Hitachi Vantara (Hitachi) Case Studies Digital Transformation in the Livestock Industry through Data and Process Analytics

	Digital Transformation in the Livestock Industry through Data and Process Analytics Hitachi Vantara (Hitachi)

Digital Transformation in the Livestock Industry through Data and Process Analytics

Hitachi Vantara (Hitachi)

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Big Data Analytics Analytics & Modeling - Process Analytics
Applicable Industries	Agriculture Telecommunications
Applicable Functions	Logistics & Transportation Quality Assurance
Use Cases	Farm Monitoring & Precision Farming Livestock Monitoring
Services	System Integration Testing & Certification
Challenge	The meat and livestock industry in Australia, which is integral to the lives of many and covers a vast schema of enterprises along the value-chain, was facing a significant challenge. The industry was becoming increasingly fragmented, with leaders often withholding information about their operations, leading to a lack of transparency and potentially ill-informed decisions. The rigidity of the industry meant that such decisions could have irreversible consequences. The industry was also facing competition from chicken and pork, which were outpacing beef in consumer consumption. Additionally, there were ongoing challenges related to on and off farm productivity performance and the decreasing price of livestock per head. The industry was also grappling with the need to promote and adopt animal welfare practices across all value chain silos. Given the global nature of the industry, the non-profit business needed a partner with a deep understanding of international market interaction and the ability to navigate across different silos within the meat and livestock industry. They also required guidance and assistance on developing a new Internet of things (IoT) digital strategy for making decisions across the value-chain. Read More
About Customer	The customer in this case study is a regional non-profit business that supports cattle and sheep producers in Australia. They provide meat both domestically and internationally, and also assist with industry oversight, marketing, and R&D for companies within the livestock industry. The associated group companies of the non-profit business export beef, sheep/lamb, and goat meat across the globe. From April 2016 to April 2017, 969,068 tonnes swt of beef were exported from Australia to the United States, China, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam. The non-profit business was seeking to combat the fragmentation of the industry and improve system efficiency, product quality, industry transparency, and system integrity. Read More
Solution	To address these challenges, the non-profit business partnered with Hitachi Consulting to introduce new digital capabilities to the industry. Hitachi Consulting delivered Hitachi Process Intelligence, which allowed the client’s associated companies to visually represent all individual farm operations and make the right decision to establish best practice along all ends of the supply chain. To effectively design and deliver this solution, data regarding all farm operations and individual cattle had to be collected and established. Hitachi engaged on-farm to allocate points of data collection that would allow for the best data to be captured. They provided a data repository to collect individual animal history and provide a more detailed track record of the animal’s life. A repository of on-site weather data tracking was also implemented. The data repository collection plan was established by putting forth a strategy to input active RFID tags in cattle in a broad range of locations. This provided the means to best understand the value capture of each individual head of cattle. Hitachi Process Intelligence helped to establish an on-farm IoT capability. The solution also helped the client implement an effective and cohesive IoT digital transformation with long lasting implications to value chain transparency and decision agility across all industry layers. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Big Data Analytics

Analytics & Modeling - Process Analytics

Applicable Industries

Agriculture

Telecommunications

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation

Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Farm Monitoring & Precision Farming

Livestock Monitoring

Services

System Integration

Testing & Certification

Challenge

The meat and livestock industry in Australia, which is integral to the lives of many and covers a vast schema of enterprises along the value-chain, was facing a significant challenge. The industry was becoming increasingly fragmented, with leaders often withholding information about their operations, leading to a lack of transparency and potentially ill-informed decisions. The rigidity of the industry meant that such decisions could have irreversible consequences. The industry was also facing competition from chicken and pork, which were outpacing beef in consumer consumption. Additionally, there were ongoing challenges related to on and off farm productivity performance and the decreasing price of livestock per head. The industry was also grappling with the need to promote and adopt animal welfare practices across all value chain silos. Given the global nature of the industry, the non-profit business needed a partner with a deep understanding of international market interaction and the ability to navigate across different silos within the meat and livestock industry. They also required guidance and assistance on developing a new Internet of things (IoT) digital strategy for making decisions across the value-chain.

About Customer

The customer in this case study is a regional non-profit business that supports cattle and sheep producers in Australia. They provide meat both domestically and internationally, and also assist with industry oversight, marketing, and R&D for companies within the livestock industry. The associated group companies of the non-profit business export beef, sheep/lamb, and goat meat across the globe. From April 2016 to April 2017, 969,068 tonnes swt of beef were exported from Australia to the United States, China, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam. The non-profit business was seeking to combat the fragmentation of the industry and improve system efficiency, product quality, industry transparency, and system integrity.

Solution

To address these challenges, the non-profit business partnered with Hitachi Consulting to introduce new digital capabilities to the industry. Hitachi Consulting delivered Hitachi Process Intelligence, which allowed the client’s associated companies to visually represent all individual farm operations and make the right decision to establish best practice along all ends of the supply chain. To effectively design and deliver this solution, data regarding all farm operations and individual cattle had to be collected and established. Hitachi engaged on-farm to allocate points of data collection that would allow for the best data to be captured. They provided a data repository to collect individual animal history and provide a more detailed track record of the animal’s life. A repository of on-site weather data tracking was also implemented. The data repository collection plan was established by putting forth a strategy to input active RFID tags in cattle in a broad range of locations. This provided the means to best understand the value capture of each individual head of cattle. Hitachi Process Intelligence helped to establish an on-farm IoT capability. The solution also helped the client implement an effective and cohesive IoT digital transformation with long lasting implications to value chain transparency and decision agility across all industry layers.

Impact #1	The implementation of Hitachi Process Intelligence led to a significant increase in value for the client, both from a financial and operational perspective. The increase in operational efficiency due to smart decision making allowed the cattle sector to gain a competitive edge in the meat industry. Best practices generated through smart decision models helped to promote animal welfare in the industry. They also created innovative strategies for data transmission/communication and cultivated a more agile environment regarding decision-making across all sections of the value chain. The solution also led to the establishment of a central data repository and an onsite Farm Management System for each individual farm. Hitachi Process Intelligence proved to be an adaptive solution that is leading the client’s entrance into the age of IoT.

Impact #1

The implementation of Hitachi Process Intelligence led to a significant increase in value for the client, both from a financial and operational perspective. The increase in operational efficiency due to smart decision making allowed the cattle sector to gain a competitive edge in the meat industry. Best practices generated through smart decision models helped to promote animal welfare in the industry. They also created innovative strategies for data transmission/communication and cultivated a more agile environment regarding decision-making across all sections of the value chain. The solution also led to the establishment of a central data repository and an onsite Farm Management System for each individual farm. Hitachi Process Intelligence proved to be an adaptive solution that is leading the client’s entrance into the age of IoT.

Benefit #1	$1.1 million per year potential annual revenue for a single farm of 30,000 cows
Benefit #2	$14.2 million per year sales potential across all of the client’s members
Benefit #3	Transparency across the entire supply chain

Benefit #1

$1.1 million per year potential annual revenue for a single farm of 30,000 cows

Benefit #2

$14.2 million per year sales potential across all of the client’s members

Benefit #3

Transparency across the entire supply chain

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Overview

Digital Transformation in the Livestock Industry through Data and Process Analytics

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit