Technology services keep ERP value high for growing agri-tech company

Deploying relevant technology for the best possible outcomes

Precision Planting is an agri-technology enterprise that makes its products available through a global distribution network. The company is part of PTx, the leading precision agriculture brand of AGCO. At the confluence of agriculture, food, and environmental challenges, Precision Planting creates and manufactures technologies and solutions that help farmers thrive sustainably. Brown explains, “Worldwide, Precision Planting helps farmers maximize their yield and reduce their input costs. The company considers IT critical to its mission, not as an investment which does not generate returns. As Precision Planting aims to address farmers’ concerns by delivering cutting-edge innovation, our infrastructure must evolve so we can meet our business goals.”

Innovation on behalf of farmers does not necessarily entail high upfront investments and operating costs for them. Instead, as much as possible Precision Planting helps them accomplish more with their existing equipment assets by upgrading, retrofitting, and rebuilding instead of replacing them. By modifying their machinery, they can boost their output, for instance, with optimized downforce control or double-crop and no-till planting, using Precision Planting solutions to take advantage of highly specific opportunities.

That approach to enabling farmers’ success and moving Precision Planting forward is in sync with how the company and Sikich collaborate. “Sikich consultants learn how our business operates and do their best to address our concerns while delivering the best possible value,” Brown notes. “For example, they once recommended skipping an ERP update which included neither additional functionality that would make a difference for us, nor important security enhancements. We saved tens of thousands of dollars that way.”

Master class in managing an ERP environment

At Precision Planting, the Microsoft Dynamics ERP system integrates with almost 30 other software tools that support certain operational areas, like Manhattan WMS for warehouse management or SourceDay for handling procurement. Sikich offers recommendations when the company looks to meet a business need by adding a solution to the ERP environment. “We are comfortable describing a pain point and asking Sikich what our options for third-party solutions are,” says Brown. “The consultants will respond with two or three different choices and explain the pros and cons of each. Sikich does an excellent job of finding solutions that work for us and promoting the right solution architecture. We’ve certainly not had the same great results when we chose software for business areas outside of ERP based on online reviews or other people’s recommendations.”

Sikich often introduces qualified software vendors to Precision Planting, implements software that integrates with the ERP system, ensures the right data flows, and troubleshoots any issues that may arise. For most of these software providers and their products, Sikich also takes care of invoicing and licensing. Brown describes, “Sikich understands the software industry’s various licensing models. Our consultants negotiate with the vendors, help us obtain the licensing for the right number of seats, track license expirations, and consolidate invoicing while making certain that software firms prorate their invoices if we have used a solution for less than a year at the time of billing. By delegating licensing administration to Sikich, we can be confident that we get the functionality we need without needless expenses or licensing lapses.”

When Microsoft publishes ERP version upgrades, Precision Planting relies on Sikich to perform the deployment, provision servers and virtual machines, and maintain the integrity of integrations and data flows throughout the process. Often, that requires close collaboration with software providers and Precision Planting teams. “During major system upgrades, Sikich reconfigures the ERP environment including all integrations to work flawlessly,” Brown says. “That can entail working with our developers and cloud team to make sure that newly built functionality or web pages perform as expected.”

Rapid issue-based support and deep-dive analytics

When Precision Planting submits a support ticket through its Sikich communication channel, the support team acts quickly. “Sikich is extremely responsive and flexible,” says Brown. “Typically, we see a response to our support tickets within an hour or two, so we can resolve the issues.”

When it’s not clear why certain user activities result in system errors, it can take a greater effort to prevent them from re-occurring in addition to handling individual incidents — especially when they happen intermittently and unpredictably. In those cases, Sikich performs root cause analyses, provides effective remediation strategies, and offers guidance to forestall preventable issues. Brown points out, “One thing that makes Sikich different from other consultancies and service vendors is that it aims to empower users to address repeating issues they encounter. We often receive fixes which we can promptly apply on our own without calling on Sikich. For example, when the processing of batches of orders kept getting interrupted, the consultants addressed the immediate concern, but also gave us a script which we can run to reset the posting status of a batch.”

Maintaining a strategic view while addressing everyday challenges in agri-tech

Precision Planting and Sikich take care of technical support issues, ERP upgrades and enhancements, and other concerns in the context of Precision Planting’s overall technology vision and planning. Client stakeholders and Sikich consultants meet every week to review open support tickets and their resolutions. Once a quarter, Brown and his colleagues join Sikich account executives and service managers to discuss business and technological issues, changing plans and requirements, and the most effective solutions to help Precision Planting move into the future. Brown says, “Our quarterly meetings with Sikich help the consultants understand Precision Plantings’ direction and planning. Over the many years of our collaboration, they have come to know us very well, so they can be responsive to more tactical issues and user challenges while considering future developments.”

Flexibility and responsiveness at predictable service costs

Executives at Precision Planting from time to time ask for a cost analysis or competitive evaluation of the company’s engagement with Sikich. “Having worked with many different vendors on a great variety of technology projects, I prefer dealing with an honest team that takes a realistic approach,” Brown tells them. “It’s invaluable when a vendor pushes back on short deadlines that don’t allow them to do excellent work, instead of delivering late or below expectations. Sikich always delivers within the timeframes and budgets we agree on.”

Precision Planting and Sikich decided to use a simple, consistent fee structure for the consultancy’s services. “Very few organizations could maintain the stability and responsiveness we get from Sikich,” Brown comments. “And, thanks to a reasonable fixed fee, we can keep our budgeting and costs controlled and predictable.” However, stability and predictability don’t get in the way of flexibility when Precision Planting has a pressing need. “While we try to keep these instances to a minimum, every time we experience an urgent issue, Sikich finds the resources and time to get our ERP running properly and allow users to continue working,” he adds. Reflecting on his overall experience with Sikich, Brown points out, “It’s hard to find a vendor that can deliver value like Sikich does. Our Sikich team provides outstanding quality with immediate responsiveness at a great value. That makes Sikich a ‘unicorn’ vendor.”