The power of the collective
Highlights of the collaboration:
- Short communication lines at all levels
- Clear, sophisticated governance
- From SAP ECC to SAP S/4 HANA
Agrifirm is a Dutch cooperative of more than ten thousand arable and livestock farmers. The organisation has three thousand personnel, subsidiaries in the Netherlands and abroad, and a history that goes back 120 years. Impressive numbers, which illustrate the power of the collective. After all, Agrifirm belongs to and exists for Dutch farmers. All the knowledge, quality expertise and innovative skill the cooperative acquires is shared with its members and thus returned to the Dutch farming community. Agrifirm delivers sustainable, tangible and relevant value for farmers and for industry.
Shared cultural values
“It is important for Agrifirm that we continue to make progress. This is not only in the right systems, resources and expertise, but also in the culture in which we take responsibility, express ambitions and have short lines of communication with each other. This is an important shared cultural value with Databalance. They also work proactively, take their responsibility and have short lines at all levels.”
IT as a catalyst for progress
“In order to respond to new opportunities and to innovate, it is important not to renew everything at once and then stand still until everything has been written off. It is a continuous process of optimisations, where you continuously look at where you can improve and make progress based on new proven technology.”
Cooperation extended for the 2nd time by 5 years
“Databalance thinks along with us and adds new things. Both strategically, tactically and operationally. That is simply very valuable and we also see that the appreciation for IT has increased enormously. We recently extended our partnership for another 5 years. A confirmation of the great cooperation.”
Clear governance is crucial
In order to make progress together, clear and sophisticated governance is essential and one of the most important conditions for being and staying successful together. In addition to the operational meetings, Agrifirm also has fixed strategic and tactical meetings, so that we know what is going on at all levels and what the expectations are.
The governance ensures maximum context, which allows us to proactively provide opportunities and possibilities and to keep raising the bar. For ourselves and to each other. IT is only a means and not an end in itself. Only when you know what the organization stands for, what the dot is on the horizon, what challenges there are and what the ambitions are, only then can you start thinking about the right IT solutions and building blocks to realize the processes and ambitions .
Migrating to SAP S/4 HANA
Agrifirm was one of the first organizations in the Netherlands to switch from SAP ECC to SAP S/4 HANA. An important step to guarantee the continuity of their ERP environment – both at home and abroad. The question is not whether to switch to SAP S/4 HANA, but when.
It is not said that the latest technology is also the best solution. Looking ahead and making progress is not the same as using the latest technology. That is why we only work with proven technology and best practices. To make progress, it is important to work with standard building blocks, based on proven technology and best practices. Where security, privacy and compliance are continuously considered at every step.
“Databalance is constantly working to improve the quality of its services. This makes them reliable and a great party to work with.” —Edwin Tragter
Working on the future together
The Netherlands is the second largest agricultural exporter in the world. That is a unique position and says something about thinking in terms of progress and possibilities. Innovation plays an important role in this. Both in the emergence of the unique position as the second largest exporter worldwide, and in a sustainable future for the sector. It is a privilege to be able to work for Agrifirm – in which all Dutch livestock farmers and growers are united – and to be able to indirectly contribute to this future with a tailor-made IT solution.
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