Kiwi know-how paying dividends across the Tasman

DRAFT Media Release - ABC Software Ltd

8 April 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kiwi know-how paying dividends across the Tasman

Kiwi know-how has revolutionised a large state-of-the-art Australian avocado pack house operation.

Hawke’s Bay software development company ABC Software Ltd has built a tailor-made software system that’s become the control centre for the avocado operation of Western Australian company Advance Packing and Marketing Services (APMS).

Late last year APMS opened a state-of-the-art 4500sqm pack house in Manjimup, four hours South West of Perth, which processes thousands of kilograms of fruit from 29 avocado growers throughout Western Australia.

Prior to opening, directors Wayne and Jennie Franceschi went in search of a software solution to effectively and efficiently track the avocados from the tree to the marketplace. Jennie says they knew their current system wouldn’t cope with the increased demands of the larger pack house.

“We needed to find something we could rely on that would cope as the pack house grew, and could also offer us the traceability and accuracy we needed,” says Jennie.

That search proved difficult and it wasn’t until Jennie spoke to their pack house design consultant that she stumbled across a potential solution.

“He said he had been in pack houses around the world and best system he had ever seen was the Mr Apple pack house system in Hawke’s Bay that was developed by ABC Software. So after a quick Google search I tracked down Sharon Chapman from ABC Software.”

Jennie was on the next plane to New Zealand to check out the pipfruit software system and meet Sharon’s Hawke’s Bay-based team.

“I was able to see the system operating successfully which gave me confidence and then I met Sharon and the ABC Software team who were so enthusiastic and positive I just knew we could create something fantastic.”

Sharon says it was the company’s first overseas job and an innovative and challenging project the whole team was able to get involved in.

“We were able to utilise our past experiences developing the Mr Apple software to design a system specifically for avocado management. The whole system is built on accuracy, efficiency, traceability and visibility.”

To ensure the system fitted the client’s specifications - with no surprises along the way - the APMS team logged into the ABC Software terminal server remotely from Australia each week to test and learn the new System for Avocado Management (SAM) as it was built. When it came time for SAM to go “live” the ABC Software team was on site in Manjimup to provide the required support and training.

SAM allows APMS to effectively manage the avocados from the orchard to the pack house, onto the market and through to customer invoicing and grower payments.

Barcode labels on both bins delivered from the orchard to the pack house and on cartons leaving the pack house ensures APMS can track the fruit from the orchard to the marketplace. Key reports showing the Grower’s financial and fruit packout positions are available to the Grower online.

The company can also be sure the right pallets are being sent to the right markets as SAM won’t allow a pallet to be dispatched unless it conforms to the rules built into the system. And it is also proving to be a valuable tool when trialling new avocado varieties and comparing different rootstocks and production areas.

Jennie says SAM gives APMS full traceability of its fruit.

“If we have any problems with a batch we can easily trace it right back to the particular paddock it came from saving us time and money.”

Jennie says after storms at Christmas they isolated some problems with fruit and were able to trace the particular trays on a specific pallet which meant the client only needed to put a claim through for a few trays of spoiled fruit rather than claiming for an entire pallet of 144 trays which would have cost APMS thousands of dollars.

The system is so simple growers can process their own bins as they deliver them, saving APMS hundreds of hours manually inputting data and ensuring everything gets processed.

“We’ve just finished our first season with SAM and I can’t believe how much time it’s saved me. I’ve had weekends during the season for the first time in 15 years! In fact I’ve felt guilty because I have had so much spare time not having to manually process everything.”

Previously during the peak of the season Advance Packing and Marketing Services has had at least one staff member manually inputting all the data but that hasn’t been needed this year.

Now even their accountant is impressed with the progress made to date.

“I took the season’s invoices and accounts into our accountant the other day and he said SAM has far exceeded his expectations,” says Jennie.

This season APMS has processed close to 6,000 half tonne bins of avocados for the domestic market but with plans to build a strong export market and boost production to as much as 30,000 bins a season, both the pack house and SAM are capable of handling the job.

Jennie acknowledges the ABC Software system was not the cheapest system available, but has no regrets about choosing SAM.

“I could not afford to have a system that did not deliver. It had to work and after seeing it operate so effectively in this first season I have no doubts I made the right decision and I’m excited about the future.”

For Sharon Chapman the successful completion of the Western Australian project means another satisfied customer. Sharon will have the opportunity to spread the word about SAM in her role as guest speaker at the Australian Avocado Conference in July this year.

“This has been a fantastic opportunity for us to enter the export market. We are a company that delivers results and our job is to make our client’s job easier. It has been hugely rewarding, and fun, to work with APMS to realise their vision.”

Prepared by No 9 Marketing & Design on behalf of ABC Software Ltd

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