2022 saw Contec's continued growth and expansion along with the ever-evolving dairy industry. We spoke with Desley Haas, our CEO, to reflect on last year and look ahead to 2023.
What were Contec's significant achievements in 2022?
The MADCAP team was busy in 2022, introducing new implementations and features for clients with the MADCAP VI upgrade. Desley also took on the role of CEO, bringing with her over 25 years of experience at Contec working within the global dairy industry. The team helped clients expand their use of MADCAP across their supply chains, with Nestlé implementing MADCAP in Brazil, India, and the US. Having Land O’Lakes live with MADCAP has also been great as the US Dairy Industry can now see our capabilities given that Land O’Lakes has one of the most complex Dairy businesses in the USA, and we automated their complete Milk Supply Chain very successfully. The success of MADCAP's global implementation highlights its ease of customization to meet clients' specific needs anywhere in the world.
What were some of 2022 highlights?
We were able to travel again in 2022, visiting our US customers and team members and gaining new clients for Contec. Moving back to having more face-to-face catch-ups with our clients and meeting new people. The pandemic didn't slow down MADCAP's implementations as we have years of experience with remote implementations so we already had that down pat to ensure smooth and successful transitions to “go live.” Still, it’s great to be able to travel whenever necessary.Conferences also resumed, providing a forum for discussing current issues and learning about the latest innovations in the dairy industry.Seeing the acceleration of the great work and innovations going on around the globe by farmers and Dairy companies together to ensure the Dairy Industry is sustainable. And continuing to be a part of that by providing our customer's tools to optimize and eliminate waste - we get to work with the world's Dairy experts every day - who tell us what they need. Then we work out the best solution for them, a challenge we all thrive on.
How is MADCAP supporting sustainability?
MADCAP has always helped the Dairy Industry optimize its milk supply chain (well, for several decades at least). MADCAP began at the request of the NZ Dairy Industry 45 years ago - they wanted to collect data directly from their Foss Milk Analyzers - so some clever people at Contec wrote a protocol for this, and the development has never stopped.Nowadays, MADCAP has digitized the Milk Supply Chain from farm to factory in 24 countries and over 6 continents. This digitization reduces waste, increases efficiency, and ensures data accuracy. Instant access to accurate data gives Dairy Processors, Co-ops, Haulers, and Farmers unprecedented insights into their operations so they can take action where necessary. In 2022, the focus was on milk transportation, with the Transport Scheduling and Route Optimization Module reducing fuel consumption, fleet size, and carbon emissions. Accurate and real-time data sharing between farms, companies, and cooperatives also helps improve compliance and transparency.
What advice would you give dairy companies and cooperatives for 2023?
Supply chain management will remain a crucial topic in 2023, with inflation and labor shortages making it challenging for the dairy industry. Digitizing your milk supply chain is imperative. If you are entering data manually or using spreadsheets in any part of your supply chain, you are taking a significant risk and losing visibility and transparency. However,the last thing you need to do is decide to digitize your supply chain and then choose the wrong solution.But how do you know what works and what doesn't? Desley advises you to do your due diligence well, don't just believe what you read and hear from slick marketing and salespeople - a lot of money has been spent on these pitches! Ask for references, and check them out; you need a proven solution that can be implemented in a timely manner, with a great return on investment - and one you aren't tied into and forced to pour bucket loads of money into every year just to get what you require to keep operating. The return on investment can be incredible as there are so many benefits, and it certainly removes stress from all staff involved.
What can we expect from Contec in 2023?
Contec will launch its MADCAP Dispatch Module, providing dispatch, trade, and logistics tools for moving milk between farms, processors, and trade partners with full supply chain visibility. This will complement the existing Transport Scheduling and Route Optimization Module and procurement modules. Contec will continue to expand MADCAP's deployment in several new countries in 2023.We also look forward to meeting more with our clients to gather input for further development. MADCAP offers browser-based capabilities and is built on a powerful platform to enable the security, robustness, scalability, and functionality that is required for a successful solution in such a complex supply chain. MADCAP can either be hosted in the cloud, server-based, or a mixture of both; it is not limited. This year will see us continue to expand on what is already widely regarded as the most comprehensive milk supply chain solution available.