November 2024
Case
HBS Case Collection

Precision Agriculture at AGCO

By: Rajiv Lal, Alicia Dadlani and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Format:Print
| Language:English
| Pages:21

Abstract

In 2024, AGCO, a leading agricultural equipment manufacturer, sought to improve its customers net farm income by 20% over five years by becoming a comprehensive one-stop precision agriculture solutions provider and strengthening its dual channel sales approach – retrofit solutions and equipment sales – which was unlike their competitors. AGCO senior vice president Seth Crawford oversaw a series of strategic acquisitions and worked to integrate these companies into a new unified precision agriculture group. He faced significant cultural and organizational challenges in aligning the diverse teams around a common "farmer-first" vision. The case highlights Crawford's efforts to embed a rapid innovation approach and customer-centric mindset across the expanded organization. It demonstrates the importance of proactively aligning organizational culture, adapting operational processes, educating dealer networks, while maintaining an unwavering focus on the end customer, even amidst complex challenges.