Sprouting Succes

Agrifac, a company specializing in designing and manufacturing high-quality spraying machines and beet harvesters, now serves customers globally and stands out as one of the most successful companies in the Excel group, to which it belongs. Agrifac has been using Merkato for a year.

We were intrigued by Agrifac’s decision to choose Merkato and their experience with it so far, leading us to visit their facility in Steenwijk. Interviews were conducted with Frank-Jan Evers, Agrifac’s plant manager, and Roelof van ‘t Ende, the product manager responsible for implementing the configurator. Both expressed great satisfaction with the software’s user-friendly interface and straightforward implementation process.

Configuring Success

“We chose Merkato because our spraying machines offer numerous layout combinations, but not all are feasible in reality. We often received incorrect orders with combinations that did not match, so we looked for a solution. Merkato ensures that only correct orders are placed within the configurator, as we have entered all product knowledge into the system,” says Frank-Jan.

“Our journey with Merkato began almost a year ago. We were referred to Bas Könst through word of mouth. After researching among our competitors, it became clear that we had to opt for Merkato. Setting up the configurator is much easier and cheaper than with its competitors. It’s not just the software that’s cheaper, but also the implementation period. Training takes about a week, while with competitors, it can take weeks. User-friendliness and simple implementation were decisive factors for us.”
“We now have a link between Merkato and Exact, so we no longer receive incorrect orders. Our goal, partly thanks to Merkato, is to have all our employees using the configurator within six months and to process all orders online. Once the Condor spraying machine runs smoothly via the configurator, we will also integrate our other machines into Merkato.”

Training

“Once we started using Merkato, we really enjoyed it. I had about 2 days of training and regular email or telephone contact with Bas and Christiaan. The software is accessible, which is nice. It’s accessible to everyone. When Bas and Christiaan were not easily accessible, they emailed me and I could send my question by email. I always received a response within 24 hours,” says Roelof. “When we started putting the Condor into Merkato, it went quite smoothly; the product architecture was good, but we became aware again of all the dependencies between the variants, accessories, and options to be chosen. Gaining insight into this took a relatively long time and made us realize that a configurator was now a necessity to put together a machine without errors.”

Customer-Centric Support

“They also email themselves. If they see little activity on the server, they ask why this is,” says Frank-Jan. “’Hurry up with that trade and if you have any problems, we will come and help you,’ they have sometimes communicated to us. Bas and Christiaan are straightforward and want Merkato to be taken seriously. They also look at the implementation in Merkato themselves and if they see errors or areas for improvement, they will let you know immediately. They are not just trying to sell the product but also striving to improve it. That is important and fun.”

“Merkato’s strengths lie in its user-friendliness, accessibility, and price, which allow you to achieve a lot! They must maintain its accessibility, which is a significant advantage and is why Merkato now sells so well and better than its competitors.”

“We therefore wholeheartedly recommend Merkato to other companies,” Frank-Jan adds.