Global economic corporations, which are leaders in the tractor and agricultural machinery market segment, possess extensive logistics systems that allow for the efficient connection of production plants with distant sales markets. Elements of these structures are logistics subsystems that function within dealership companies. Trade and service enterprises constitute links in a higher-order logistics system created by these corporations. Currently, competition at the level of individual economic entities has shifted to entire supply chains in specific market segments.
The integration process within the European Union and the globalization of sales markets have set new trends in the logistics systems of trade and service enterprises serving the food producer sector. The volatility of the economic environment has also had a significant impact on Polish agriculture, which consequently determines its current development, including at the regional level.
Research problem
The ongoing restructuring of rural areas, combined with the program of investment in technical means, including the purchase of agricultural tractors, generates a need to develop model solutions for this market segment in the form of logistics subsystems. Logistics management in the agricultural service sector, as a field of knowledge, meets the needs and expectations of logistics managers from trade and service enterprises. This study contains theoretical knowledge, an analysis of experiences and solutions, and examples of good practices used in companies representing the agricultural market segment.
Issues related to logistics management in the sphere of agricultural tractor sales, resulting from the specific needs and expectations of domestic food producers, constitute an important problem in light of the ongoing changes, requiring research and analysis.
Objective and object of research
The object of the conducted research was the logistics processes regarding the buyer’s selection of a tractor model. The selection procedure was analyzed in the Sales Department of a company distributing agricultural vehicles. Successfully carrying out selection procedures at the stage of the customer’s choice from a wide range of tractor models constitutes one of the most important activities in the area of marketing logistics. The economic entity subjected to the research is a trade and service company operating for two decades in the Central-Eastern Poland region. The enterprise is an authorized representative of corporations manufacturing tractors and agricultural machinery. The company also provides service support for the offered products and the supply of spare parts.
Logistics in the distribution of agricultural tractors
In a market economy, the most important goal of an enterprise’s operation is to achieve a positive economic result from current operations and to maximize profit over a long time horizon. It should be emphasized that the sale of products constitutes the leading component of income obtained from the conducted activity for an authorized dealership company. Modern agricultural tractors, due to their significant market value, are classified as luxury goods. The price level obliges the trading company to maintain a high standard of customer service and to undertake comprehensive actions to acquire potential clients from a market where a wide range of vehicles is available. Manufacturers of agricultural tractors sell their products through selective distribution in an authorized dealer network. The network of sales points, together with service stations, includes a selected group of economic entities that possess quality assurance systems and management systems compatible with those of the manufacturer. Selective distribution is an effective solution when there is a need to reach a targeted segment of recipients. At the same time, it ensures strict market control and allows for the reduction of costs associated with distribution processes. Buyers perceive the competitiveness of a product not only through its price but also from the point of view of the broadly understood higher relative value offered by individual distributors in the agricultural tractor industry. The main segment of the domestic market for new agricultural tractors is formed by vehicles from a dozen or so manufacturers, presented in Table 1.
The article comes from the journal “Logistyka” 5/2009.