We sat down with Josh Riley, the Financial Controller at Ripon Farm Services, who brings over a decade of experience to the role. With a commitment to community and innovation, Josh shares insights into his journey within the company, the impact of Ibcos Gold on operations, and the forward-thinking strategies that position Ripon Farm Services for future growth.
Can you tell us about the business as it stands today? How old is it, and what has growth looked like?
Josh: “The business was founded in 1982, by our current Managing Director, Jeff Brown. The business ethos has always been our farming family. We try to look after the community and provide a premium product. We go above and beyond to help farmers and do the best we can for the community. We want to keep that at the forefront of our business model; we want to work with farmers, not just for them.”
Where do you see Ripon Farm Services heading in the future?
Josh: “Looking into the future, as the agricultural industry changes, there is a focus within the business on technology. We have a designated department that focuses solely on technological advancements.
As the world develops and the farmers move generationally, the younger generations are eager to get involved with the technological side of things, improving efficiencies and yields. As such, the business of Ripon Farm Services must evolve with it and keep moving.”
What does a good dealer management system look like to you?
Josh: “A good dealer management system must incorporate every element of the agricultural dealership business. It must be usable and provide a service for not only the point-of-sale operatives, but the people serving customers in the stores, and the service department. They have got to be able to get relevant reports, such as labour efficiencies, and schedule time. That then needs to feed into an accounting software system that I can use in the background and analyse.”
When did you implement Ibcos Gold, and what was the initial reason for it?
Josh: “Ibcos Gold was implemented 42 years ago and has been a key operational player since the beginning of Ripon Farm Services.”
How has Ibcos Gold shaped the way you work?
Josh: “I like Ibcos Gold for the simple fact that it’s purpose-designed for an agricultural dealer, therefore it can cope with every aspect of the dealership. It’s quick and easy for the workers in the stores to be able to serve customers and book parts.
With the Goods Module, you can track any cost associated with the materials and the profit breakdown. There is a lot of functionality for one piece of software and the integrations with the Ibcos Gold are amazing. I’m in charge of looking after stocking plans. Ibcos fully integrates with several stocking plan companies, which makes my life so much easier.”
Can you tell us more about your recent acquisition of FG Adamson and how Ibcos assisted?
Josh: “We acquired FG Adamson in March of last year, it’s a very current acquisition. They had two grounds care depots that we have integrated into our business and they came with an existing management team which made the process easier. They were using Ibcos Gold, so that was easier, albeit it did pose its problems with everybody using the system slightly differently.
Therefore, we weren’t necessarily comparing apples with apples, but Ibcos helped with that. They did it all in the background, so we didn’t have to worry about it. There was work to do around mapping tables but once we provided that, Ibcos ran with it.”
What do you think will be some of the key challenges and opportunities that farmers will face in 2024?
Josh: “The major thing that people are talking about is the weather and the horrendous weather that we’ve had so far will negatively impact farmers. However, we have seen in the past this situation at the beginning of the year and then the weather changes dramatically and all is well again. I think there is more focus on social responsibility for farmers. It’s an issue that they are not used to facing.
I believe most opportunities will be in utilising technology in the coming years, and how far that can take us as a business and farmers.”
How much has Ibcos contributed to the overall success of your dealership?
Josh: “I trust Ibcos Gold because I know it well and I understand every module in the system and how they work together, therefore feeding into the reports that I do in the background. I think a massive positive about Ibcos as a company is the support line. I know that I can tell anybody that has any issues that I can’t solve to contact support and they will get back to them quickly. There is always communication there, which having dealt with other software providers, that’s not a given.”
