FEBRUARY 2019 SEEDWORLD.COM / 25 YOU KNOW THAT old cliché saying, “the only thing that is constant is change”? We live in a world where we are connected to news, information, ideas and work almost 24/7. On the world stage, we are seeing major political shifts from Brexit in Europe to Saudi Arabia’s regulatory reforms in the Middle East. In the life sciences sector, we continue to see ever-increasing tech- nological advancements and the struggle around ethical boundaries to how science should be applied. In the seed industry, we are nearing the end of the merger and acquisition phase for the Big 6, now the Big 3 (Bayer, Corteva Agriscience and Syngenta) and companies are fighting for everything they have. It’s abundantly clear that change is constant, from the world around us to our own business, and we’ve got to work daily to be forward thinking and stay ahead of the curve. As such, we’ve made changes to our business, including our approach to sales, the value we place on engineering and our service model. For starters, we don’t just sell equip- ment anymore. We sell services and software, and we’ve had to change our approach when talking with customers. We are still selling value, but what we sell isn’t strictly tangible; we must be able to articu- late the intangible services and benefits. Another change to our approach is the value we place on engineering. We are bringing more engineers into the process early on, and the diversity of that team up front leads to a more efficient process and more sustainable product. Finally, we’ve changed our service model. We’ve gone from a few designated How Not to Get Caught in the Whirlwind of Change JASON KAEB KSI CONVEYORS DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT @jasonkaeb_ksi • JasonKaeb@ksiconveyors.com • KSiConveyors.com service people to the entire team being expected to help with customer service requests. This one change has had the biggest impact, both internally and exter- nally. There’s less handing off and the need for follow up internally, and exter- nally it’s resulted in a faster turnaround for support requests and happy customers. What are you doing to stay ahead of the whirlwind? If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you’ve got to be inten- tional. What is not working? What needs improvement? What do your custom- ers want that you don’t offer? Look for opportunities and be willing to change. Remember: Change will happen, even if you resist it. You’ve got to direct the change and be willing to toss industry norms, processes and procedures on their heads. AFTER THE DESIGN and engineering phase has been completed, as far as the finished goods are concerned, the manu- facturing process is an important stage of building or updating a seed site. To move into the manufacturing stage, a client must first approve the proposed site’s design and engineering as well as the quote for the cost of the finished product. Once these are approved, the drawings and blueprints created in the previous stage are forwarded on to the appropriate manufacturing teams and facilities. To ensure a customer’s happiness with the site, not just on delivery day but for years down the road, it must be built right. It’s essential the teams building the seed site’s components understand all elements of the plan and what standard features and accessories are included— and they must follow that plan through to the very last weld and cleaning. During the manufacturing process, details that influence the quality of the end products are important. For instance, the use of high-quality steel in all materi- als including accessories is important for durability and cleaning ease. Precision laser cutting allows for better welding and for all pieces to be put together in a much more permanent and professional manner. Additionally, don’t underestimate the value of a top-notch finishing process. When applicable, sandblasting offers superior product cleaning. A powder coating, which is sprayed and then baked on products, provides a very hard finish. Powder-coated bins last longer and wear better than traditional spray-painted bins. It’s also important to put efficient, high-quality equipment that works well with your design into your facility. In addi- tion, when choosing equipment for your site, make sure it is easy to clean so there is no cross-contamination between seed types and it provides the fastest transition between products. Buying equipment that’s not quite right in order to save money could cost you in terms of delivering seed on time and moving customers through your facility. Seed is one of our industry’s crown jewels. Everyone takes that extra level of care, attention and pride in the sector. It’s important to put that same care into your seed site. In the next column, we’ll explore the final stage of this process: delivery, set-up and enjoyment. Success Secrets for an Efficient and Long-Lasting Seed Site GERALD UNRAU MERIDIAN MANUFACTURING PRODUCT MANAGER FOR SEED SITES AND CONVEYORS gunrau@meridianmfg.com • meridianmfg.com