“As a feed producing company the volumes to process, the legislation imposed and the time pressure to get feed to the market are so high you cannot do this without an appropriate tool. The fact that we deliver our software already close to 50 years to the industry is only more proof that the feed industry saw the need to digitize their data and processes.”
BESTMIX® Software, formerly known as Adifo, is a company that develops a unique range of software tools specific to the food and feed industry. The software tools in the company's portfolio focus on topics such as the least-cost recipe formulation, quality data management, ration calculation, cloud services and ERP. BESTMIX® Recipe Management, one of the company's most important software, is widely used in the feed industry. Karel Vervaet, Senior Product Specialist of BESTMIX® Software, which has half a century of experience in its field, explained both the importance of the software in feed production and what the BESTMIX® Recipe Management software provides to users.
Mr. Vervaet, can we say that software simply means collecting data, storing, analyzing and strategizing according to the analysis? If so, why is data important? Can you explain the importance of data in the feed production sector?
No, I think software cannot be labeled like that. For sure software exists out there that fits the description, but if I look at our software, then of course the data is key, but the features you apply on the data, the representation of the input and output, the user experience you give to users when working with the software are equally important as the data itself. Correct information / data is important in any industry, also in feed production. Some of the data can be collected in an automated way, like for instance animal performance figures on farm. Other data needs to be managed by knowledgeable users, to allow to generate the desired output. A perfect example for this are for instance the requirements that will determine the outcome of a least cost formulation.
Today's world is very changeable. For example, while any feed ingredient may be abundant and cost-effective one day, it may be the opposite another day, or a highly preferred ingredient today may be replaced by a new alternative tomorrow. How do such changes affect the feed industry and can software help keep pace with these changes quickly? How?
The topic raised here is the day-to-day reality for our customers, and the feed industry as whole. The logistical challenge they face is to get the right raw materials sources at the right moment at the right production location. With the help of our software, you can:
• Make sure you have all the available input from ERP available in the formulation system (production forecast, current market prices, future market prices, contracted amounts with their prices etc)
• Run simulations in BESTMIX® Recipe Management that will calculate which amounts to buy, when to buy them, and for which production location, and share this information again with the ERP system so the purchase department can take the appropriate actions
• Anticipate and prevent that big fluctuations in either quality or price have a too big impact on the feed being produced and delivered on farm.
We are talking about many advantages of software. But can anyone use the software developed for feed formulation, etc.? Does it require special expertise to use them? Based on your own software solutions, can we also touch on the simple interface and ease of use?
I think anybody can work with feed formulation software. Of course, you will need the proper training and guidance to be able to complete your daily work. Depending on your role in the company you will need specific knowledge. Needless to say that if you do not have nutritional knowledge it will be hard to manage recipes in a correct way. The software should be designed in such a way, that any user, with limited effort can truly experience al the benefits of our tools.
Another issue is the change of priorities. Due to the increasing competitive environment, cost-effective production is extremely important. On the other hand, factors such as sustainability and environmental impact are intensely on the agenda today. Can you tell us what the software offers to feed producers at the point of providing all these together?
Sustainability is ‘the’ talk of the industry at the moment. The pressure to be more sustainable is very high, both from the government, but also from the consumer side. When looking at sustainability
you have to consider the entire value chain, so not only producing feed in a more sustainable way, but also consider what happens on farm, in the slaughterhouse, right up to the retail. Furthermore, it is
also important to not only look at the carbon footprint, because also in the animal production this only represents a small peace of the total impact. Another important topic here is objectiveness or certification. You need to be able to guarantee when you calculate the environmental footprint, that there is a way consumers can validate the outcome. Therefore, we partner with experts in the industry. BESTMIX® Recipe Management itself does not have the capability to calculate the environmental footprint, but our partners do, and we display the result during the formulation of a recipe or a feeding program. As a user you then have the opportunity to deep dive into the sustainability figures. In our latest release we also added optimization on environmental footprint to the software. Since this will impose extra constraints on the price, you have the ability to define what price increase you allow to realize a better environmental footprint.
What is the usage rate and prevalence of software and digital technologies in the feed industry? Can you share your general impressions on this subject, especially in the regions you serve?
In the regions we serve, everybody works with software. As a feed producing company the volumes to process, the legislation imposed and the time pressure to get feed to the market are so high you cannot do this without an appropriate tool. The fact that we deliver our software already close to 50 years to the industry is only more proof that the feed industry saw the need to digitize their data and processes.