the kova quarterly - amazon s32016+n… · made a mistake, the customer still only paid what was on...
TRANSCRIPT
Kova Quarterly
IN THIS ISSUE
HR Updates
Kova’s business philosophy in
maintaining and hiring the right em-ployees has always been to hire/treat all of our employees as if they are family. I feel that the Reed family, as business owners, has the responsibility to make every single person feel respon-sible for their day-to- day tasks. Our job is not to micromanage, we understand that people may make mis-takes. By facilitating this trust, respect and
understanding among ourselves internally, we are able to project these same values to our customer, which is one reason for our success. A personal example of this exact philosophy occurred when I first started with the company. I accidently gave too much product to a customer. Knowing I made a mistake, the customer still only paid what was on the ticket. At this time the customer was struggling financially.
10 years later thecustomer came in and paid Kova back for the extra product. Our customers are loyal to us because we are loyal to them.Agriculture is people doing business with people - being able to communicate face-to face while being up-front and honest is an expectation I hold to every employee. All of the employees now and in the future were hired for their recognizable talents, a passion to help the
The advantages of being an independent distributor.
July 2016 | Issue 3 www.ekova.com
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Any questions/comments or concerns about the newsletter and/or any of its contents, please e-mail: [email protected]
The Right Staff Location Updates
How does KOVA maintian/hire the right employees?
New Employee Spotlight
The
Insight from the Wholesale Desk of Brad Reed
company succeed and a motivation to learn and adapt to their surroundings. This is important as we all have come tounderstand that agriculture isn’t an 8-5 job. In trying to
foster the passion for company suc-cess, we encourage the facilitation of new ideas. We are always willing to listen. It is your ideas that help make this company grow and maintain its success.In light of this foundation of com-pany culture we have created here at Kova, we are aware of issues for future hiring. The biggest is adapt-ing to the younger generation that is entering the workforce. This includes changes in communication and adapting to new technology.I want to thank each one of you for your contributions to Kova and look forward to seeing what the future holds.
-Brad Reed
HR
Human
Section 125/Cafeteria (employee 401 k) enrollment is approach-
ing. The limit will be $2500 annually per tax individual with a
maximum of $5000. That means a married couple can con-
tribute $5000, all others are limited to $2500. The amount set
aside for the Section 125 is a pretax contribution and is not sub-
ject to federal, state, or social security taxes. Normally the start
of this enrollment begins late July with the cutoff by Sept. 1.
Also, a special reminder, that Section 125 covers both
Unreimbursed Medical Expenses and Dependent Day Care, but
they cannot be intermingled. For example, someone wanting to
cover $1000 of medical costs and $1000 of Day Care must list
each separately on the form. You cannot simply list $2000 and
get both items covered. Any amount left over in this plan before
the next enrollment period begins cannot be reimbursed, please
plan wisely.
Finally, Hilliard Lyons, our new 401 (k) representatives, will be
visiting regional offices over the summer months, if they have
not already, to make acquaintances and answer any pertain-
ing questions. An employee meeting is scheduled for July
25th at 11:30am at the Next Generation facility in Greensburg.
Representatives from Hillard Lyons will be on hand to go over
the new structure and answer employee questions. Lunch will
be provided. Both employees currently enrolled in the 401 (k)
plan and those considering enrolling are encouraged to attend.
Employee Spotlight
@ CFS ROSSVILLE
Resources
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IT.TECH.TIPSNeed to take a snapshot of your phone‘s display and save it?
Press the Sleep/
Wake and the
Home button at
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The screenshot
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Press the Volume
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The screenshot
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The Kova Quarterly Newsletter
On May 3rd we were honored to host the Asmark Retail Live Tour. The
participants represented Agricultural Retailers Association, The Fertilizer
Institute, Responsible Ag, CropLife Media, Ohio Agribusiness Assc., Far
West Agribusiness Assc., Georgia Agribusiness Assc., Kansas Retailers,
Southern States Coop., and Asmark Institute. We gave them a tour and
overview of our operations. Questions were asked about our operations
and challenges we face as retailers. We were also able to demonstrate the
technology we use in our operation and how it is changing our
industry. We are glad to support this group and our industry by telling the
CFS/Kova story!
Mitchell Reed will be a chemical sales and marketing represen-
tative at Kova Ohio, Springfield. Mitch graduated from Purdue Uni-
versity this past spring with a
bachelors degree in Agricultural
Economics. During his four years at
Purdue, he was a member of
Farm House Fraternity. Mitch
interned the summer of 2014
with Dow Agro Sciences in
Louisville, Kentucky in sales mar-
ket research. He worked the sum-
mers of 2013 and 2015 at the Kova,
Greensburg location focusing on
computational analysis for retail locations and developing statistical
modeling for fertilizer futures. Mitch looks forward to developing relation-
ships with agriculture representatives in our industry. Outside of work, he
looks forward to attending Reds games and supporting his Alma Mater,
Purdue University, athletics. In his spare time you may also find him on the
golf course. We are excited to welcome Mitch Reed to the Kova family!
Heartland AgJim Wiley
I would like to think the dealers I work
with don’t feel I am pushing any products
that are a goal setter or target/focus prod-
uct like a lot of the Nationals and Co-ops
push. We are sourcing utility and foliar
products that are typically produced near
our local region and can be acquired in a
timely manner. In this process we have the
ability to source quality products that de-
liver what our individual customer needs
and allow him to make a fair margin while
often competing against a standard or low-
er quality ‘national name product”.
I feel we are customer focused and have
the flexibility to “make stuff work” with
each customer on his or her specific needs.
This can be from credit, accounting/billing
to special time frame deliveries, to provid-
ing staggered deliveries based on early or-
ders to help some customers with limited
storage capability. There is less manage-
ment levels to sift through to get an timely
answer to customer questions regarding
product pricing, availability and chang-
ing market conditions or backside rebate
dynamics. I care about my customers in-
dependently owned business and strive to
do the best we can so they can shine above
their National and Co-op competitors at
the retail segment. This business partner-
ship so to speak helps continued sales.
I don’t know if all independent distribu-
tors are like Kova but I have always
felt Kova has been able to react more
quickly than our competitors to changes
in the market place. We have fewer lay-
ers thus important decisions can and
are made much quicker. I also believe
manufacturer representatives feel we are
easier to work with for the same reason,
less layers. When we are able to get clos-
er to the representatives than our com-
petitors that is a nice benefit.
I feel the staff that we provide to the
customers is more service oriented and
knowledgeable. We also do not push our
customers to one certain major chemical
company just because they give us a better
deal. We supply them all options of generics
that can give them the choices that their
customers want.
Kova Ohio (North)Joe Herringshaw
Kova GreensburgAndrew Klosterman
Newsletter Editor In Chief - Lauren Reed ([email protected]), Managing Editor - Cody Reed ([email protected]), Associate Editors - Stuart Reed ([email protected]), Kevin Reed ([email protected]), Shelbi Reed ([email protected])
Kova Quarterly Newsletter © Copyright 2016
How do the mergers & acquisitions affect the farm level? What advantage does the independent distributor have vs. the co-op and nationals?
Agri Business Finance will be moving from their location in Springfield, OH to St. Paris, OH with the intention of expanding their presence throughout
Michigan and Ohio. New Address: 11921 Wick Ct. St. Paris, OH 43072
New Location Announcement
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The Kova Quarterly Newsletter