Westfalia Fruit: Pioneering Digital Change in Agribusiness
When it comes to dealing with something so fundamental, like the cultivation of fruit, it may be hard to see how you can reinvent the wheel. After all, many agriculturalists still use some farming practices that are centuries old – like crop rotation.
However, it is arguably changes in agriculture that have greatly assisted in ushering in our modern world. New and improved farming techniques have allowed more reliable, more sustainable, and higher yielding crops, necessary to ensure food security.
Westfalia has the world’s largest privately funded research institute focusing on sub-tropical fruits – specifically Avocado. The research has commercial relevance with findings shared with the industry and worldwide scientific community, the research conducted by Westfalia is crucial to the health and vibrancy of the global Avocado industry. Delivered through the 3 principles of our founder – Dr Hans Merensky: Experimentation, Demonstration and finally, Commercialisation. Implementing the next-generation of technology to bring agriculture to that next step in its evolution, whilst also looking to the future – such as assessing what challenges may be faced in the future, including water supply, soil health and the impacts of climate change. Today, our dedicated team of scientists and plant pathologists are busy planning and preparing for such future challenges. Whilst also today, Westfalia are reaping the rewards of research started by our teams up to 30 years previously – to be fit for the future.
At the helm of the technological transformation is Andre Oosthuisen, the Group Integration and IT Executive, whose vision is helping to shape the future of fruit production and distribution.
Westfalia's Fruit’s farming evolution
Despite being a heritage company, founded 75 years ago by Dr Hans Merensky, its roots have always been visionary. “Merensky was an absolute genius and one of the original pathfinders in sustainable farming methodology,” Andre explains.
This commitment to sustainable farming principles instilled by Dr Merensky, remains at the core of its operations.
“Sustainability requirements that quite rightly, society is demanding these days has become endemic in the industry,” Andre emphasises. “Yet it has been a part of Westfalia Fruit’s DNA since Dr Merensky founded the company 75 years ago.”
Yet, in a world of a changing climate, and with Westfalia Fruit having expanded to cater to a global market, new challenges have emerged.
Luckily, the company has an accomplished IT and digital transformation specialist leading this technological innovation.
From spreadsheets to smart farms
Andre's journey with Westfalia Fruit is a testament to the company's potential.
“Westfalia was one of my clients when I was in PwC,” Andre recalls. “I loved the company, I loved working with the company and helped the company grow substantially over the years that we outsourced all of the IT.”
His transition from external consultant to internal executive underscores the importance of technology in Westfalia's operations.
As the Group Integration and IT Executive, Andre's role is pivotal in ensuring that technology enables the company to deliver its core business efficiently.
“My role in the company is ensuring that we apply our technology in a way that helps us deliver our core business, which is delivering fruit all over the world and ensuring that it's delivered correctly and efficiently,” he states.
Taking fruit from farm to fork
The fruit industry has undergone a radical transformation in recent decades, with technology becoming indispensable at every stage of production and distribution.
“Technology has become endemic in the modern fruit business of today,” Andre says. “It seems, in recent memory, there was nothing that was electronic, but that is no longer the case.”
Indeed, when Andre started his journey with Westfalia Fruit over 22 years ago, the company was unrecognisable in terms of its tech.
“Spreadsheets were almost the only thing that we had in those days. Even email was new,” he notes.
Yet thanks to Andre’s work, today Westfalia employs a comprehensive technological approach that he describes as being present all the way from ‘Farm to Fork’.
These optimisations brought about via technology are important, particularly where fruit is being grown.
In 2024, a prolonged dry spell in southern Africa scorched crops and threatened food security for millions of people. This put increasing pressure on farmers to be able to treat their crops when even drinking water was in short supply.
Through the use of sensors in orchards, Westfalia has allowed for precise monitoring of growing conditions, leading to optimised irrigation and fertilisation practices.
“We can now track the amount of moisture in the orchards, and can use low flow drip irrigation, where we actually drop the water straight into the root structure of the tree,” Andre says. “This way we use substantially less water, a 40 to 50% reduction.”
This precision irrigation system not only conserves water but also optimises plant health, leading to improved yields and fruit quality.
But it is not only harvesting and growing they have to contend with, it’s distribution too. Dealing with perishables brings with it unique issues that technology can really help minimise.
Growing avocados in South Africa to export to the UK is one example of where issues can arrive.
That’s why Westfalia has implemented advanced tracking systems that monitor fruit from the moment it's harvested to when it reaches the consumer.
This end-to-end visibility allows for real-time adjustments to ensure optimal quality and shelf-life enhancements, and ultimately waste minimisation.
“You cannot deliver fruit in this modern day and age of ours where consumers are very particular about what they want, unless you have all of the technology stacked behind it,” Andre explains.
This commitment to quality is reflected in Westfalia’s investment in automated sorting and grading systems, which ensure consistent quality across all its products.
In addition to its technological transformation that have already taken place, Westfalia is actively exploring and implementing various emerging technologies to be ready for the next evolution in agriculture.
“We're starting to use drones for the forecasting of the fruit and the counting of fruit,” Andre explains.
Equally, it's in processes like this where AI is being used. “These processes of counting and harvesting come from AI analysing the drone footage.”
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is increasingly streamlining repetitive procedures in the company, particularly in administrative tasks like invoice processing.
Although automation uses in the farming are not fully realised – as Andre explains “avocados need to be harvested in a certain way” – it is already seeing some uses in the apple orchards for example.
Fruitful alliances
Westfalia’s technological advancement is supported by key strategic partnerships. This work tracking their fruit across its vast global network is achieved through the adoption of Aptean’s Food & Beverage ERP (enterprise resource planning) software.
This specialised ERP system provides Westfalia Fruit with the digital infrastructure to manage the unique challenges of the fruit industry, from tracking perishable inventory to managing complex international supply chains.
Because it is an ERP specifically designed for the produce industry, it is organised in a way that takes into account all the needs enterprises operating in the sector have.
“They really understand the food business, they understand us as a company, but more importantly than the product is the relationship we have with them,” Andre explains. “We have a close working relationship at all levels of the company and the team assigned to support us is excellent.”
Yet this partnership extends beyond mere software implementation, it provides Westfalia Fruit with strategic and business insights and support in their digital transformation journey.
“Business insights, analytics, forecasting, data analytics; these tools allow Westfalia to make data-driven decisions, optimising every aspect of our operations from planting to distribution,” explains Andre.
“Our partnerships are absolutely critical to us. No company can do everything on their own in isolation.”
This collaborative approach ensures that Westfalia Fruit are able to remain at the cutting edge of technological innovation in the fruit industry.
Westfalia's high-tech fruit future
Looking to the future, Westfalia Fruit is committed to continuing to leverage technology to enhance its position on sustainability, quality, and consumer trust and values alignment.
The immediate focus is on standardisation and rollout of ERP platforms across the group. “Everything from Aptean's food and beverage ERP platform to advanced analytics is being rolled out to every part of the business to capitalise on the benefits that those products provide.”
Data harvesting and analysis are key challenges ahead. “Harvesting the data out of those and continuing to augment our existing data platforms. That's what's going to be the challenge,” says Andre.
This focus on data will enable Westfalia to make increasingly sophisticated and accurate decisions, from predicting market trends to optimising growing conditions.
One technology Andre is keeping an eye on is blockchain. With its incorruptible smart contract capabilities, this could provide the tracking and certification of fruit in a way that meets compliance and in a much more streamlined way.
“With current technology there are still gaps, and that leads to the consumer having gaps in their information for them to make the right choice based on things like ethical sourcing of the fruit,” Andre explains.
“You will start seeing it in a lot of places that you buy fruit now, little QR codes that are starting to appear, and its blockchain that's starting to drive and enable all of that.”
This vision of transparency extends to Westfalia Fruit’s commitment to sustainability. As consumers become increasingly conscious of the environmental impact of their food choices, Westfalia's technological innovations in water conservation, reduced chemical use, and efficient supply chain management position the company as a leader in sustainable fruit production.
Ensuring the future for farms and fruit
Westfalia Fruit is not just adapting to the digital age – it's actively shaping the future of the fruit industry. By integrating cutting-edge technologies throughout its supply chain, from farm to fork, Westfalia is setting new standards for sustainability, quality, and transparency in global fruit production and distribution.
Although climate change presents an existential challenge that will have to be dealt with by the farming industry, Westfalia Fruit’s increasing use of technology and data analytics will help them better understand climate patterns and how to act.
From AI-powered fruit analysis to blockchain-enabled supply chain transparency, Westfalia is not just growing fruit – it's cultivating the future of sustainable and robust agriculture.
**************
Make sure you check out the latest edition of Technology Magazine and also sign up to our global conference series - Tech & AI LIVE 2024
**************
Technology Magazine is a BizClik brand
