Plummeting sales forces C-Dax to cease trading
Farmer-owned co-operative Ravensdown is winding down the operations of its agritech subsidiary C-Dax following a long decline in sales.
Ravensdown’s venture arm, Agnition, has announced a new online sales platform in an effort to give Kiwis more choices for how they purchase fertiliser and other agricultural products.
The channel, named Resupply, gives New Zealand farmers direct access to products from across the Ravensdown Group, nationwide, including bulk fertiliser.
It has been designed to meet the needs of both farmers and landowners looking to purchase smaller quantities of quality fertiliser, seed, chemicals, and soil tests.
Ravensdown chief executive Garry Diack says Resupply is a 24/7 self-serve ordering option, sitting alongside the co-operative’s existing customer channels, such as HawkEye, with the added benefit of credit card payment functionality.
“At a time when farmers and growers have more choices for how and where they meet their on-farm fertility requirements, we wanted to provide all New Zealanders access to quality Ravensdown products in a way that is convenient to them,” Diack says.
He says Resupply has been designed as a one-stop-shop for customers who know what agronomy supplies they want and don’t require additional services or support.
“For these customers, we have harnessed our collective strength to ensure that all farmers, regardless of size, have the opportunity to access our entire portfolio of products,” Diack says.
Agnition chief executive, Jasper van Halder, says Resupply offers the best of both worlds: the ease and efficiency of intuitive online ordering, combined with the trusted, high-quality products and nationwide fulfilment capabilities of Ravensdown.
“Agnition’s mission is to ignite agricultural technology and accelerate innovation in practical, meaningful ways,” van Halder says.
He says the launch of Resupply is a testament to that philosophy, demonstrating how a forward-thinking approach to e-commerce can complement traditional agronomy sales models and offer a viable alternative for farmers who prefer self-service solutions.
“Our digital-first approach meets the needs of today’s farmers – many of whom expect the same seamless experience they get from other industries – to order and receive the agronomy products they need, when they need them,” he adds.
Purchases made via the Resupply platform do not include access to additional Ravensdown services such as agri manager farm visits, soil test collection, HawkEye or myRavensdown, fertiliser plans, fertiliser budgets or environmental reports.
Resupply orders can be paid for by credit card or bank transfer. In addition, Ravensdown shareholders also have the option to pay via invoice to benefit from their shareholder pricing.
Delivery is available for Resupply’s range of seed, chemical products and soil testing kits. Fertiliser orders are available for pick up at any one of 40 Ravensdown stores nationwide.
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