Massey Ferguson, a worldwide brand of AGCO (NYSE: AGCO), has introduced the innovative Harvest Promise compensation scheme for operators of current production MF combines.

In the event of eligible MF combines being immobilised due to non-delivery of critical parts within 24 hours, the scheme compensates the customer should a contractor or replacement machine need to be hired to continue the harvest. Under the scheme, a refund of 35 Euros/ha will be made to the customer up to a maximum total of 3,500 Euros.

Offered from 1 June to 15 November, the Harvest Promise scheme is available in Germany, France, UK, Italy and Denmark and covers Massey Ferguson combines in current production – specifically the MF ACTIVA, MF ACTIVA S, MF BETA and MF DELTA ranges. To be eligible for the scheme, the machine’s serial number must be registered pre-season with AGCO via a Massey Ferguson dealer who uses genuine AGCO Parts. Full terms and conditions are available from your Massey Ferguson dealer.

“This is another important addition to our comprehensive Harvest Support package designed to give Massey Ferguson customers total confidence and peace of mind during this crucial season,” says Christine Lejeune, AGCO Director, Parts Harvesting Business, Europe/Africa/Middle East. “Another new development for the 2014 harvest is our Strategic Stocking Dealers (SSD) initiative which creates consignment stocks of critical parts at selected dealers in key territories to enable even speedier repair solutions.”

SSD is being piloted at six dealers in Germany and three in France. This places consignment stocks of critical parts closer to the field of operation and aims to enable parts orders to be delivered within a three-hour timeframe.

Under Massey Ferguson’s dedicated Harvest Support programme, all parts warehouses and customer service facilities supplying MF combine markets offer extended service every day from early morning to late evening.

At the AGCO Ennery parts hub in France, customer service support staff are on call full-time – night and day and at weekends - throughout the year, offering distributors and dealers in 17 countries a 24-hour service. The factory in Breganze, Italy which builds Massey Ferguson combines is also available to support AGCO Parts personnel 24/7 during the harvest period.

Our Harvest Support service is designed to be extremely dynamic and able to adapt immediately to changing conditions,” continues Christine. “We work closely with suppliers and our dealers to ensure timely availability of parts. Furthermore, we have a robust escalation and review process in place to ensure that any issues – such as back orders and Vehicle Off Road situations - are responded to immediately. This Harvest Taskforce comprises a multi-skilled team including parts, service, purchasing and technical staff who convene on a daily basis to resolve outstanding issues and are able to think outside the box to find solutions.”

There are eight AGCO European parts facilities – all linked via a common order processing system to create a fully-integrated network. If a part is not available locally, the Eurodirect system will automatically search all European warehouses to locate the part and process a direct-to-dealer delivery anywhere in Europe.

Complementing this comprehensive harvest back-up is the full support package provided by the Massey Ferguson dealer network. MF dealers are committed to the highest levels of service by operating ‘out of hours’ parts and service support. They have direct access to on-line parts ordering 24/7 which gives them full visibility of parts availability throughout the European warehouse network.

“We are absolutely dedicated to delivering the best possible parts service to ensure Massey Ferguson equipment stays up and running during the hectic harvest period. Our Customer Service and Operations team at Ennery is in the office seven days a week during this time,” adds Christine Lejeune. “We know that every hour counts and, as a team, we deploy all our resources to ensure our customers make the most of the harvest window.”