Colin Fain, Agronometrics: "So far I do not know of any technology that can replace a commercial executive"

"What a professional in our industry wants to avoid is to receive an unfavorable price simply because he was uninformed about what was happening in the markets"

The agrofruticultural world uses computer technology in almost all stages of the process, from the data of the varieties to be produced, to what concerns the harvest, post-harvest, transport and sale of the product.

In the case of this last link, the data and information are most used, which must be exact and truthful, to effectively project commercial expectations of production and especially of economic returns.

It is the field of Market Intelligence, a technological discipline that has advanced considerably as a tool to support the industry.

What is Market Intelligence

It is the information based on data that an organization or company obtains from the industry in which it operates, with the objective of determining with certainty the opportunities, positioning, penetration or presence in the market and the different relevant measurements that are useful for the development of the industry.

This tool is increasingly vital to understand the behavior of the market and collect intelligent and quality information about the competition and everything necessary to make the activity carried out profitable.

We spoke with Colin Fain, Chief Executive Officer of Agronometrics, one of the Market Intelligence companies that supports the fruit industry.

  • What does the tool mean and its importance?
  • The whole concept of Market Intelligence can be summarized in answering two questions:

At what price do I sell or buy, and why this price is correct.

“At the point of selling or buying fruit, the price at which the transaction is made is key. It does not matter if a program is being negotiated, or if the fruit is being traded on the spot market, negotiating a good price is essential for the profitability of all the companies involved in our industry.

On the other hand, to assign a correct price it is necessary to take into context the variability of the item. The perishability of blueberries means there can be sudden rises and falls in price, for example. What a professional in our industry wants to avoid is receiving an unfavorable price simply because he was uninformed about what was happening in the markets, ”explains the expert analyst.

  • What are the variables that it crosses or disciplines that it covers
  • The two most important variables are the prices at which the fruit is being sold and the volumes that are being traded.

The effects of supply and demand mark the pulse of the markets ...

“There are a multitude of additional variables that can have an effect on prices and volumes. For example, a frost or too much rain can affect the harvest in a particular region, which would translate into less volume in x weeks, depleting the market and causing prices to rise. The effects of Covid-19 and the search for natural products that strengthen the immune system has driven an increase in the demand for blueberries, which has allowed prices to be more favorable. Among other possible examples ”, he comments.

A good story

The Agronometrics executive explains that “when negotiating prices, a seller or a buyer is telling a story to justify their position. The most important thing is that the counterpart understands and has confidence in the premises that are being suggested so that they reach an agreement. You can have the most complete model in the world, but if nobody understands it, it is useless, "he says.

  • What are the prospects for the development of the discipline
  • The prospects for the development of Business Intelligence go through further automating the data entry and management processes to encompass a more global picture of the markets. The challenge will be to create the tools so that people can find, understand and use the valuable information contained in the ocean of information that we have at our disposal. However, so far I am not aware of any technology that can replace a commercial executive. What you have to do to sell fruit is predict, and as good as a predictive model is, the reality is that there is a lot of important information that is difficult to quantify or predict, how much trust one has in their counterpart, or the exchange to the dollar, so every model will necessarily have a degree of error. Fortunately the human head is incredibly good at quantifying and assigning value to information that is not quantifiable.

"I see a future where entrepreneurs, empowered by technological tools, can trade their fruit with more confidence, ensuring the well-being of their companies and guaranteeing the supply of blueberries to consumers" he concludes.

Source
Martín Carrillo O. - Blueberries Consulting

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