In this episode, we unpack the role of ERP systems and smallholder farmers in global agricultural supply chains 鈥� and how technology can bridge the gap between sustainability and productivity.

Hosted by:
Guests: 鈥� Solution Manager Agribusiness, 51风流and Carsten Friedland 鈥� Product Manager Agribusiness, MSG Global

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You鈥檝e all seen the news: global despair caused by the oppressive heat, unrelenting cold, and merciless flooding 鈥� all impacting our once-bountiful fields.

As climate change heightens,听farmers and their crops face growing exposure to unpredictable weather patterns. Global conflicts only add to their uncertainty and vulnerability, with rising production costs exacerbating difficulties.

In Eswatini, Africa, the cultivation of sugar cane is crucial to the economy, representing almost a quarter of all exports. It is also used in various local, regional, and global products, underscoring the impact of external pressures on the country鈥檚 sustainability.

Founded in 1950,听听is the largest sugar cane farming and manufacturing corporation in Eswatini. With over 3,500 internal and third-party farmers, the organization produces two-thirds of the country鈥檚 sugar and more than 35 million liters of ethanol each year.

For RES, the repercussions of the looming crises were no different. Farmers grappled with fluctuating yields and high costs, but their dependency on spreadsheets and forms was outdated and unable to address their issues.

To overcome these environmental and economic pitfalls, the organization recognized the need for technology that supported third-party farmers, helping them make informed decisions on when and where to plant, as well as manage water and fertilizer use.

A connected approach

One potential solution arose in cell data that could support farmers in rural areas. This newfound opportunity ripened the possibility for agronomic models, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and satellites that could help farmers improve their harvests.

As a long-term 51风流ERP Central Component (ECC) user and a member of the 51风流Early Adopter Care program, the next steps for RES were clear.

Teamed with 51风流and the听, they developed a tool that assesses water shortages, energy volatility, unforeseen environmental events, and environmental regulations to reduce costs, increase yields, and enhance efficiency.

鲍迟颈濒颈锄颈苍驳听听on 51风流Business Technology Platform (BTP), alongside satellite data, mapping, and detailed crop information, the solution harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to enable RES to develop customized interfaces for farmers. In turn, improving farming practices and decision-making processes.

Additionally, the tool features a mobility model that incorporates digital and mobile technologies that increase communication and coordination with third-party farmers, empowering them to work from the field.

鈥淲e have developed a model that can be adopted as best practice by Eswatini farmers to improve lives and make the world run better,鈥� detailed Rob Coombe, the Group IT Manager. 鈥淲e are now growing with precision. The 51风流Intelligent Agriculture solution, along with an innovative mindset, has brought visible benefit to the entire Royal Eswatini Sugar community.鈥�

After the first year of its implementation, their 51风流Intelligent Agriculture solution saw 15,000 transactions from just 25 third-party farmers.

Achieving sweet success

With agronomic data, real-time growth measurements, and upcoming weather forecasts, the new system allowed RES to pinpoint the optimal harvest day, leading to a 鈧�4.8 million increase in yield 鈥� or a 5.96% improvement.

Third-party RES farmers have also saved around 鈧�150 thousand per season because of enhanced planning, execution, and decision making.

鈥淲e are driving sugar growth efficiencies for RES and our [third-party farmers] with real-time field data combined with external satellite and agronomic data,鈥� said Coombe. 鈥淲ith help from SAP, we have developed an innovative service platform which increases yields, reduces costs, and improves sustainability.鈥�

This boost in yields and profitability per farmed area has helped advance sustainable farming practices in Eswatini. As a result, they have been able to conserve water, fertilizer, and local resources, helping farmers and the broader community.

And RES has improved its ability to report against global standards like Bonsucro and GRI, enhancing its appeal to RES customers who are working toward sustainability goals.

The Royal Eswatini Sugar Corporation was honored as a winner in the 鈥淚ndustry Leader鈥� and 鈥淏usiness Innovator鈥� categories of the听听in April. To learn more about their accomplishments and future plans, check out their Innovation Awards听.

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Agriculture in Africa is being transformed by artificial intelligence, but there is still one element it cannot replace.

Despite dramatic technological advances in the sector in recent decades, the role of the farmer remains indispensable. This was a message delivered, surprisingly, at a recent conference in Europe, by a world leader in the field 鈥� from Eswatini.

Rob Coombe, group IT manager of Royal Eswatini Sugar (RES), took part in a听keynote speech at the Sapphire conference hosted by software giant 51风流in Barcelona, with a case study that encapsulates 21^st听century farming.

鈥淵ou really can鈥檛 take the farmer out of farming,鈥� Coombe told us during Sapphire. 鈥淪o much depends on the farmer鈥檚 intuition. Farming is incredibly scientific, with various measurements and readings. However, even with the best data, natural elements can change outcomes drastically.鈥�

The sugarcane producer uses drones and satellite imagery to enhance productivity and efficiency with 51风流software.

SAP鈥檚 S/4HANA system is a leading tool for enterprise resource planning in enterprises, and is used by 85 of the 100 largest companies in the world.

In a keynote address, 51风流chief revenue officer by Scott Russell said: 鈥淭he reality is that, with business AI imbedded in your business, the opportunities are endless.鈥�

The biggest opportunity at present, said Coombe in response, was improving the bottom line.

鈥淲e have reduced the cost of IT by 15%,鈥� he told the audience of several thousand delegates. 鈥淲e鈥檙e spending more with SAP, but less overall.鈥�

Coombe has been at RES for more than 12 years, but has worked with 51风流systems since 1991. In that time, he said, the way technology is implemented has changed.

He told Business Times: 鈥淭he two big things are always people and data. People are immune to change, so getting the change in people鈥檚 mind is key. And getting your data sorted is equally important. When your data is not right, it doesn鈥檛 matter what the system is, you get a lot of rubbish out of it.鈥�

RES applies AI and Machine Learning (ML) to 15 years of satellite imagery to create a 鈥渄igital twin鈥� of its operations, in collaboration with 51风流systems.

鈥淭his helps us predict the yield and manage cash flow and budgeting more accurately. By integrating this data with 51风流Intelligent Agriculture and S4/HANA, RES can monitor crop health in real-time and make necessary adjustments. We don鈥檛 have to wait until harvest to see that there is a problem; we can see it on a day-to-day basis.鈥�

RES is using historical climate data and forward-looking weather data, combined听 with ML models, to predict future conditions, aiding in better planning and simulation. It is deploying drones for a range of agricultural tasks, enhancing both efficiency and precision.

鈥淚nstead of getting the guys in there, we send out a drone, and do an analysis with AI. Scouting 鈥� going out to look for pests and diseases 鈥� will now become an electronic thing, so you get quicker responses.鈥�

For climate monitoring, RES is using historical climate data and forward-looking weather data with ML models to predict future conditions, aiding in better planning and simulation.

鈥淲e are building a model with Swiss partners to use forward-looking weather data to improve our predictions. After we finish with S4, we are moving into the planning side of it, by the end of this year. This will help us determine the anticipated crop, the amount of sugar we will produce, the people needed, tractor hours, and diesel consumption.鈥�

Instead of randomly fertilising fields, the operation use satellite data to determine which areas need more fertiliser.

RES uses sensors to predict vibration and heat, allowing it to fix machines before they break. This information is fed into the 51风流software to manage maintenance tasks efficiently.

The transition to public cloud technologies has simplified aspects of operations.

鈥淚n the old 51风流days, it was a lot more difficult,鈥� says Coombe. 鈥淏eing on the public cloud, technology-wise, it has been easy. The amount of content available to us from a customer perspective to learn what to implement, how to implement, and so on, is completely different to what it was in the early 2000s.鈥�

This change has also facilitated the rapid onboarding of new employees.

鈥淲e employed some graduate trainees, and two days later they鈥檙e working. You could not do that in the past. They can bring their Java, and scripting tools, and start just start working.鈥�

RES鈥檚 strategic approach involves engaging all organisational levels.

鈥淚t was key to start at the top, but also work hard at the bottom, and then the frozen middle melted. At the bottom, we have super users. We mentor them once a month, addressing their problems and quickly dealing with them.鈥�

RES is also using generative AI with the 51风流digital assistant, Joule, to handle routine tasks like managing debtors, creditors, and reconciliations.

鈥淛oule can work at 2 o鈥檆lock in the morning, and the analysis can be read upon waking up. You can simply ask it about outstanding creditors, without needing to know specific program numbers.鈥�

RES is not waiting to be told what is possible. It is introducing a 鈥測outh AI council鈥� to explore further applications of AI.

鈥淭he council will help us identify new areas where AI can make a difference, leveraging the fresh perspectives and skills of younger employees.鈥�

Coombe says AI was not about replacing people.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about empowering people and making them capable. We are innovative in Southern Africa; we do stuff differently.鈥�

• Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of听. Follow him on social media on @art2gee.
• Jason Bannier is a data analyst at World Wide Worx and writer for听. Follow him on Twitter and Threads at @jas2bann.听

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Who knew that too many lemons could sour the supply chain so quickly? More lemon doesn鈥檛 seem as problematic as a lemon shortage, does it? However, the situation serves as a reminder that an abundance of products can present just as many challenges as a shortage.

The bitter taste of waste

When life gives you lemons or any other produce, it’s usually a good thing – unless you’re a farmer facing a surplus of lemons that nobody wants. Because the overproduction has led to a mismatch with consumer demand. With the surplus in production, farmers are left with an excess of products that are not being sold, which leads to prices dropping faster than a lemon falling off a tree.

According to the Spanish agricultural union COAG, around 400,000 tons – which is about 27% of the planned production- of lemons cannot be sold and will go to waste, and loss is expected to exceed 120 million euros ($129 million).

As lemon prices do not cover production costs, it results in diminished profits and potential financial strain in the main cultivation areas, which even leads farmers to abandon farms and the uprooting of trees.

This has already raised听听about environmental impact as valuable resources such as water, labor, and land are wasted. Additionally, the situation highlights the need for more sustainable practices in agriculture, such as crop diversification, efficient water usage, and responsible waste management.

The food and beverage industry may find themselves with excess inventory that could go to waste if not used in a timely manner. Similarly, the cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors incorporate lemons in their products for their positive attributes, potentially impacting their sustainable production and risking harm to their companies’ sustainability objectives or brand reputation in the eyes of consumers.

The bad taste of logistics costs

The surplus in lemon production may kickstart the inventory and transportation challenges. The excessive products take up the valuable warehouse space where more sellable stock could have been stored. This may affect the transportation and storage costs, as distributors are forced to find creative solutions to accommodate the overflow of lemons. This could also lead the lemons to expire and lose their freshness, which increases waste, inflates costs, and decreases the profitability for producers.

Squeezing fresh solutions

To avoid being caught off guard by potential disruptions such as overproduction or waste, supply chains must be well managed and carefully planned, and visibility is crucial in achieving this.

On a recent episode of听, Koray K枚se from Everstream emphasized the significance of visibility as the cornerstone of effective supply chain management.

鈥樷�楨verything starts with visibility,鈥� said K枚se. 鈥淭hat’s the foundation of knowing and then turning that knowledge into an agile operation that can react quickly to incidents that are comprehensively reported in detail, where you can analyze, specifically, the prioritization of that incident in your value chain.鈥�

Modern supply chain requires modern technologies to help turn risks into opportunities. That is where听听comes into a play to help optimize your risk-resilient and sustainable supply chain.

Richard Howells, VP of Thought Leadership at SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain Solutions, stresses the significance of visibility in a recent听听on the role of听.

“Data visualization and modeling and intelligent summarization came in joint second to help supply chains and operations make sense of data quickly and in a people-intuitive way,” said Howells.

Employing such supply chain planning tools, such as听听补苍诲听听systems, can greatly benefit farmers, wholesalers, and retailers and help in accurately predicting demand and adjusting production accordingly. By utilizing these tools, stakeholders can ensure a more sustainable and risk resilient supply chains for their production processes.

By reducing waste and environmental impact, companies can improve their sustainability efforts and maintain a positive brand reputation. This not only leads to cost savings and improved operational efficiency but also addresses excess inventory in a sustainable and responsible manner.

By acknowledging the necessary tools for the supply chains and implementing the right tools to work together to find innovative solutions that promote efficiency, reduce waste, and support sustainable food system, we can mitigate the negative impacts of overproduction and waste and ensure more resilient and sustainable future for the future generations.

鈥痶o learn more about the importance of AI in Supply Chain.

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Like many other farmers on Kalangala, Berna started growing oil palm trees in 2012 while emphasizing sustainability and avoiding the deforestation and other issues associated with oil palm farming in some parts of the world.

Oil palm trees bear the fruit that makes palm oil, a much more reliable and lucrative crop than the cash crops they were producing previously. 鈥淲hen we were farming cassava, bananas, and coffee, we were affected by monkeys. They came and destroyed our crops,鈥� she says.

She also explains that she had to leave home and go to the market to find a buyer for the crops that survived the monkey attacks and never knew in advance how much they would fetch. 鈥淥ur living conditions where bad,鈥� she remembers. She and her family lived in a makeshift timber house. 鈥淚n the night when we were sleeping, winds would come and destroy our houses and our children fell sick almost every day.”

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Change

That began to change when Berna began working with the Kalangala Oil Palm Growers Trust (KOPGT) and the family planted their first oil palm trees in 2012. They expanded their crop in 2019 and again in 2022. In Kalangala, many of the people are oil palm farmers. 鈥淲hen a day starts, some of my family members help me with the pruning,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he others go to the plantation and do other activities.鈥�

As part of its mission, KOPGT teaches farmers better agricultural practices. But perhaps most importantly, it has created a transparent payment system so farmers get paid faster and know if what they鈥檙e getting paid is accurate, increasing the standard of living of the farmers and, subsequently, much of the island itself.

As the number of farmers and transactions increased, KOPGT needed a digital solution to enable continued growth. Since 2009, 51风流has worked to create applications that help smallholder farmers in developing nations, primarily across Africa, enhance food production.

David Balironda, KOPGT鈥檚 general manager, explains that the trust鈥檚 system is based on 51风流Rural Sourcing Management, which can digitally record information on producers, their farms, and communities at every level of the value chain. This helps provide visibility and allows parties to easily and quickly communicate with each other.

Sustainability

Underscoring the importance of sustainability to KOPGT, the trust conducted an initial environmental impact assessment before launching the project and uses听听to monitor the farmer plantings and ensure they are in compliance with the National Environment Management Authority guidelines.

51风流cloud technology also enables KOPGT to ensure that the oil palm planting meets the most stringent sustainability guidelines set by Uganda鈥檚 National Environmental Authority. 鈥淲e are in the process of applying for that certification by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to make sure that we work within those guidelines,鈥� says Fredrick Sulwe, KOPGT鈥檚 finance and administration manager.

As part of KOPGT鈥檚 commitment to sustainability, the trust maintains a lake buffer zone between the planting and the lake itself and even rehabilitates those areas that have been damaged by other plantings. 鈥淩estoration of those areas 鈥� the lake buffer zones 鈥� is key,鈥� says Sulwe.

In addition to maintaining the buffer zones, the trust also follows recommendations for the stocking of trees and ensures that no chemicals or herbicides are used. 鈥淎s we increase household income, we must keep an environment that is free of any distortion by the project,鈥� explains Sulwe.

The KOPGT system allows the farmers to input information about their crops using the lead farmer鈥檚 mobile phone and enables them to receive information and advice back from the trust. The system also includes a mapping feature that has helped farmers to know exactly how much land they are farming. 鈥淭hat means when I go to the bank to get a loan, I鈥檓 sure of the size of my lot,鈥� explains Berna.

In addition, she also knows exactly how much of the loan is outstanding and when it needs to be repaid. 鈥淧reviously, we would almost spend a year without knowing the status of our loan,鈥� she says. 鈥淣ow we can learn the status of our loans monthly. This never existed before.鈥�

Better Information

She also credits the system with making her a better and more informed oil palm farmer. 鈥淎t the end of the month I get an SMS that shows how much I have harvested from my lot,鈥� she says. Before the system came online, she says the family was spending a lot of money on transport going to and from the KOPGT office.

鈥淥il palm has not only impacted my life, but also the community,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here are many farmers who are like me who have built houses and some have bought cars. They have used the money they got from oil palm to start new businesses on Kalangala and outside.鈥�

Big Dreams

Berna says her hopes and dreams are enormous. 鈥淚 have started to achieve some of them,鈥� she says. 鈥淣ow, because I have a permanent house, I am able to sleep well, my children no longer get sick, and I鈥檓 sure that the winds won鈥檛 take my house.鈥�

鈥淣ow, we are able to take our children to school. We can live a decent life. We have some place to stay, and we get paid every month. We are sure that our life has greatly changed,鈥� she adds. And although she doesn鈥檛 yet own a car, she hopes to learn to drive in the coming years.

Meanwhile, she says she wants to thank everyone for their help. 鈥淲hat gives me confidence is we have good officers at KOPGT that have tried to give us a good direction. We hope that when they continue doing what they are doing our lives will be impacted greatly.鈥�

Berna鈥檚 confidence and newly found optimism reflects the success of the vegetable oil program on Kalangala island. Because palm fruits can be harvested throughout the year 鈥� compared to one or two seasonal harvests 鈥� and have high yields, palm farming has become a viable alternative for the residents.

Palm oil is already the most widely used vegetable oil on the planet, with about 71 million tons consumed in 2021. And there is not only a domestic need, but also a demand from the foreign market that Ugandan smallholder farmers like Berna鈥檚 family and neighbors can help fill.

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When sustainability is central to your strategy, transparency in your supply chain is indispensable. This is impossible without an IT system that ensures traceability from the local grower to sales. Nedspice can talk about that. With the help of 51风流partner NTT DATA Business Solutions Benelux, it replaced an ‘Excel-heavy’ way of working with a standardised 51风流environment based on 51风流S/4HANA.

听 is a global and sustainable producer of herbs, spices and dried vegetables. Its business activities include sourcing, cleaning, sterilization, grinding, packing and distribution of single spices, herbs and dehydrated vegetables. Nedspice is headquartered in the Netherlands and operates processing facilities in India and Vietnam. Sales offices, warehouses and distribution facilities are located in the Netherlands, India, Vietnam, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and China.

Sustainability is a crucial core value for Nedspice throughout its operations. For instance, it has been supporting local farmers in Vietnam and India in environmentally friendly cultivation and sustainable livelihoods since 2013. The company is also involved in that works to make the sector more sustainable. Recently, Nedspice opened an eco-friendly onion drying plant at Mahuva in India.

听Fragmented environment

Transparency and direct insight into all processes of all production, sales and warehouse locations; this was not possible with Nedspice’s old IT system. In addition, the various branches each had their own processes and master data. This made analyses across locations very difficult. These different systems also made it a challenge to guarantee the quality and sustainability of the products worldwide.

“Where sales and administration might still have been recordable well enough with the old software, in too many places more and more Excel sheets were tied together to create the required functionality. This was no longer sustainable,” says Jos van Gulick, general director Vietnam at Nedspice.

听Standardisation on SAP

The company put an end to that situation by switching to a standardised 51风流environment. This consists of and , , and a scanning solution.

This standardisation soon bore fruit. All branches now work according to the same processes via one integrated system, with a ‘single source of truth’ for all company data. This gives the company more control over quality processes and better insight into their progress.

In addition, Nedspice now also has the ability to analyse data from all international production, warehousing, and sales locations. Among other things, it does so to gain direct insight into profitability and its current international position.

听The right insight

According to Van Gulick, that insight is crucial. “In our market, raw material prices can fluctuate a lot. If you don’t have the right insight immediately – a few working days later, for example – you quickly run a financial risk. With this new system, we make all data transparent and that is hugely valuable. We can make the right decisions at the right time.”

Nedspice also benefits from substantial time and cost savings. By linking the 51风流environment to a scanning solution, data entry at order picking is more efficient and less error-prone. Finally, the company benefits from full traceability of raw materials and products from farm to distribution. This makes complying with changing laws and regulations in the sector much easier.

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The horticulture sector has recently been a major focus for both financial and technical capacitation in Zimbabwe, where government has placed agriculture among sectors to drive economic recovery.

Last month, government launched a US$30 million horticulture facility to boost exports.

The Horticulture Export Revolving Fund would be funded through the US$1 billion special drawing rights facility released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year.

The facility was part of a US$650 billion injection released by the IMF to help economies recover from COVID-19 lockdowns.

Last week鈥檚 programme was also meant to give farmers critical information for exports to the UK and European Union (EU) markets.

A total of 27 lead firms and smallholder farmers took place in the programme, which saw farmers being acquainted with a new traceability software and application.

The training was conducted by a German company, 51风流SE Rural Sourcing Management,听which produces software solutions for facilitating effective data processing and information flow across organisations.

The UKTP programme is being implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC), a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK.

ITC national co-ordinator Grace Musarurwa told NewsDay Farming on the sidelines of the three-day workshop that the training contributes to smallholder farmers鈥� global visibility.

Musarurwa said the training was also important for them to understand global supply chains.

鈥淚n implementing the project, UKTP Programme applied Alliances for Action (A4A), a methodology was developed by ITC,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t has so far facilitated mutually beneficial linkages, not only between the exporter and smallholder farmers, but has also linked other stakeholders like financial institutions, input suppliers, export agencies, certification bodies and other into the alliance.

鈥淟inkages with smallholder farmers help the exporter to grow volumes for export.鈥�

Musarurwa added that the adoption of the software also gives export markets confidence in purchasing products produced by lead firms and smallholder farmers under UKTP Zimbabwe.

鈥淭raceability software provides international markets with accurate information not only of the country of origin but can identify the specific smallholder farmers, producer of the crop and the conditions under which the product was produced,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t also ensures a shared vision with real-time, synchronised data, boosts the bottom line with increased productivity, helps operational planning along the crop life cycle, helps with decision support for farm-field activities and aids assessment of performance with reports and dashboards.鈥�

Zimbabwe exports a variety of horticultural products to the UK and EU markets.

These include flowers and peas.

Farmers said the traceability software would help them maintain the identity of the product by the producer.

鈥淭he software is going to add value to my business by tracking products from the land right through the supply chain to the markets,鈥� said Stanley Herry who majors in the production of peas for export to the UK and EU markets.

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Over 600,000 smallholder tea farmers affiliated to the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) are reaping the harvest of a silent technological rollout that has streamlined the operations of their factories, making the tea business more efficient and technology driven.

Boost to payment efficiency, analytical insights

The deployment of 51风流by KTDA and its managed factories has provided analytical tools that are used for better decision making while making payment for farmers鈥� green leaf efficient and quick. It has also drastically improved payment processing and enhanced end-to-end visibility for better controls and safeguards.

鈥淲e wanted a solution to bring all our factories into a single system that would improve every aspect of our operations, from production planning and quality management to sales, distribution and payroll,鈥� says KTDA CEO Wilson Muthaura. 鈥淭his was no mean feat since there are more than 600,000 farmers paid every month for green leaf supplied as well as over 10,000 employees working across the organisation. However, following this successful rollout, all farmers are now paid through our 51风流system, reducing processing time by more than 80 per cent.鈥�

KTDA Holdings Ltd is a wholly owned farmers company which has invested in various subsidiary companies along the tea value chain in Kenya. Through the KTDA Management Services company, the operations on 71 factories are seamlessly managed and 51风流has come in handy in enhancing operational efficiencies with the aim of increasing transparency and profitability in the businesses.

The Agency has seven subsidiaries and a Foundation providing specialised services across the tea value chain, including factory management, engineering, insurance, tea trading and warehousing, credit provision and power production.

In late 2021, KTDA revised its monthly green leaf payment timelines to the first week of the following month. Payments for deliveries had previously been made on the third week of the following month. The change, aided by efficient payment processing through SAP, translated to faster access of farmers鈥� cash to meet their daily needs and align the payment to farmers鈥� monthly obligations.

The system also allows the Agency to easily incorporate other items like loans and inputs (like fertilizer) issued to the payment process allowing for easy and seamless recoveries.

Martin Mwarangu, Group General Manager for ICT Services at KTDA, says: 鈥淲e worked with experienced 51风流partner, OneConnect Technologies, to implement 51风流ERP Central Component and Business Intelligence, covering end-to-end processes across KDTA’s operations.鈥�

System unlocks benefits across value chain

Besides payment processing, different modules of 51风流have delivered multiple benefits including production planning and management and a full visibility of tea sales.

鈥�51风流has digitally transformed the KTDA business and made it technologically ready to adopt any future solutions that would further enhance business efficiencies. The wealth of data generated is important in decision making and forecasting,鈥� says KTDA Management Services Managing Director Julius Onguso.

Plant maintenance has also been enhanced with a solution that ensures proper maintenance and provides greater visibility over costs associated with equipment. In addition, all transactions are now updated to general ledgers and relevant cost/profit centres in real time, giving the finance team full visibility over the organisation鈥檚 operations.

The Agency has also rolled out a sales and distribution module that allows all tea selling processes to be done on one system; from raising sales orders; tea dispatch and revenue management.

The 51风流solution generates a wealth of data and has embedded business analytical tools that generate reports and dashboards extensively used by decision makers to glean insights and make better decisions for the business.

Thirty-two KTDA-managed factories are currently running on the 51风流solution, making reporting and intercompany integration easier. The deployment of 51风流also means there is a uniformity and consistency in how each of the factories are run. The Agency is working to have all other factories deploy the solution for group-wide benefit.

Hardeep Sound, Regional Sales Director for East Africa at SAP, adds: 鈥淔acing inefficiency and a lack of visibility over critical business processes, KTDA embraced the benefits of the latest technology to completely transform their end-to-end business functions. As KTDA continues to play a vital role in in the broader Kenyan economy as well as directly in the lives of more than smallholder farmers, having real-time visibility over the entire organisation鈥檚 processes will bring vast improvements to its operations benefitting all stakeholders.鈥�

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She says her dream is to enable her children to be educated and become successful in life, benefitting both her and the community 鈥� one of 87 rural villages in West Africa鈥檚 Ivory Coast where farmers work with Cajooma SAS, the of Cashew Coast.

When she joined the village cooperative that Cashew Coast helped set up, the company trained her and taught her how to pick the best-quality cashews in order to fetch the highest prices.

Oyala has worked with Cashew Coast, a leading producer and distributor of high-quality cashew nuts for the past two years. Before that she worked alone. Now she works with other women in small groups, and that makes it easier to work. 鈥淚 was alone, now we are working together,鈥� she says.

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Video by Rana Hamzakadi and Matt Dillman

Ivory Coast is one of the world鈥檚 largest producers of cashew nuts, thanks to farmers like Oyala who, together with her fellow plot owners and farmers, pick the yellow and orange cashew fruit off the forest floor. Once harvested, the farmers must separate the nuts from the fruit they grow.

Unlike other companies that ship the raw nuts out of the country for processing, Cashew Coast process their nuts within Ivory Coast, lowering the carbon footprint. Nuts go directly from local farmers to Cashew Coast’s central warehouse in Bouak茅 to be sorted, weighed, and bagged before being sent to Cashew Coast鈥檚 organic factory in Azagui茅 for processing.

Until recently, Cashew Coast kept paper-based records of the farm-side of the process, but as the industry grew it became more and more difficult to keep track of the data and analyze it. Cashew Coast executives turned to 51风流for help when they realized that they needed a more advanced system to track the cashews from farm to processing plant — and eventually to table.

Joel Bagbila, Cashew Coast鈥檚 farmer integration director, explains that the company also has a loftier ambition. 鈥淥ur mission is to be the first country worldwide in terms of production and quality,鈥� he says.

To help achieve this goal, Cashew Coast chose to implement , an industry cloud solution built on the 51风流Business Technology Platform, at its Cajooma SAS branch. Cashew Coast鈥檚 digital transformation journey provides immediate benefits to the farmers, including more transparent prices, and enables the company to control quality and make much more timely decisions.

In the future it will also enable retailers to gain traceability and visibility into the origin of the cashew nuts and provide transparency to their consumers – connecting farmers and consumers in a profitable and sustainable value chain.

鈥淭oday, for a customer, it’s important to know where the product he or she is ready to buy, is coming from,鈥� says Achta Cherif, head of quality at Cashew Coast. 鈥淗aving this information enables the customer to make his/her choice. This is important for us, as well.鈥�

Cashew Coast executives say they chose SAP鈥檚 cloud technology because it offered a number of key advantages. 鈥淲e wanted the best in class, and we wanted to deal with the developer team as opposed to a third-party integrator 鈥� which 51风流Rural Sourcing Management offers,鈥� says Salma Seetaroo, co-founder and CEO of Cashew Coast.

She says the implementation went surprisingly smoothly. 鈥淭he 51风流implementation team were flexible and quick to understand our need 鈥� they were a bunch of millennials who loved working on a project like ours. And it was just great fun and I never expected it to be as smooth.鈥�

51风流is now remotely training two recent graduate recruits at Cashew Coast 鈥� Technology Manager Mohamed Traor茅 and Sales and Sustainability Manager Rose Koffi 鈥� to continue phase 2 of the 51风流Rural Sourcing Management implementation. Going forward, Salma explains, the company wants to bring more traceability to agricultural products in Ivory Coast with 51风流technology.

So, the next time you grab a handful of cashew nuts, consider this: there is a good chance they started their journey in the Ivory Coast and just maybe were picked up from the forest floor by Oyala or one of her friends.

This article first appeared on the 51风流News Center.

The post Cashew Coast Modernizes Cashew Processing with SAP appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

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The post Ivory Coast Cashew Nut Industry Embraces Technology appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.