Increased need for technology as the focus on quality ramps up
“Our mission is quite simply to underpin trust in food,” says Jack Evans, Head of Commercial at Muddy Boots. “We create innovative software for the whole supply chain, which gives food businesses insight into the performance of their suppliers on the quality, compliance and provenance of their products.
“With greater transparency, our customers can mitigate risk and improve efficiency within their supply chains, contributing to a more sustainable future for food and farming.”
He explains that consumers are becoming more knowledgeable and show more interest in the integrity of the food they eat;
“92% of consumers now agree that it is the retailers’ responsibility to check that their suppliers are behaving properly, and 60% claim that they are more likely to choose one retailer over another if they know the company takes their social and environmental responsibilities seriously. Subsequently, as consumer concerns evolve to become consumer demands, stringent quality and food safety standards are put in place for suppliers to comply with. This is exactly the type of thing that is managed through our software.”
Now employing a workforce of over 90 people, Muddy Boots has operations in Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Africa. The Company does however maintain its HQ in Ross-on-Wye, UK, with an additional development hub in Bristol.
Over the past three years, the Company’s customer base has grown by almost 50%, with its software being used in excess of 52,000 times per month, across 40 countries. While it’s true that the focus on food quality and safety has ramped up in recent years, Jack puts this growth down to more than just being in the right place at the right time;
“We invest heavily in the development of our core product suite,” says Jack. “This has built some strong foundations on which we’ve been able to confidently take our systems to the market and as such, develop an enviable global customer portfolio, including five of the top seven UK retailers and 70% of the UK’s fresh produce supply chain.”
He adds that by keeping one foot firmly placed in their agricultural roots, Muddy Boots has been able to develop a completely unique selling point;
“Unlike rival companies, our solutions span the entire food supply chain, from grower to retailer. This provides customers with a unique viewpoint of their supply chains and facilitates valuable interaction and collaboration between retailers, suppliers and farmers.
“It’s interesting how things work in cycles. We’re currently working on part of a major food brand’s sustainability agenda which involves facilitating a much closer dialogue with their farmers and better visibility of what’s going on in the fields – something we can proudly say we started doing in Herefordshire twenty years ago.”
Jack goes on to explain how demand for this end-to-end visibility is set to continue;
“By 2050, the global population will increase by 2 billion. Increasing food production without over-exploiting our limited natural resources is an immense challenge. We are faced with complex and extensive globalised supply chains and the key industry focus is on solutions like ours that can improve work flow processes; creating better communication links throughout the supply chain and providing greater transparency. This type of technology will continue to play a critical role in the success of businesses within the food industry, and we are excited about the role that we play in that.”
For more information:
Ralph Dickinson
Muddy Boots Software
Tel: +44 (0) 1989 552074
Email: ralph.dickinson@muddyboots.com