Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Arlo Biere / In the world of fast paced competition with a focus on profits, small businesses are always
looking for ways to stay ahead of their competition. One way to maintain the competitive
advantage is to join forces with another small business that sells and services similar
products. Mergers and acquisitions have been very common in agribusiness since the farm
economy collapse in the early 1980s. Farms have been increasing in size, equipment has
been growing in complexity with new technologies and size to keep up with growing farm
size and equipment manufacturers are merging to create larger corporations that offer more
solutions to the end user.
Additionally, fewer machines are being purchased by growers and producers each year and
the machines that are being purchased are able to do more than previous models. The new
complexities require highly trained and skilled technicians to make repairs and service
these machines. Farming practices continue to evolve with more limited- and no-till crop
production. These factors are contributing to dealers forming larger multi-store
operations with trade areas large enough to provide an adequate return on investment to
attract the resources required to sell and support technologically advanced agricultural
equipment. Large multi-store organizations support the requirement of customers by
providing higher levels of customer service. As these large organizations increase in size
they ensure a more sustainable business model with reduced fixed expenses leading to
higher returns on sales and increased total sales.
This study will examine two multi-store farm equipment farm equipment dealerships
with a total of a total of eleven locations and make recommendations to create a merger
of equals. The analysis will include a review of current sales data at each location and
make recommendations for any new locations strategy using industry data as well. This
information will help determine which locations should be eliminated or combined into
single locations to reduce expenses. The study will also provide data to support
implementing standard job pricing in the new organization. A new functional
management structure will also be recommended to guide the new company towards
increased sales revenues and position the organization for long term growth and
sustainability.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:KSU/oai:krex.k-state.edu:2097/18388 |
| Date | January 1900 |
| Creators | Sikora, Stanley J. |
| Publisher | Kansas State University |
| Source Sets | K-State Research Exchange |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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