowered by more than 100 years of agriculture experience, Maykers believes we can make farming more simple and valuable.
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