The internationally active Dutch soft fruit supplier, BerryWorld, first made contact with the Swiss Agrinorm, still a startup then, in early 2020. They have now been using Agrinorm's QM software for over a year. A good time for Arno Renne (chief controller) and Alejandro Solis Martinez (procurement manager) to do their first mid-term review.
"Our primary goal was to reduce our packaging facility's workload and, thus, costs," begins Arno. After surveying several software vendors, they chose Agrinorm. "For us, Agrinorm's added value lies in that the system is data-driven. That gives you additional insights that benefit quality control. For example, if we have a picture of an incoming batch, we can add tags that include certain defects, like Mould or Bleeding. We do that for all our products to help the AI-based system recognize those in the future," adds Alejandro.
Alejandro Solis Martinez and Arno Renne.
Implementing the system and linking it to the existing software generally went smoothly. Arno: "With a project of this size, there are obviously always some challenges. Agrinorm's ease of use helps. Our QC team comprises 15 mainly Polish employees; staffing is generally variable. By now, we've seen that even new workers can quickly master the system. Another advantage is that implementing Agrinorm didn't require a large investment; you can use the system's app on almost all phones and tablets."
Simplifying quality management
Client specifications can also be easily uploaded. "That means our personnel only have to enter the number of defects, then the system links that to the entered specifications and issues a quality report based on that. We used to do that manually, which was time-consuming and error-prone. This automated system is particularly beneficial to blueberries," says Arno.
This reduced lead time means the sales department knows which volumes of which quality will be arriving sooner, says Alejandro: "We can, thus, anticipate and match exactly the right buyer to the right quality."
"The underlying AI technology isn't yet being fully utilized. It can come even more into its own when the system recognizes and processes defects based on the photos. That challenge lies with us, and it's only a matter of time," Arno explains.
"I also see opportunities to roll out Agrinorm on the cultivation side in the future, especially with our foreign suppliers. Ideally, for instance, a detailed quality report would already be prepared in the country of origin so we'd know even earlier what volumes of what quality are coming up and could respond to that."
The Agrinorm generates masses of data, making it easier for the commercial team to understand and communicate quality to customers. "That naturally works the other way, too: the more data we have, the easier it becomes for our growers and us to improve our products. Also, I'm convinced AI will help us evaluate our suppliers in the future in a better and, above all, well-founded way," Alejandro concludes.
For more information:
Arno Renne
BerryWorld
9 Stelvenseweg
4921 PL, Made, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 886 482 400
Email: arno.renne@beekersberries.nl
Website: https://www.berryworld.com/nl
Evgenij Pisetsky
Agrinorm AG
Tel: +41 (0) 786 688 818
Email: evgenij.pisetsky@agrinorm.ai
Website: www.agrinorm.com