eConnectivity Goes Beyond the ‘E’

From the President

eConnectivity Goes Beyond the ‘E’

By Brent Kemp, President and CEO

Many of you may recall AgGateway’s long term tag line, “Collaboration for eConnectivity.”

The term eConnectivity was originally embraced at a time when retailers and manufacturers were fully awakening to the errors and inefficiency of processes that relied heavily on triplicate forms, hastily scribbled notes, and the fallibility of human intervention.

Through industry collaboration facilitated by AgGateway, the dream was to connect disparate systems to allow data to flow seamlessly and without excessive human intervention, and use of the term “eConnectivity” was a way to punch home that this was a totally different approach. We used it to describe supply chain messaging to optimize the order to invoice and product movement processes for input segments, and the movement of field operations data off the tractor and into farm management information systems.

Over time, we’ve come to use eConnectivity and Connectivity interchangeably because our industry understands that connecting businesses, individuals, equipment, systems, and processes is not just a matter of electronic data interchange; it is also very much a human connection. We implement resources while developing relationships.

In the back half of 2024, AgGateway working groups are tackling both aspects of connectivity. We continue to promote ADAPT Standard across the globe. We initiated a working group to revisit the rules we use to enumerate entities in AGIIS. Both efforts involve data exchange and the business processes and requirements that define, generate, and store that data. Both efforts involve both technical expertise in addition to line of business acumen. And both efforts require that we listen, hear, and understand each other to be successful.

There’s a lot of talk these days about collaboration to move the industry forward together. Sometimes it’s in the framework of building a widget or a service to solve a problem. Sometimes in the context of gathering experts to understand a problem better in the first place. And sometimes it’s simply a way to identify areas of importance to a segment or the industry such that it makes the most sense to tackle them as a group.

We’re not the only place those collaborative conversations happen. We’re proud to work with other likeminded standards organizations and trade associations to improve the effectiveness of our members and to extend the work you’ve done so you can see increased value.

As we continue the summer conference season, you’ll see us at events like TechHub Live, presenting at the NAPDC meeting, and supporting members’ customer conferences. AgGateway LATAM regional director, José Loyola, will be at the ANDAV Congress, meeting with members and stakeholders alike. Stop by and say hello if you have a chance. If you have a problem you want to see AgGateway tackle or are aware of a conversation where AgGateway resources can help, let us know. Just as you come to AgGateway to collaborate and connect, AgGateway is ready to do the same so that the resources and relationships you’ve developed here can benefit you beyond our meetings.

See you out there!