Automate the management of silo stocks

Many farmers feed their animals with feed stored in silos. However, it is not easy to predict and anticipate how reserves will be affected depending on the season, for example. With this in mind, the start-up Nanolike has partnered with Adventiel to provide a solution to this logistical challenge.

Thanks to a simple sensor placed on one of the feet of the silo, the farmer can now follow live and manage the evolution of his raw material. Automating the placing of orders by connecting his silos has several advantages. How can digitization in the agricultural and food industry improve business performance? Why monitor its silos with a sensor?

Automate inventory management in silos

Silo owners have two major problems:

In the first instance, storing grain for too long periods can cause it to dry out and degrade.

In a second step, they must ensure the continuous feeding of their herd. Today, this problem of renewal of goods can be solved thanks to sensors. Thanks to them, they can precisely evaluate and make an inventory of the remaining resources. In this way, he avoids the additional costs and degradation of the goods caused by overstocking. The system also allows the farmer to predict when the best time to place an order with his supplier will be.

Feeding the animals continuously is a priority for them. To do so, they need to estimate the stocks remaining in their silo. Not easy to predict, many make the mistake of calling on their supplier too early or too late. The estimate that a farmer could make of his needs was more than approximate. However, the development of sensors for silos now makes it possible to alleviate this problem.

Connecting its silos ensures less complex management of goods and improves supply chain efficiency. The benefits also extend to the forecasts that the farmer can make based on the data collected. They allow the farmer to track the growth curve of the grain supply. The automation of his inventory management also benefits his production: he avoids interruptions in the feeding of his livestock. Finally, the advantages of this solution directly influence his budget: by optimizing replenishments, he can do without costly last-minute deliveries.

Increase productivity by automating the order process

The installation of sensors on the silo made it possible to automate the ordering process for the farmer. Indeed, as shown in the video presentation on the Adventielsite, the system is very simple to use.

Through his local network, the farmer can consult the stock levels in his silos. In practice, this data is accessible from a simple web page or a mobile application. In the same way, he receives alerts by e-mail or SMS when his stocks decrease.

Finally, thanks to automated messaging, in just a few clicks he can send the supplier a replenishment request on the date he wants.

Previously, breeders had to physically move around, climb a ladder, and then perform so-called “noise” or “eye” checks. These techniques for measuring the condition of the stock were not always accurate.

In addition, order processing is a low value-added task. It is time-consuming and costly for both the farmer and the supplier.

Today, thanks to automation everyone wins. The farmer can check remotely and in real-time the consumption of his material, and can warn the supplier. By automating these different steps, by making ordering instantaneous, the productivity of everyone in the supply chain is increased.

Improving the supply chain

The automation of the order process and the connection of the silos result in considerable gains in reliability. Sensors allow the remaining stock level to be precisely monitored and established.

Unpleasant surprises such as shrinking or depleted inventory can be cancelled out through supply chain automation. With peace of mind, owners no longer have to incur additional expenses for urgent deliveries. Repetitive tasks that were also necessary to ensure replenishment are replaced by an automatic ordering process.

In the longer term, this allows the optimization of logistics costs, based on automated forecasts. Indeed, thanks to the data collected by the sensors on the silos, it is possible to have access to :

• to past procurement cycles ;
• to downtime ;
• to the average consumption ;
• to future needs.

These ad hoc data analyses then help to improve the ordering process.

The challenges of the agri-food industry

Automating the supply cycles allows to answer the 3 major challenges faced by food industry professionals:

Management of raw material storage

The first challenge that professionals face is directly related to their stocks. To risk running out of resources is to disrupt the feeding process of their farm.

Optimization of deliveries

Automation of the order process directly addresses this problem. Sensors placed on the silos make it possible to stop placing emergency orders for unplanned resources.

Improvement of the order process

As said before, this task is repetitive, and brings little added value to the person performing it. Here again, by making the placing of orders automatic, it is possible to eliminate this recurring task and thus gain in productivity.

Innovation at the service of agriculture

Today, thanks to automation everyone wins. The farmer can check remotely and in real-time the consumption of his material and can warn the supplier.