Beachport Liquid Minerals: Streamlining Operations with IoT
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Inventory Management Systems
- Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
Applicable Industries
- Agriculture
- Finance & Insurance
Applicable Functions
- Maintenance
- Warehouse & Inventory Management
Use Cases
- Additive Manufacturing
- Inventory Management
About The Customer
Beachport Liquid Minerals is a family-owned business that has been supplying the Australian livestock industry since 2006. The company manufactures liquid supplements for livestock, understanding the importance of trace elements to livestock health. The General Manager, Kym Sutherland, has nearly 40 years of experience in the industry. The company's manufacturing processes involve making the finished product into a bulk batch and then decanting it into different drum sizes. The company needed a robust and flexible system to manage its inventory, manufacturing, accounting, and payroll functions.
The Challenge
Beachport Liquid Minerals, a manufacturer of liquid supplements for livestock, was facing significant challenges with their existing ERP inventory and manufacturing program. After using the system for nine months, it became clear that the software was not meeting their requirements. The software was rigid, the financial reporting was difficult to use, and the ongoing costs of the software and user support were becoming a burden. The business needed a solution that would be less time-consuming, more user-friendly, and cost-effective to implement and maintain.
The Solution
Beachport Liquid Minerals decided to replace the existing ERP software package with the combination of Fishbowl Inventory (Manufacturing Edition) and Reckon Accounts (formerly QuickBooks). The decision was also made to implement the new system promptly, changing over the inventory and manufacturing arm of the business at the same time as the accounting and payroll function. The Fishbowl Inventory system was used for the manufacturing of finished products and the tracking of batch control on those products. Reckon Accounts was used for financial reporting, allowing the Accounts department to run all financial information with a few clicks while maintaining the inventory control procedures needed to track stock across multiple locations.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
Case Study missing?
Start adding your own!
Register with your work email and create a new case study profile for your business.
Related Case Studies.
Case Study
Intelligent Farming with ThingWorx Analytics
Z Farms was facing three challenges: costly irrigation systems with water as a limited resource, narrow optimal ranges of soil moisture for growth with difficult maintenance and farm operators could not simply turn on irrigation systems like a faucet.
Case Study
Greenhouse Intelligent Monitoring and Control Solution
Farming Orchids is the most successful form of precision farming in Taiwan, and also the most exported flower. Orchids need a specific temperature and humidity conditions to grow and bloom, and its flowering time may not be in line with market demands, so the price collapses when there is overproduction. Therefore, some farmers began to import automated greenhouse control systems for breeding and forcing, which not only improves quality, but also effectively controls the production period and yield to ensure revenue. In 2012, an orchid farmer built a Forcing Greenhouse of about 200 pings (approximately 661 Square Meters) in Tainan, Taiwan. The system integrator adopted Advantech’s APAX-5000 series programmable automation controllers to build the control platform, coupled with Advantech WebAccess HMI/SCADA software, to achieve cloud monitoring. The staff of the orchid field can monitor important data anytime via smart phone, iPad, and other handheld devices, and control the growth and flowering conditions. System requirements: In the past, most environmental control systems of orchid greenhouses in Taiwan used PLCs (Programmable Logic Controller) with poorscalability and control, and could not be connected to the Internet formonitoring from the cloud. For advanced database analysis and networking capability, the PC platform must be adopted. Therefore, PAC Systems (Programmable Automation Controller) with both PLC programming capabilities andPC functions is a better choice.The environmental control of the Orchid greenhouse switches on and off devices like fan, shade net, cooling/heat pump, liquid flow control, water-cooling wall etc. It is controlled by a control panel of electric controllers, and is driven by a motor, to adjust the greenhouse temperature, humidity, and other environmental conditions to the set parameters.
Case Study
Precision beekeeping with wireless temperature monitoring
Honeybees are insects of large economic value and provide a vital service to agriculture by pollinating a variety of crops. In addition, bees provide us with valuable products such as honey, beeswax, propolis, bee venom, etc. Monitoring of honeybee colony health, population, productivity, and environmental conditions affecting the colony health have always been exceedingly difficult tasks in apiculture. Research has shown that even small deviations (by more than 2°C) from the optimal temperatures have a significant influence on the development of the brood and the health of adult bees.
Case Study
Enabling Internet of Things Innovation in Agriculture
DigiBale, wanted to apply technology know-how and IP from implementations successfully to more agriculture sectors including cotton, forestry, sugarcane and cattle. However, farmers and growers still have worries about the connected technology.
