Buying Group
The Agricultural Services Division operates a buying group through which considerable savings can be made on the purchase of a long list of products and services. Run as an extension of members' farm offices, the Division works exclusively on each individual member's behalf. It is funded solely by an area-related fee and therefore has no vested interest in selling to members. The main benefits are:
Price Advantage
Because of Dengie's sound credit rating and the Group's purchasing power, suppliers are prepared to quote lower prices. These savings are passed directly to individual members. Advice is also given on the timing of purchases to avoid shortages or take advantage of falling prices and members can often be made aware of the availability of cheaper alternative products.
Time Saving
By making one telephone call to the Group's office, members can obtain prices for all their main inputs, thus avoiding wasted time in contacting individual suppliers. Suppliers’ invoices are throughly checked and single invoices summarising his inputs are issued to each member at the end of the month for payment by direct debit - a further saving of time and bank charges.
Agronomy Advice
Up to date agronomy advice is available to all Buying Group members from a highly experienced agronomist retained by the Company. It includes field walking and advice on crop rotations, timeliness of operations, pest and disease control.