Christoph and Andreas don’t beat around the bush: BartsParts is their ideal way of getting rid of dead stock. They work for AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG, an agricultural company in Germany that specializes in plant cultivation, livestock farming, construction, machinery and more. This also means that they have a lot of spare parts that take up valuable space. Three years ago they started selling their dead stock through BartsParts. Read all about their experiences here!
About AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG
Christoph: ‘AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG is an agricultural co-operative based in Germany. As agricultural partner we can be a part of every step of the way for farmers and contractors. I am head of after-sales here at the technical department. With my team we make sure our 120+ outlets can successfully support our farmers. AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG sells agricultural machinery. We also provide spare parts and services.’ Christoph works closely together with Andreas, supply chain manager in the technical department. Andreas: ‘Making sure we have all spare parts quickly available is part of this. AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG has many suppliers and a huge network, so it takes a lot of organisation and communication. Our company works with a big variety of brands.’
The start
Andreas: ‘We always want to make sure that our stock is sufficient and complete. But because the market changes it is not always possible to forecast accurately, so we always end up with spare parts that are unlikely to be sold still. Luckily, in 2020 BartsParts reached out to us. They explained their platform, their target audience and what they could mean to our company. This immediately sparked our enthusiasm.’ Christoph adds: ‘We had tried a few other ways to get rid of our dead stock. We contacted a few partners, but none of them really worked for us due to a number of reasons. But we wanted to give BartsParts a chance, and this turned out to be a very successful collaboration.’
Good connection
Christoph: ‘Every successful collaboration starts with good communication. With BartsParts, this is definitely the case. From the first minute we had a good connection with Arno and Michiel, our main contacts. Together we spent a lot of time brainstorming about the possibilities. Once we made a plan, we started offering a small inventory of spare parts to test the waters. We soon discovered that BartsParts’ method worked for us, so we slowly kept expanding our inventory. In fact, at the moment we are one of their biggest partners!’
Expansion
‘During our first year we sold roughly 25.000 spare parts. This was more than we had ever hoped for. And sales are going great this year as well. We have sold more than double of what we sold last year these first few months’, explains Andreas. What’s more, the process runs fully automatically. Christoph: ‘Every night the interface automatically uploads new stock to our virtual warehouse. It is a reliable system that saves us a lot of time. It enables us to offer as many parts as possible, with little effort.’
Automated process
‘BartsParts really takes care of everything, it’s an automated process that reaches customers all over the world. The only thing we have to do is label the parts that are sold and picked up’, Andreas explains further. Christoph agrees: ‘This makes the process of selling very easy. And we also really like the culture and spirit of BartsParts. Arno and Michiel are always hungry for new business and they actively involve us in their decisions and the process. They want us to be successful, as our success is their success. We speak to each other online every month and there’s an open conversation and company culture, which is what you need in order to work together efficiently. We are looking forward to our further collaboration with BartsParts and the opportunities this will bring us.’
AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG
AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG is a modern agribusiness company with the segments agricultural products, animal nutrition, plant production and agricultural technology. It is also active in the areas of energy and consumer markets, including building materials dealers, and in project construction. With more than 6,300 employees, the AGRAVIS Group generates sales of EUR 7.3 billion and is a leading company in the industry with more than 400 locations, mainly in Germany. International activities exist through subsidiaries and associated companies in more than 20 countries and export activities in more than 100 countries worldwide. Company headquarters are in Münster.
