ATS Newsbrief February 2014
As the New Year is upon us all it is an ideal time to review a number of things within your co‑operative. As always, our focus is on customer service and the value your co-operative can bring to your business.
Neal Shaw, Group CEO
ATS’s focus remains on servicing our customers as best we can. While price is undoubtedly at the top of the list for many shareholders, the quality of service we offer is equally important, and in today’s world the two are not mutually exclusive.
Upcoming Industry Events
Employers Workshop 11 February Culverden 12 February Ashburton 13 February South Canterbury 14 February South Canterbury/North Otago For more information on a workshop in your area, visit www.dairynz.co.nz/events.
Dairy Women’s Network Morning Tea
It is very easy in a business to sit in an office and think you know what your customers want, rather than going out and asking them. In reality, customer service means different things to different people, and different farming practices have vastly different requirements.
10 February Ashburton
The challenge for ATS is to determine exactly what our customers actually want and need. This is much harder to achieve in a co-operative setting which endeavours to treat all shareholders equally regardless of the scale of the operation and farm type.
Ecan Land/Water Regional Plan Farmer Briefing
ATS is constantly reviewing how it engages the farming community as over time, expectations regarding what’s expected from the co-operative tend to change. It’s paramount for us to be able to anticipate those changes. Surveys have become one of the most effective ways for us to gather information. While we appreciate our farming family’s lives are busy, the information gathered from surveys is crucial to the decision making process and we strongly encourage you to take part. During January, ATS commissioned independent research surveying 250 of its dairy farming families in a bid to get some clarity on what ATS offers in the market, and how ATS can better support them as shareholders. While this survey is dairy-specific, it follows a similar DNA Survey which went out to all ATS shareholders last year in which sheep, beef and arable farmers had the opportunity to have their say. It is easy to be dismissive of surveys as we all seem to be surveyed constantly by various organisations. If you are truly a customer centric business then asking your customers how you can improve would seem to be the logical strategy in any business. Of course, not everyone wishes to take the time to participate in these surveys but at least the offer has been made to source feedback and ultimately, any decision taken will be based on the feedback received. Surveys are like elections, if you didn’t vote, you aren’t entitled to criticise the outcome.
The ATS calendar
For more information, visit www.dwn.co.nz/ events.
17 February Ashburton 19 February Waimakariri 20 February Timaru 26 February Kaikoura 27 February Waihora For more information, contact Tony Fransen at tony.fransen@dairynz.co.nz .
Farm Safety Manual and Training for Members 18 February, 18 March, 22 April & 20 May 2014 For more information please contact Peter Jacob on 03 307 5124 or 0800 BUY ATS (289 287), email book@ats.co.nz or book online at ww.ats.co.nz/farmsafety
Cashflow Budgeting Workshop 4–5 March Timaru 6–7 March Ashburton For more information, contact Catherine Ibell at catherine.ibell@dairynz.co.nz.
Milksmart—The Next Generation 11 March North Canterbury 13 March South Canterbury/North Otago For more information, contact Catherine Ibell at catherine.ibell@dairynz.co.nz.
ATS produced a special 50th Anniversary calendar for 2013 to celebrate the co-operative’s 50th year. This was a onetime production however we have had much feedback from members wanting the ATS calendar to be annual. ATS are therefore looking into creating a calendar for the year 2015. If you capture a beautiful moment in agriculture throughout the year which you would like to be considered for the 2015 ATS calendar, please send your high resolution photo to marketing@ats.co.nz or for assistance please contact us on 0800 BUY ATS (289 287).
50 CELEBRATING
YEARS