MF Growing Together 5

Massey Ferguson 5-year strategy emphasises growth for farming community

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Ensuring a good return on investment for customers, Dealers and the Manufacturer

In a keynote speech at the SIMA Show in Paris, Thierry Lhotte, Vice President and Managing Director Europe and Middle East for Massey Ferguson, a worldwide brand of AGCO, set out Massey Ferguson’s five-year strategy for growth - MF Growing Together 5.

“In our five-year transformation plan, we are focused on growth for our customers, growth for our Dealers and growth for Massey Ferguson. By working together, we can grow together,” Mr Lhotte explained. “Success for all of us involved in farming means having the courage to invest. We are very much a community of interest - from the farmer to the manufacturer via the Dealer. This long-standing trinity is inter-dependent and subtly balanced. We all share the same pain and successes. Everyone in the chain needs a good return on investment to maintain viable and prosperous businesses.”

“We live in an uncertain world characterised by a challenging geo-political environment and dramatic variations in commodity prices which directly impact on farmers’ incomes and investments,” he continued. “However, the overall long-term trends for agriculture remain positive. Massey Ferguson is fully aware of the requirements of the new generation of farmers and our key mission is to be a reliable partner and provide clear solutions to their farming business needs.”

“The new MF Growing Together 5 strategy is based on five core game-changing actions,” he explained. “This includes a transformation in our digital processes, boosting the quality of our MF Dealer network, rigorous global product planning, tight control of costs and precise positioning of the Brand, and, most importantly a total focus on the customer. This is the key attribute of the strategy. Throughout our operations - from our new product design & engineering to our plants, processes, communications and company culture, the customer is at the centre of everything we do.”

“The prime task of a manufacturer is to offer the right product and services at good value for money – from machine purchase to its resale value. We are committed to new product development and boosting the customer experience with our machines and services,” he said. “Today’s pressurised agri-business environment calls for the closest possible relationships between farmers and their suppliers. We will be looking closely at enhancing our communications and contact with end-users to ensure a seamless customer journey throughout the product life-cycle and at every touch-point with Massey Ferguson.”

“A crucial focus of attention is our distribution network,” Mr Lhotte explained. “We are working with our Dealers to ensure increased availability of exclusive MF expertise at local level and to create dedicated Dealer sales teams to offer our full-line of products and provide the very best support to our customers. Furthermore, we are implementing a reinvigorated Dealer Performance Management System for an even more exacting review and assessment of their standards. These moves are aimed at boosting the strength and quality of the distribution network leading to further growth in customer satisfaction and increase in market share.”

“We are mounting a solid product offensive which will see new product launches each year during this exciting journey leading us to 2021,” he remarked. “Massey Ferguson-branded equipment is aimed firmly at the mainstream of the market. We offer great quality farm machines and provide a full set of innovative business-orientated services and solutions. Our MF Growing Together 5 plan has been developed to create more value. By this I mean, more added value for all of us – customer, Dealer and manufacturer so that we can all benefit from a healthy and sustainable return on our investments. This is farming with Massey Ferguson.”