Relationships are key to the success of Reichhardt Electronic Innovations, a precision farming company celebrating its 15-year anniversary. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting supply chain shortages, those connections have allowed Reichhardt to work with dealers to continue to meet their customers’ demands.

Andreas Reichhardt and Jayme Paquin of Reichhardt Electronic Innovations believe leveraging relationships will allow the company to find solutions and success as semiconductor chip shortages persist.

“In the short term, the way to get through the next 12-24 months is to have strength in those relationships — the relationships we have with our dealers and with our OEMs — so that we can identify solutions for customers, focus on them and adjust as needed,” says Jayme Paquin, general manager of Reichhardt Electronic Innovations.

Paquin and Andreas Reichhardt, founder of Reichhardt Electronic Innovations, see the global supply chain shortages as a major challenge ahead in the next 2 years. Reichhardt Electronic Innovations, like many technology companies, has felt the impact of the global semiconductor chip shortage in the last 6-7 months. Reichhardt says the lead time on chips is more than 50 weeks and still unstable. He hopes that the market will change by spring or summer of 2022. While most electronic devices are coming from the Eastern Hemisphere,the supply chain is starting to move westward, but that solution will take months, if not years, Reichhardt says.

He and Paquin believe leveraging relationships will allow the company to find solutions and success as chip shortages persist. Company leaders and dealers openly talk about the status of current problems and needs. The honest conversations lead to solutions as people find places where they can exchange products or change delivery dates to meet customer needs.

“It starts with keeping close contact with the farmers and the dealers, and frequently discussing the situation,” Reichhardt says. “Many problems can be solved by finding alternatives, and this comes with a friendly and good relationship.”

Paquin encourages dealers to leverage their own relationships to get through supply chain difficulties. By talking about the situation, a dealer may identify an alternative that will satisfy the demand or find places where adjustments can be made.

Dealers and OEMs should also identify the solutions they can provide to customers during this time and focus on those options. Paquin sees an opportunity for Reichhardt’s U.S. dealers to grow their market share in the next 12-24 months.

“With the corn market as strong as it is right now, we're going to see more corn acres going in,” Paquin says. “With that volume of acres going in, it's imperative that it's harvested efficiently and they optimize the yield and get it into the bin. Simply put, that's what our PSR TAC tactile row guidance does.”

Both Reichhardt and Paquin credit a strong dealer channel with the company’s success. They say they're able to run an efficient operation because of effective dealers.

“In these difficult times, we need to find solutions, and this can always be done together with our group, our dealers and our farmers,” Reichhardt says. “We are a small organization, and it’s no problem for anybody to reach out to the gentlemen who make the decisions within our organization. We are open for ideas.”

Hear more about the history of Reichhardt Electronic Innovations and its vision for a future of mixed fleets on the farm in this episode of the Precision Farming Dealer podcast.

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