Tiryaki Agro, one of the world's leading agricultural supply chain companies, has been working to provide healthy, reliable and sustainable agricultural products since 1965. With operations in 11 countries on 4 continents, the company adds value by producing and processing rice, pulses, cereals, animal feed, oilseeds, nuts and organic foods. Tiryaki Agro has chosen VisionNext Sales for the field sales and distribution of its pulse brand Hasata. At the beginning of 2023, Hasata went into the field with VisionNext Sales and reached 24 dealers from zero at the end of 6 months. Through VisionNext Sales, which is actively used by 150 sales representatives across Turkey, distribution is carried out to 4,000 sales points in 81 provinces. Tiryaki Agro IT Director Timur Karaman said, "Hasata reaching 24 dealers in 6 months was a very serious sales target. Idea's success is right here. VisionNext Sales supported the sales department in achieving its goal of rapid dealer growth. Emin Oktay, Sales Director of Tiryaki Agro, states that Hasata's growth will continue rapidly, adding: "We plan to reach 50 dealers and a field team of 400 people within two years. We have a goal to expand into foreign markets. VisionNext Sales is our biggest support in the field as we implement our growth plans.

Tiryaki Agro, one of the world's leading agricultural supply chain companies, has been committed to providing healthy, reliable and sustainable agricultural products since 1965. With operations in 11 countries on 4 continents, Tiryaki Agro adds value by producing and processing rice, pulses, grains, feeds, oilseeds, nuts and organic foods. In addition to contracted agricultural production on 5 million acres of farmland in various regions, the company's operational capacity supplies over 4 million tons of agricultural products annually from more than 40 countries. With a mission to build a sustainable future for agriculture, the company works with hundreds of thousands of contract farmers and more than 1,300 employees to leave a better world for future generations.

Tiryaki Agro has chosen VisionNext Sales for the field sales and distribution of its pulse brand Hasata. Hasata products are made from carefully selected seeds. While 100% homogeneity is achieved by using the same crop in each pack, consumer convenience is provided by sealed packs that can be opened and closed. Hasata products are also subjected to the Controlled Atmosphere process, a completely natural method, before packaging to prevent butterflies.

We spoke to Tiryaki Agro IT Director Timur Karaman, Sales Director Emin Oktay and Project Manager Kerime İkizler about Hasata's success story in the field with VisionNext Sales.

“İdea Technology provided the turnkey solution”

How did you meet İdea Technology Solutions?

Timur Karaman: Idea Technology Solutions offers easy-to-understand and easy-to-implement solutions that have proven their effectiveness in many well-known companies operating in Turkey. Automation of the sales and distribution network is also very important in our business. As Tiryaki Agro, while organising the field operations of our consumer brand Hasata, which we launched in 2022, through our dealers, we were looking for alternatives to ensure easy tracking and implementation. Our top priority was to have our entire professional field sales organisation managed by an expert company. Idea Technology's offers and services were very much in line with our expectations. It was a company we already knew; we thought we would be able to move forward quickly, easily and comfortably.

What have been the most influential for you?

Timur Karaman: One of the things we liked the most as the IT team was that Idea’s solution was the one with the least IT involvement. We had a team that knew the needs of the sales teams and the sales-distribution business very well. On this side, we have a sales group that knows what they want. As IT, we didn't need to translate or install anything in between. Idea Technology gave us a turnkey solution. Only Kerime İkizler, the Project Manager, provided the coordination; neither a consultant, a software developer, nor a support staff was involved in the process. İdea Technology provided not only "Software As A Service (SAAS)" but also many other services from support to scalability. I wish every project was this easy to implement. Prior to VisionNext Sales, what were your needs? Timur Karaman: Before we started looking for sales force automation software, we looked at the capabilities of the ERP application we were using. The shortcomings of the campaign module, licensing costs, reporting issues and the lack of a platform to receive and manage orders in the field showed that sales automation in ERP would be much more costly and painful. We decided that we needed a sales force automation application. One of the reasons for choosing VisionNext Sales was that our end-to-end distribution network would be managed by both dealers and the parent company through a single application.

"Migration to VisionNext Sales completed in two months"

How was the transition process?

Kerime İkizler: After the kick-off meeting with the Idea Team, we ensured that the requirements were transferred internally using the templates they provided. Our data was created in 1.5 months. Three months later, we went up to 9 dealers, and after a short period of time we reached 13 and progressed gradually. In total, the transition was completed in two months. We benefited a lot from the VisionNext Sales support platform. Our reseller users opened a registration on the platform and their requests were processed quickly after approval. Each reseller user could have made different requests, which would have been a challenge in terms of time and cost. We were able to filter out those with similar requests and this approval flow process has been very convenient. We now know who has requested what, the status of their requests, when they were made and we can easily access past information by filtering.

“With VisionNext Sales, we sell to 4,000 points of sale”

How long have you been using VisionNext Sales and how much growth have you achieved in that time?

Emin Oktay: As Hasata, we started our activities about 1.5 years ago and have been in the market for 7 months. We operate in 54 provinces and distribute to 81 provinces. We use all modules of VisionNext Sales both in the field and in the back office. We have been using VisionNext Sales software in all our dealers since the first day we entered the market. Our number of dealers was zero when we started, today we have 24 active dealers and 150 sales representatives across Turkey using this application. We bill 4,000 points of sale. We plan to grow to 50 dealers and a sales force of 400 people within two years. VisionNext Sales is our biggest support in the field as we make our growth plans.

“Idea offers an IT-independent solution”

Timur Karaman: Increasing the number of dealers to 24 in 6-7 months was a very serious target for the sales unit. This is where the success of Idea lies. VisionNext Sales supported the realisation of our rapid dealer growth target; it did not slow down the growth, on the contrary, it accelerated it. We would never have reached this number of dealers if we had wasted days and weeks of time on customisation, installation and training during the transition to each dealer. One of the benefits of using a SAAS platform for sales teams is rapid growth. No dealer user has ever called anyone from our IT team, either during the transition or after go-live; all user support is provided by Idea. We get a 360 degree service from Idea. We have a relationship that works almost without IT, including installation, support and server hosting.

"Easy to Use, Scalable, Secure"

What would you say if you had to describe VisionNext Sales in three words?

Emin Oktay: VisionNest Sales is a software that allows us to instantly see and follow all the sales-stock-expenditure details of our dealers, who are our business partners; this allows us to intervene in the field as soon as possible and reduces the workload of the field teams on the sales/stock tracking and field investment side. I have been using Idea CRM solutions in different companies I have worked for for about 10 years. Especially the reporting side is very useful for me. I can access the figures I need very quickly. I can easily convert the report into the format I need and use it. The invoicing module is actively used by our dealers. Functions such as setting prices, live tracking of sales, tracking the number of points are the ones we use the most. In three words I can say it is easy to use, scalable and secure.

“We will use VisionNext Sales abroad as well”

How much of the market do you currently dominate? What are your next targets?

Emin Oktay: In terms of brands, we have a market share of around 2 percent in Turkey. Our goal is to control at least 20 percent of the market in two years and become the leader. We aim to continue our branding journey in various basic food categories and become the leader in five years. As Tiryaki Agro, we will be the main producer of all of them. With the expansion of our product group, the contribution of VisionNext Sales to us in this area will increase even more. Hasata has no competitors abroad. We are also planning to use VisionNext Sales to set up a dealer network abroad.

In picture (from left to right): Tiryaki Agro Sales Director Emin Oktay, Tiryaki Agro IT Director Timur Karaman, Tiryaki Agro Project Manager Kerime İkizler, İdea Technology Solutions Idea Technology Solutions Asst. General Manager (Sales and Marketing) Bahadır Karabulut.