Fleet Tracking: What One Co-op Has Learned

Ceres Solutions has partnered with Solinftec since 2019 and has integrated its fleet of AGCO, John Deere and CNH equipment, as well as tender trucks, with the software.
Ceres Solutions has partnered with Solinftec since 2019 and has integrated its fleet of AGCO, John Deere and CNH equipment, as well as tender trucks, with the software.
(Ceres Solutions)

After a pilot program with eight locations and 54 machines, Ceres Solutions is eyeing a full fleet tracking program as early as 2022. 

Ceres has partnered with Solinftec since 2019 and has integrated its fleet of AGCO, John Deere and CNH equipment, as well as tender trucks, with the software. 

“It’s important for us to maximize efficiencies of our rolling iron assets, and our farmers expect us to maximize the use of the fleet,” says Drew Garretson with Ceres Solution, director of digital experience. “Becoming more intelligent in how we do business is for our customers and our employees. I hope there are more applicators who can go to t-ball games.” 

Solinftec has done research showing that only 30 to 35% of a sprayer’s running time is in the field making applications. Its software provides fleet management tools such as routing and GPS tracking. And it’s in the data-based logistics management where the biggest gains can be made. 

“The biggest reason for stopping is that trucks don’t get an applicator reloaded timely enough,” says Carlos Hirsch, head of sales at Solinftec. “Today’s sprayers and spreaders are monsters with high throughput–if you don’t feed them, they’ll stop. We have to keep them fed and happy. The coordination of all the machines and trucks has shown great benefits.”

Garretson says in the Ceres footprint, they’ve seen how dispatching from multiple locations has proven some perceived solutions to be incorrect. 

“We now have the capability to network things together on where and how we dispatch sprayers and trucks from multiple locations. The default solution could be to think we need more application equipment—but long term we see a decrease in total number of machines to serve the same or growing acres,” Garretson says. 

Here are five other reasons the team at Ceres is investing in more telemetry and fleet management: 

1.    Consistency in service. “We need to create a consistent experience internally and externally, and it’s technology that helps us standardize processes at scale,” Garretson says. 

2.    Delivers on customer expectations. Garretson says farmers want to know when an applicator will be in their field and they want post-application field data too. 

3.    Record keeping simplified. “The Solinftec tools help us monitor and mange our record-keeping that is required with chemical applications. It reduces the possibility of human error, while also elevating the types of details we are collecting,” Garretson says. It’s all automatically populated–and the applicator doesn’t have to spend time filling out information—it just makes their life much easier.”

4.    Practical tracking. The Solinftec technology provides the as-applied records farmers want to see, and in some cases need to see. Garretson shares an example about a drift complaint, where the application data was able to show application timing, product information, and weather data to exonerate the application from causing the problem. “ 

5.    Efficient communication. Hirsch says many Solinftec users appreciate how the software reduces the number of phone calls, radio communication and text messages to ensure everyone is properly dispatched. 
 

 

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