PQ Agriculture, the agriculture software and system automation division of Q Data Consulting, has announced its strategy to shrink supply chain costs in the fruit export industry with extensions to its locally developed Fruit Exporter System.
PQ Agriculture develops fruit export and packhouse management software for the South African market, and is the largest supplier of fruit export software in the country. Fruit Exporter System was designed with industry partners in the Western Cape, the largest fruit growing and export region in the country.
Divisional manager, Johan Mostert says shrinking costs and data accuracy at each link of the supply chain - from data capture at the growing farm to confirmation at the foreign receipt agent - is one of the industry`s pressing concerns.
"We`ve focused primarily on logistics and stock control for timely and accurate producer payments," says Mostert. "Demand from growers through to export agents, however, suggests a need for systems that integrate with Fruit Exporter System and link across the whole supply chain with minimal data capture."
PQ Agriculture hosts a fruit exporters user group as a forum for discussion on IT in the industry, shared IT development costs, and future software needs.
"Driving down the cost of IT is not about lowering the price of your product, but rather supporting it after the sale by keeping in check with industry dynamics.
"Until 1997 only two companies, Outspan and Unifruco, were permitted by law to export fruit offshore," says Mostert. "When the law was relaxed, the market was flooded with over 100 registered exporters, each creating its own export logistics and payments system.
"Too often we find exporters that have implemented a system that`s not compatible with other systems, is not performing to spec or is not supported by the local reseller. We believe that exporters should rather concentrate on their core business and not the systems that help manage it."
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