Industrial Automation Magazine India

We leverage ERP to implement business intelligence across the organisation

Published on : Friday 05-05-2023

Sanjay Borkar, Co-Founder and CEO, Farm ERP

Tell us about FarmERP's journey since its inception and its solutions.
FarmERP is a leading agriculture ERP platform that was founded with the aim of providing comprehensive digital solutions to the agriculture industry. Since its inception, FarmERP has gone through a remarkable journey of evolution and innovation to become a global leader in digital farming.
 
Over the years, we have developed a wide range of smart and scalable digital solutions that cater to the entire agriculture value chain. These solutions cover farming, procurement, processing, supply chain, financial management, and data-driven analytics, enabling stakeholders to practice Digital Agriculture 4.0 and achieve profitable and sustainable agribusiness.
 
We have integrated various cutting-edge technologies such as sensors, internet of agricultural things (IoAT) devices, GIS, drones, mobility, big data, and legacy systems to provide users with a seamless experience. Additionally, the company leverages Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, satellite imagery, and statistical modelling as the basis of its Climate Smart Advisory services.
 
Today, FarmERP is a single digital platform with 23+ modules and 600+ screens that serve 13 industry sub-vertical agriculture industry segments. The company is proud to have directly and indirectly impacted over 1.5 million farmers through its platform, and over 675,000 hectares of farmland are managed using FarmERP. The company is currently deployed in 30+ countries and offersa seamless platform for its consumers.
 
How does your platform use ERP to implement business intelligence?
At FarmERP, we leverage ERP to implement business intelligence across the organisation. Our platform is designed to run across the organisation and provide insights into various aspects of the agriculture value chain. One of the ways our platform uses ERP to implement business intelligence is by monitoring labour usage and agricultural usage. This helps farmers and agribusinesses to optimise their resources and increase productivity. For instance, our platform provides real-time data and analytics on crop management, resource allocation, and supply chain management, helping farmers make informed decisions about their operations. In addition, our platform tracks machine use, which helps farmers and agribusinesses to maintain their equipment, improve efficiency, and reduce downtime. This is crucial for maintaining a sustainable and profitable agribusiness.
 
At FarmERP, we focus on three key objectives: productivity, predictability, and profitability (3P). Our platform is designed to help our clients achieve these objectives by providing insights and recommendations that are data-driven and grounded in real-world experience.
 
Our platform offers state-of-the-art analytical tools that use AI to give intelligent insights to our consumers. Our platform collects a huge amount of data, which is analysed using advanced algorithms to provide insights into various aspects of the agriculture value chain. This helps our clients to make better-informed decisions and improve their operations.
 
How has the Agtech sector evolved in the post-pandemic era?
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions across various sectors, including agriculture. However, the pandemic has also led to increased awareness and adoption of technology in the agribusiness sector, which has been evolving rapidly in the post-pandemic era.
 
At FarmERP, we have seen an increase in demand for our Smart Agriculture ERP platform, which has helped farmers and agribusinesses to manage their operations remotely and more efficiently. This has been crucial in the wake of the pandemic, which has made it challenging for farmers to manage their crops and supply chain logistics. Farmers and agribusinesses are now leveraging technologies such as sensors, IoT devices, GIS, drones, and big data to optimise their operations, increase productivity, and reduce costs. 
 
Another trend we have observed is the emergence of precision agriculture, which involves the use of advanced technologies such as AI, machine learning, and computer vision to provide accurate and real-time insights into farming operations. This has helped farmers to optimise their resource usage and improve their yields. We have seen an increased focus on sustainability and environmental stewardship in the agribusiness sector. Farmers and agribusinesses are now more conscious of their impact on the environment and are adopting sustainable practices such as crop rotation, organic farming, and the use of bio-fertilizers.
 
Which emerging technology will shape the Agtech industry's growth in the fiscal year 2023-'24?

In the coming fiscal year 2023-24, we believe that two emerging technologies will play a significant role in shaping the growth of the agtech industry – Agricultural E-commerce and Precision Farming technology.
 
Agricultural E-commerce is an emerging trend that has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital platforms and online marketplaces in the agribusiness sector. We believe that e-commerce will continue to grow and evolve, and more farmers and agribusinesses will leverage digital platforms to sell their produce and connect with customers. With the use of digital platforms, farmers can sell their products directly to customers without intermediaries, which can lead to higher profits.
 
Precision farming is another emerging trend that involves the use of advanced technologies such as IoT, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to optimise farming operations. These technologies enable farmers to gather data on their crops, soil, and weather conditions and use that data to make data-driven decisions about when to plant, fertilize, irrigate and harvest crops. This results in more efficient use of resources and increased yields. The adoption of precision farming technology has been increasing rapidly in recent years, and we expect this trend to continue in the coming fiscal year. At FarmERP, we are committed to providing our clients with innovative solutions that leverage precision farming technology to help them achieve sustainable and profitable agribusiness operations.
 
What are your plans for growth?
Our plans for growth at FarmERP are to continue leveraging our ERP platform that has been successfully implemented in many countries. We will focus on integrating our platform with legacy software systems and precision farming technologies, which will allow us to offer a comprehensive and holistic solution to our customers. We have extensive know-how in implementing agricultural ERP systems, which we will continue to build on. This year, we have bigger expansion plans, and we are excited to announce the expansion of our office in the United States. We will also be expanding aggressively in the Middle East while continuing to service major agricultural countries. We will focus on the three Ps for our growers – productivity, predictability and profitability in terms of manpower, machinery, operations, material, intel and finance. Our ultimate goal is to double our revenue this financial year, and we are confident that with our innovative and data-driven approach to farming, we will be able to achieve this target.