AGRICULTURAL software provider Agrimaster has showcased some new developments in its systems with the release of a new two-year road map this week.
Over the past six months, the program has implemented six new ideas to help improve the stakeholder experience.
“In 2017 we realised the importance of listening and knowing the relevance of our marketplace,” Master Group professional partner manager Tegan Pridham said.
Agrimaster’s focus has been on implementing support and services to their customers with six completed steps on the road map including immediate phone support, customer road shows, product improvements, priority support for professional partners, the magnificent seven explaining the seven key features customers should know and a new website and online store.
Ms Pridham said their customers want to be heard and involved in the development process, with an input in future products.
“We went to four destinations including Perth, Northam, Merredin and Narrogin, with 90 per cent of farmers walking out learning something about Agrimaster,” she said.
Agrimaster has also updated information on its website to better communicate with users as technology advancements continue into agribusiness.
Master Group managing director David Egerton-Warbuton said “We did hundreds upon hundreds of interviews last year and it was all about where are we at, where do we need to go, what are the new business problems for both advisers and farm managers and where do we need to go forward.”
The next step for Agrimaster is to implement five new steps for the next six months on the road map.
One of these steps is the importing and exporting of budget data, which was a topical debate at the showcase with customers questioning the reliability of their internet and how that would work with the new Agrimaster system.
Other changes that Agrimaster plans to implement in the next six months include; payroll options, M:Drive improvements, improving their customer service and live bank statement imports.
The idea of a shared document between multiple parties, such as the farm adviser and farm managers, was not received well by the audience at the showcase.
The discussion brought up the issue of reliable internet in regional areas and how some farms need to complete their work offline before it can be uploaded, instead of being connected all the time.
Documents can be edited and copied then saved into Agrimaster when the program goes back online, meaning any one who has edited it online in that time didn’t have up-to-date information.
The confusion was something that Agrimaster hopes to overcome this year, although current internet and connection issues in rural areas are going to prove difficult to this process.
Mr Egerton-Warburton said it may be a case of removing the option to have it offline, that way every stakeholder is dealing with the same document which automatically backs up within seconds to the internal M:Drive.
Agrimaster will be running a roadshow in the Great Southern towards the end of February, with showcases in Jerramungup, Lake Grace and Kojonup.
The 24-month road map is also planning to focus on simplifying Agrimaster navigation, building a summary dashboard, document attachment transactions, processing/exporting of client data, streamline bank reconciliation and simplify full budgets.
More information on the road map plan can be found on the Agrimaster website.