Despite a flat outlook for our markets overall, Kramp performed strongly in 2023. According to Chief Commercial Officer Rutger Bruijnen, this demonstrates that we are even more relevant for our customers and suppliers in a challenging economic climate.
The past year was not without its market challenges. “Despite a slowdown in inflation, almost all input prices remained high throughout the year, as did the cost of capital. As a result, as indicated by the European Agricultural Machinery Association (CEMA) Business Barometer, there was quite a steep decline in business confidence. In spite of a flat outlook for our markets overall, Kramp performed strongly in 2023. “This demonstrates that we have gained relevance for our customers and suppliers in a challenging economic climate.
The reduced customer willingness to invest caused a slowdown in demand,” states Rutger. On top of this, various extreme weather situations created headaches for many farmers across Europe.”
“Unfortunately for our dealers, this slow down came at a time when they had finally restocked their inventories following the disruptions of recent years. As they looked for business growth and efficiencies, we saw a trend of consolidation in the dealer landscape. We expect this to continue, with dealerships also becoming more professional and putting more emphasis on managing their total cost of ownership,” he says.
Serving multiple geographies and industries
Nevertheless, there was plenty of reason for optimism in 2023, according to Rutger: “We serve multiple geographies and industries, so not all our customers were affected by these challenges in the same way. Overall, we had a very solid year in the agricultural industry, and we built momentum throughout the year in forest and grass care too.”
“We even had a surprisingly strong year in construction, which continues to accelerate. The only area that performed below expectations was the supply to Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) customers. This was due to the drop in order levels in the second half of the year.”
Helping customers to buy more easily, sell more and drive productivity
“We see this solid performance as proof that our strategy not only enables us to win in growing markets, but also equips us to support our customers in uncertain times,” he comments. So how exactly did Kramp contribute to its customers’ success over the past year?
“Firstly, it’s always beneficial for dealers to source parts from a one-stop shop like Kramp. We carry a broad assortment, and we are continuously improving it based on the latest trends and new supplier partnerships. This means fewer suppliers for them to manage, fewer deliveries and fewer invoices to handle. But also a smaller inventory thanks to our strong European distribution network offering daily deliveries from our 12 warehouses, which is good for their cashflow too,” explains Rutger. “Secondly, with our newly branded Business Solutions | Powered by Kramp (read more in chapter 9), we’re positioned to help our customers buy more easily, and to grow their turnover and margin whilst improving their productivity,” he adds.
