3/8/2022

xFarm Analytics: the tool for efficient supply chain management

Riccardo De Nadai
Communication Manager

Agrifood supply chains are complex ecosystems. Their management introduces ever-new challenges to the agribusiness landscape: sustainability, traceability, efficiency. xFarm Analytics is the digital control center for the agribusiness supply chain, designed to provide the farm manager and cooperative manager with a tool to monitor farms and related sensors quickly and easily.

The system xFarm includes theapp xFarm, used by farms for crop management and data collection, the sensors xFarm and the platform xFarm Analytics. The Analytics platform collects data from sensors and farmers, providing a comprehensive and detailed real-time view to stakeholders and technical staff responsible for managing and monitoring the supply chain.

Intelligent supply chain management

The Dashboard of xFarm Analytics allows you to control the parameters of the supply chain in a simple and intuitive way thanks to a graphical interface updated in real time.

In particular, you can:

  • monitorclimate trends, displaying data collected from sensors in the field in an aggregated manner to better understand environmental trends;
  • visualize the positioning of different farms in base yields anduse of productioninputs, distinguishing the most virtuous ones and identifying best practices to be disseminated to other farms;
  • check the location of storage centers by verifying the route of raw materials from the field to the plant, to make better decisions about logistics.  

Supply chain sustainability

The Sustainability module uses information collected throughout the supply chain to calculate the overall and specific impact of activities. Through certified models and calculators and in accordance with ISO 14040, each recorded activity is "weighed" for its environmental impact, also considering yields and agronomic practices.  

Sustainability calculations can be viewed both in aggregate and at individual farm detail, with the possibility of comparing individual farms with each other. In this way you can identify the most virtuous farms and the most sustainable farming practices, and share these results not only within the supply chain, but also with the consumer, enhancing their commitment to environmental stewardship.

Key sustainability indicators monitored include, for example, carbon footprint, acidification, eutrophication, water footprint, nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency.

Planning and control

Through the Operations Management function, it is possible to view ongoing activities in agricultural operations in real time, thanks to data entered by farmers. This is an especially useful tool for field technicians, who are responsible for assisting and guiding individual farms.

The Planning function allows you to schedule activities to be carried out, supporting farmers at the most sensitive times, such as during defense and harvesting operations, by providing advice in a direct and understandable way.

With the function Checks you can verify that the activities carried out on farms comply with applicable specifications and regulations.  

Multiagency Management

The digital ecosystem of xFarm provides the ability to organize accounts and users in an orderly and flexible manner, according to the needs of the specific supply chain. By assigning different roles, it is possible to identify for each user which features can be used, viewed or hidden. Through Multiagency management, it is possible to create a viewing hierarchy among different levels of the supply chain, limiting, for example, the farms that can be "viewed" by a technician or a storage center.

Such a wealth of data, makes it possible to work in a timely manner not only on logistics, but also on sustainability and traceability of the supply chain, aspects that are increasingly important and demanded by consumers. The platform xFarm Analytics is designed to combine data rigor with the flexibility needed to adapt to the needs of different agrifood supply chains.

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