PrimeTime_Fall_2018

Elisa Marques, Ph.D., MBA | Founder, AgFRONT | emarques@agfront.com INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY Untangling the Helix O ne of the problems with our industry is that we let ourselves

typically have “17 different options” that they themselves don’t understand. Less is more, in this case. Less is more be- cause now their product development team can focus on a useful product that works. Less is more because now they have time to fix any problems with the products. Less is more because now they can train their team on the benefits of the product and how it will solve their customers’ problems. Less is more because now they can focus on a few SKUs, and their purchasing department can have a better idea of inventory. Less is more because now their billing de- partment will not have to issue refunds because of the incorrect billing code and amount. Less is more becomes possible because those organizations have properly segmented their customer base to understand who they are and what they really need. When Less is NOT More A major discussion and battle between the many companies involved in genotyping ser- vices is that of SNP chip/array sizes. What should I buy? A low-density or high- density genetic test? More or fewer SNPs on a chip or array DOES NOT equal a better product. Better SNPs and the right process equal a better product. Better means you have considered their breed effects, their location on the genome, their effects on many traits, AND you use a trusted evaluation system – the whole shebang. A low- or high-density product that follows some of the steps above but then goes around a trusted evaluation is beyond subpar. It’s not less. It’s a fail. It shows that those organizations don’t care about the industry, much less about the customers. They are temporarily in it to make a buck or two. A breed improvement program is too impor- tant for the survival of the livestock industry to be left in the hands of organizations that have repeatedly shown that they do not understand the process. Our efforts of showing producers what “bet- ter” looks like will continue, both domestically and internationally. We will block any attempts to circumvent science. It’s just the right thing to do. PT Editor’s Note: This article was originally pub- lished on Ag FRONT’s blog, www.agfront.com.

get fooled by the various products that are available. We buy into the illusion that the more products a company has, the more problems they are capable of fixing. This is what hap- pens when marketing gets

in the way of science. I remember saying to a colleague a few years ago, in reply to the number of genomics options that we were talking about, “The more options you give, the more confusing the technology is perceived to be, and the less the customer wants to adopt it.” Unfortunately, even after all of these years, I still find myself asking the following questions. Who built this product? Did they bother asking people in the industry what’s needed? Do they even understand who the possible customers are? Maybe they just rolled out of a truck and hit this tree, hoping that it was a magical cash- cow tree. We are progressing faster and faster, with cooler gadgets and products, but there is still an adoption path that we must walk on. No shortcuts allowed. Unless, of course, you want to pick up the broken pieces sometime down the road. If you are in a specific industry and you un- derstand it well, then you should be able to pin- point the main problems it has and what you are trying to solve. You can’t solve everything, and your product is not for everybody. If I am talking to someone about a product or service and they can’t boil it down to simple reasons as to why I should do X versus Y, then they don’t get it, which means that I want to talk to someone who does. This comes from the realization that my time – and that of my customers – is important. We can always make more money, but we can’t make more time. It’s finite. So, find an organization that understands the problems they are trying to solve and that can provide a great onboarding and customer experience. These are organizations able to walk you through the process to get you what you really need in a timely manner. They don’t

Akaushi Prime Time • Fall 2018

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