“Using ABCgrower for us has benefitted the business in the sense that we can see where our costs are.”
Johnny Milmine, General Manager
Berry Farms NZ
Berry Farms NZ find going digital helps keep their finger on the pulse
Thriving partnership helps Mr Apple grow great apples
When this country’s largest apple grower, packer and exporter wanted to streamline its operations it approached ABC.
Today Mr Apple New Zealand Limited owns 14 orchards across Hawke’s Bay, totalling 900ha and producing more than two million cartons of apples each year. The company also sources a further million cartons from more than 50 growers around Hawke’s Bay.
The apples are primarily destined for the export market. However, five years ago it was struggling with inefficient pack house and logistics computer software that was ultimately constraining the company’s growth. Mr Apple CEO Andrew van Workum, says right from the start they could see the team at ABC was highly experienced, skilled business analysts and software developers. Since then ABC has delivered systems to allow Mr Apple to effectively manage their fruit from the orchard to the pack houses and cool stores, onto the markets and through to customer invoicing and grower payments.
The systems were designed to ensure data was entered only once. All parts of the system are fully integrated, giving Mr Apple a holistic and complete view of their business in real time. The documents and reports published from the system are professional, timely and accurate and this is reflected in the very positive feedback from both growers and customers.
ABC Software continues to help Mr Apple improve productivity. A recent cool store acquisition meant Mr Apple required a software solution specifically designed to manage the logistics of the cool store operation.
“This project started late in the year and put tremendous pressure on those involved, the implementation and operational results have exceeded expectations and budgeted throughput volumes” says Andrew.
The current season required a new system to help manage Mr Apple’s six hundred overseas returning seasonal workers (RSE). This system manages the employee’s reimbursement of expenses to Mr Apple plus compliance reporting. Again. ABC was able to successfully respond to Mr Apple’s needs in the ever-changing marketplace. “They work with us to find a solution, rather than trying to tell us what we need.” says Andrew.
“The relationship Mr Apple has with ABC is the type of business relationship a company is always looking for"
Andrew van Workum, CEO
Keeping tabs on production as simple as ABC for CAJ van der Voort
Central Otago packhouse, CAJ van der Voort reckons that using ABCpacker is pretty straightforward and having it tweaked to exactly what they need is even easier.
The top of line packhouse in Ettrick pushes through over 800,000 tray carton equivalents in a season and boasts some of the latest in New Zealand and Dutch pipfruit sorting and packing technology to achieve best efficiencies and productivity.
Two seasons ago, Jackie van der Voort, Packhouse Post-harvest Manager, called on ABC to provide an integration solution for its Dutch 14-lane Greefa Geosort system, which can produce about 2500 cartons an hour.
ABCpacker now captures all aspects of the packhouse operation and links into the same system at the T&G Ettrick coolstore. Jackie says this unique integration works brilliantly. “CAJ has integrated the ABC software with our packhouse and the T&G coolstore, which allows the operators a real time view of inventory at both sites. This allows the packhouse to streamline its packing plan. Having two businesses working together with one piece of software is efficient and creates real synergies,” says Jackie.
“We can choose how we pull the fruit from the coolstore. It is easy to identify the product and group by grower, by block and by harvest date.”
Rodger Brown, T&G Ettrick Site Manager – Pipfruit says it makes the whole process completely visible with clear traceability on dispatch. The integration with his charging system is another bonus. Rodger believes productivity is improved due to connectivity. “It’s easy for the operators, they can do everything from their seat anywhere in the coolstore. There’s no delays like in the past. We can locate what’s needed straight away. I’d say things have improved 10-fold.”
A third aspect of this connectivity is with the orchards sending into T&G. Remarkables Orchard is a case in point. Manager Mark Sim utilises ABCgrower, which integrates seamlessly into ABCpacker. He uses the software on his 70ha mixed orchard to check on picker and thinner performance, identifying those that need training or supervision to lift their output. It also allows him to check daily reports to see the financial implications of each day’s activities and adjust as needed.
Produce leaving his property is scanned into the system and then scanned by T&G into the store. All easily recorded and traceable. All three parties are enthusiastic about the flexibility and willingness the team at ABC Software has to adapt, amend and enhance their software to meet specific individual needs.
Leandro Massariolo, Dispatch Coordinator at the CAJ packhouse is responsible for ensuring the software performs as required. He says the system worked well in the first season, but ABC Software was keen to make it better. The second season was even more efficient, he says.
“They came here and listened and were pretty much onboard with anything we wanted to do, and they made it happen.”
Jackie van der Voort agrees. “Whether it’s a tweak or a design enhancement, they’re ready and able to create something different. If we want to look at something differently or report in a different format, those opportunities are there. We’re not stuck with a product that’s come off the shelf that’s inflexible, it is absolutely fit for purpose.” As an example, Jackie is very pleased with a new program that ABC worked with her team on for this past season. Communicating with staff on the packing line had been run through Greefa but is now via ABC. Packhouse managers can put up graphics and messages on screens showing what product is being packed, variety, fruit orientation, and other details.
It’s also used to communicate birthday messages, which is always well received, Jackie says. “It’s a small thing but it’s really a big thing as far as operations in the packing shed goes, how we communicate. I’m delighted at how smoothly it’s integrated with this pretty big beast we run.”
Coming up to speed with the ABC’s software was also not an issue. Jackie says the training was thorough for all the personnel that needed it, with really good back up support, particularly through that first season as staff got used to the new system.
For Rodger, the simplicity of point and click made it easy for his team to learn “And the ABC support crew was always only a phone call away.”
"The sheer ease of the software is fantastic"
Rodger Brown, T&G Pipfruit Site Manager
CAJ van der Voort
Integrity of data and accurate information critical for Koala Cherries growth
Koala cherries, arguably Australia’s largest cherry operation, has grown “monumentally” in the past five years, doubling its crop size.
Chris Nealon, Chief Operations Officer, attributes the ability to have grown so successfully in no small part to the role ABC plays in the business.
Five seasons ago Koala Cherries introduced ABC Software’s packhouse data control system ABCpacker. It has since added ABCgrower into its field operations and is about to start trialing the spray diary module. Efficiencies through improved and integrated data control, data integrity and data flow, have hugely helped the business grow, Chris says.
“ABC’s software gives us good database architecture with the ability to easily manipulate and use information right from tree to customer.”
Koala Cherries has 220ha of fruit across its various farms in Victoria, with two more substantial farms under development. This year, 3000 tonnes of cherries were processed through its Yarck packhouse, with 100 tonne each day. Chris says that ABCpacker “happily ticks along” dealing with the myriad of packhouse data elements – handling units including packaging, pallets, cartons, stock control – plus admin and sales all happening at the same time.
“It doesn’t ever struggle to keep up. We can be confident that ABC will keep powering along in the background.”
It’s this confidence in data integrity that Koala gains huge benefits from. Using ABC as a primary, secure, central database across all facets of the business means Chris and his team can pull out information and use it however it’s needed. Reporting is easy, integration to our payroll is straightforward, pickers and contractors have confidence they are paid accurately, stock is tracked efficiently, and the ability to effectively meet the differing requirements of customers including Australia’s four largest supermarkets and their respective ordering systems, is a given.
“To have accurate data flow crossing through all our platforms is critical, as is speed. Time is very critical in a cherry harvest. With the ABC integration we have data at our fingertips. Our marketing team, our production team, in fact everyone can all see the information they need quickly and easily. It’s made us hugely more efficient.”
Working with the ABC Software team in New Zealand has proved no barrier for Koala. Chris says suggestions for improvements are met with an open mind and can-do attitude. He appreciates that he can access any of the ABC team and is not limited to just one point of contact. “The whole team steps up to do what’s needed. They might have their own specialisation, but everyone has a broad understanding of the software and is there to help.”
Using ABCpacker gives back time to busy avocado growers and packers Avogreen Orchards
James and Amanda Gallo in Far North Queensland have discovered nights to be enjoyed now that using ABCpacker means they can easily complete reconciliation at the end of each pack day.
“The time saving and accuracy we now have through this software means James and I can be out of the shed at a reasonable hour, not the 9 or 10 o’clock it used to be after reconciling the pallets on hand, despatch and transport documents using excel spreadsheets. It’s given us a more balanced life,” says Amanda.
The couple is the third generation on the 240ha property on the Atherton Tablelands, with 60ha dedicated to avocados and 32ha currently in production. This year the Gallo’s packed 35,000 trays, slightly down on last year’s 40,000+ trays – the uncertainty of Covid-19 and staffing forcing them to only pack their own produce.
They introduced ABCpacker two pack seasons ago after visiting New Zealand and getting to see the software in operation at a Mr Apple Hawke’s Bay packhouse and meeting with ABC Software director, Sharon Chapman. The traceability provided through the software to meet food safety and industry compliance requirements, is another plus for the couple.
“We can easily track back to the tray, which orchard and which day if we ever need to and that’s very reassuring,” says Amanda.
She acknowledges that Avogreen could be making more use of the software and sees that will happen over time. “We know we can customise to what we’ll need in the future and we’ve got an eye on making things even easier and ultimately paper-free.”
"The system offers so much flexibility to be taken advantage of"
Amanda Gallo, Owner
Avogreen Orchards