The Yield is an Australian agricultural technology company on a mission to transform food and farming practices by building secure, scalable digital technology to sense, analyse and predict on-farm growing conditions, and then deliver information in a usable format to help increase yield, reduce waste, mitigate the risk and cost associated with soil and weather and inputs. Partnering with Microsoft (Azure) and Bosch, Yield has received several innovation awards from Government and International organizations. Learn More..

This Case Study outlines how one dairy farmer located in Ancaster, Ontario and recognized as a leader in raising Summitholm Holsteins within Canada’s dairy farming industry, has been able to apply smart farming technologies to increase milk production while maintaining the health of his cattle and preserving the environment.

Advances in sensing technology and agricultural software allows the farmer to create individual and demographic profiles for the dairy herd. Each cow is equipped with a digital bracelet or pedometer which identifies the Holstein, measures how much milk was produced at each milking, provides data about the cows’ activity by recording the number of steps per hour, identifies conductivity levels of the milk which are indicators of the presence of infections or possible ruptured cells in the udder and the duration period for the udder to be drained.

The data from this example can identify a combination of low milk in production and also high activity levels of the cow, which signal that the cow is in heat and indicates that it is the ideal time for the cow to be inseminated. The subsequent data is managed by software which allows each cow to be monitored for its overall health and levels of production in ways that previously were impossible.

From a staff management perspective, the data profiles enable the farmer to supervise and monitor the effectiveness of employees. Workers who operate the milking equipment and oversee the milking process are responsible for the cleaning and stimulation of the udders as a preparation for milking

Innovations in smart technology greatly support quality assurance of milk production and staff effectiveness because decisions are implemented through interpretation of data based upon input from each cow. Applications of smart technology have removed the obstacles of distance and time so that from anywhere in the world a farmer can monitor every cow in the herd.

Sources: Poonsri Vate-U-Lan, Assumption University of Thailand

This 179-year-old company has created a platform for the agricultural industry, allowing it to compete against both other farm equipment manufacturers as well as new Ag Tech entrants. John Deere is the leading farm equipment manufacturer in the world with 2016 worldwide revenues of $26.6B.

In 2012 John Deere created an digital platform called MyJohnDeere. It is an information system to help agricultural producers optimize the management of production data, equipment information and farm operations. This would enable a shift from supply to a demand-driven industry where farmers have to react quickly to consumer demand changes through more open communication between members of the agribusiness community. According to the company these collaborations would greatly benefit our customers by expanding the choices they have to improve productivity, efficiency and yield.

The Platform is free for customers who purchase John Deere equipment, for 3rd party developers who would develop and integrate applications on their platform (with approval only, by John Deere). The platform strategically borrows a page from other open systems in winning in a first mover platform to garner competitive advantage and increased hardware purchases.

John Deere, like most OECD manufacturers, has seen competition from low-cost competitors, but by integrating a software platform into its products, it can lock customers in and also provide a reason for customers to pay more for its hardware.

John Deere is not stopping in their quest for agricultural platform dominance. A big trend in any industry today is whoever owns the data wins. Big Data itself can become a revenue generator and John Deere is likely thinking about how it can utilize the vast data it is gathering in the future.

Source: Cassie Perlman, HBS ’17, HBS Digital Initiative, May 15, 2017

Key facts

Michelin¹ is a global player in mobility and one of the leading tire manufacturers across the globe. EFFIFUEL™ by Michelin Solutions was the first innovation in the market targeting increased efficiency in fleet fuel consumption.

Uniqueness

Michelin Solutions makes a contractual agreement to meet pre-defined targets, or otherwise provides a refund in proportion to excess expenses incurred. EFFIFUEL™ is a comprehensive ecosystem that includes sophisticated telematics, training in eco-driving techniques and the EFFITIRES™ optimized tire management system. EFFIFUEL™ provides a “satisfaction or your money back guarantee” by providing the fuel efficiency service risk-free to truckers.

Approach

Michelin initiated the digital transformative business model internally, but they soon realized that in some critical areas, such as big data analytics or infrastructure they needed to partner with external experts.

 Sources: Michelin, WEF/Accenture Analysis