Hello, this is Matsubara, CRM Evangelist.

"I wonder if the same buyers will purchase our products this year."

This is an anxiety that business owners involved in agriculture, agricultural cooperatives, and agricultural product distribution feel every year before the harvest season.
The relationship between producers and distributors (mass retailers, wholesalers, restaurants, direct sales e-commerce sites, etc.) often depends on personal connections between the people in charge, and there is a risk that the relationship will be reset the moment the person in charge changes.

Agriculture is no longer a field where "if you produce it, you can sell it."
Even for agricultural products of the same quality, the depth of the relationship between the production area and the distribution channel influences the price and quantity that will be sold.
In this era, managing this "depth of relationship" with data and nurturing it as a system is what determines the sustainability of agricultural businesses.

This article explains how to design a system for managing the relationships between production areas and distribution destinations in agriculture, agricultural cooperatives, and agricultural product distribution using EMOROCO CRM Lite.

Why Now is the Time for Agriculture x CRM? – Three Structural Changes

Change ①: Multi-layered distribution – an era where B2B, B2C, and direct sales coexist.

Sales channels for agricultural products are rapidly diversifying.
In an era where wholesale distribution through agricultural cooperatives, direct sales to mass retailers, direct delivery to restaurants, roadside stations, direct e-commerce, and hometown tax donations all coexist, the complexity of managing "who, what, when, and at what price" has increased dramatically.

Change ②: Shortening of the buyer's representative change cycle

Buyers at mass retailers, consumer cooperatives, and school lunch centers often change every one to three years.
It's not uncommon in agricultural product distribution to hear stories like, "I'd been working with that person for 10 years, but as soon as they changed, the amount of shelf space we had decreased."
A system is needed to elevate "relationships with people" to "relationships as data."

Change ③: The need for organizational management due to sixth-sector industrialization and agricultural corporatization.

From individual farmer to agricultural corporation/agricultural production corporation. This involves having multiple staff members, multiple fields, and multiple sales channels.
If information remains only in the minds of those in charge, the organization cannot continue its agricultural operations.

Who are the "customers" of agriculture and agricultural product distribution? — A three-tiered structure.

Before designing an agriculture x CRM system, let's clarify the definition of "customer." The agricultural product distribution system has the following three-tiered structure:

The "customers" managed by EMOROCO CRM Lite are primarilySecond-tier distribution destinations.
At the same time, if agricultural cooperatives or regional associations are involved, **first-tier producers (member farmers)** will also be subject to management.

Field Design – Two types of records specifically for agricultural product distribution

Record ①: Distribution destination (trading partner) management

Record ②: Producer (member farmer) management (for agricultural cooperatives and regional cooperatives)

Workflow Design – Six Methods Tailored to the "Season" of Agriculture

The core of workflow design for agriculture and agricultural product distribution is "proactive design aligned with the agricultural calendar."

Workflow ①: Early business approach two months before the harvest season

Buyers negotiate with multiple production areas. Production areas that provide information early, such as "This is the expected quality and quantity this year," have an advantage in securing shelf space.

Workflow ②: Buyer personnel change season alert

Workflow ③: Early intervention for emotional temperature below cool.

Workflow ④: Follow-up for conversion to periodic trading after spot trading

Workflow 5: For agricultural cooperatives - Business succession support for farmers without successors

Workflow ⑥: Annual Transaction Volume Year-on-Year Comparison Alert

A unique design for agricultural product distribution: Turning "production area stories" into data.

In recent years, the most important factor in differentiating agricultural products has become the "story of the place of origin."
The story behind "where, who, and with what intentions it was made" is the key to escaping price competition.

EMOROCO CRM Lite's narrative memo feature can be used for "managing the stories of the production area."

Information related to the origin story that should be recorded in the narrative of each distribution channel:

When the buyer changes, this narrative becomes the "region PR guide" for the new buyer.
This allows for a strategic handover, such as considering, "This point resonated with the previous person in charge. How should I convey this to the new person in charge?"

Dashboard Design – The Screen Farmers and Agricultural Cooperatives View Weekly

Dashboard for agricultural corporations and production areas

① Summary of Sentimental Temperatures of Major Distribution Partners: A list of sentimental temperatures of distribution partners with high transaction volume. Easily see at a glance which relationships are strained this month.

② Number of follow-up tasks for this month and next month: Buyer transfer alerts, pre-harvest negotiations, and post-spot follow-ups. Check how many tasks should be handled this week.

③ Sales composition ratio by type of customer: Sales ratio by channel, such as mass retailers, wholesalers, restaurants, and direct sales/e-commerce. This is a management indicator used to check whether the business is "dependent on a single channel."

④ List of clients with a "cool" or lower emotional temperature: A prioritized list of clients who need immediate attention.

Dashboard for agricultural cooperatives

① Summary of member farmers' successor status: the number of cases categorized as "having a successor," "considering a successor," and "not having a successor," and the total field area. Used in planning for farmland consolidation.

② Distribution of farmers by shipment ratio: Trends in the ratio of sales through agricultural cooperatives versus direct sales. Early detection of the trend of farmers moving away from agricultural cooperatives.

③ List of member farmers with a "cool" or lower emotional temperature: Early identification of farmers whose relationship with the agricultural cooperative has cooled.

Expanding into sixth-sector industrialization and direct sales e-commerce – managing relationships with consumers

In agriculture's sixth-sector industrialization (integrating production, processing, and sales), as well as in hometown tax donation programs and direct sales e-commerce, managing relationships with end users (consumers) becomes essential.

Use in direct sales e-commerce:

• Records the buyer's emotional state, purchasing motivation, and preferred items.
• Workflow for "Repeat Customers → Advance Notification of New Products"
• Designing harvest reports and thank-you messages from farmers to donors of the Furusato Nozei (hometown tax) program.

Participant management for agricultural experiences and field tours:

• Record participants' emotional state and intention to visit again.
• Workflow for "Harvesting experience participants → Direct purchase information"
• Designing a regular follow-up plan for CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) members

Implementation Prioritization – 3 Steps to Start Today

This is the recommended order for starting to use EMOROCO CRM Lite in agriculture and agricultural product distribution.

STEP 1 (First Week): Setting the emotional temperature of major distributors

Set the emotional temperature level for your major business partners (large and medium transaction volumes). The initial discovery of "what percentage are 'cool' or below" will change future actions.

STEP 2 (Month 1): Set up one pre-harvest negotiation workflow.

We'll set up a workflow to generate follow-up tasks two months before the harvest season for our most important agricultural products. We'll start preparing now for next year's harvest season.

STEP 3 (Month 3): Develop a habit of recording narratives.

After visiting or calling buyers, develop the habit of creating a narrative record of "the story of the production area that resonated with you" and "the information you should use in the next business negotiation." Three months later, this narrative will become your "ultimate sales guide."

Summary — "Agricultural relationship management" is "emotional agriculture."

Agriculture is a business that involves working with nature, but it is also a business that involves working with people. Trust with buyers, solidarity with member farmers, and empathy with consumers—these "relationships with people" determine the value of agricultural products.

EMOROCO CRM Lite achieves three things.

• Transforming relationships with buyers from "the individual's memory" to "organizational knowledge": Designed to maintain relationships with producers even if the person in charge changes.
• Get ahead of the harvest season: By using a workflow aligned with the agricultural calendar, we can approach buyers before competing regions.
• Turning local stories into data: Record "what resonated with you" and use it as a tool for handover and new development.

The sustainability of agriculture is determined by the "quality of relationships," just as it is by the quality of the soil. Please use EMOROCO CRM Lite as a tool to continuously cultivate that "quality of relationships."

[The first step you can take today] Import a list of your main trading partners (distributors) and set the sentiment temperature for all of them. Discovering "what percentage are 'cool' or below" is the starting point for implementing CRM 4.0 in agricultural product distribution.

You can try it with a 30-day free trial.
Digitalization and AI Implementation Subsidy 2026 Compatible Tool Number: DL07-0022934
Product Info:https://www.emoroco.com/

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