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INTELLIGENT VERTICAL: AGRICULTURE
allocated to the farmers), who were loyal to the
commercial agriculture suppliers. These points
were sold to the partnering suppliers thereby
generating an income for the producer’s
organisations and rewarding the farmers.
The AgriBonus programme was so successful
in generating revenue that it threatened the
non-profitability of the applicable article 21
(non-profit) producer organisations.
AgriBonus was then registered as a separate
profit generating company called Customer
Benefit Systems. The LoyaltyPlus management
team was responsible for the full design of the
programme and the impl ementation onto
their management platform.
LOYALTYPLUS’ REFINED
AGRIBONUS HELPS SA’S
AGRICULTURE FLOURISH
A
ground-breaking revenue generating
programme has adapted to local
market conditions to ensure
20 years of business-building benefit to
commercial farmers.
In 1998, leading CRM software
manufacturer LoyaltyPlus was approached to
introduce a loyalty programme to encourage
commercial farmers in South Africa to
continue their membership with not-for-
profit producers’ organisations, formally
traditional agricultural boards that had
changed their structure in accordance with
new government legislation in 1994.
AgriBonus was subsequently introduced
to enable commercial farmers retain
their membership of these organisations,
particularly the Milk Producers Organisation
(MPO) and continue paying a statutory levy
as a voluntary fee.
It was a monumental shift in industry and
a milestone in the development of the
agricultural sector.
It was also a seed planted in industry
that over time and through consistent
www.intelligentcio.com
development, value-add and expertise, would
grow into a fully established commercial
agricultural revenue builder for farmers.
The first significant development was when
AgriBonus partnered with specific national
suppliers that provided farmers with goods
and services (for additional points to be
“
AGRIBONUS
BECAME
FULLY SELF-
SUSTAINABLE
IN 2002 AND
GENERATED AN
ANNUAL PROFIT
FROM 2004.
The LoyaltyPlus management team was also
instrumental in the partner negotiations and
the establishment of a redemption centre.
The success of LoyaltyPlus is a result of its
strong architecture, a technology blueprint
that encompasses financial accounting,
operational management, call centre
infrastructure and lifestyle partners, among
other key considerations.
From an operations point of view, the focus
is on efficiency and the contribution of
key role players including the Programme
Manager, Call Centre Manager, Marketing
and Communications Manager, as well as
the Partner Manager.
Customer Benefit Systems licensed
LoyaltyPlus Software Solutions to manage
all technical aspects of the AgriBonus
programme, within a contracted service level
agreement. The programme also features a
strong partnership component, which is to
be expected given that it started as a loyalty
facility aimed at members. The resource
is available to two categories of partners:
accrual partners and redemption partners.
Corporate partners who benefit include
Zoetis, Shell and Toyota South Africa.
The programme started with around 6,500
unique members of the MPO. However,
the number of members doubled almost
instantly with the introduction of the
first set of third party Partners allocating
additional points. AgriBonus became fully
self-sustainable in 2002 and generated an
annual profit from 2004.
INTELLIGENTCIO
85