AMVAC Expands Traceability Tech from SIMPAS to Other Supply Chain Applications
AMVAC first developed the SIMPAS application system as an extension of their SmartBox technology, and now that trajectory continues with ULTIMUS.
ULTIMUS is patented software technology that is the backbone for the SIMPAS system but applying it for use in spreader and sprayer applications.
“Historically, we are a chemical company,” says Rick Rice, director, application technologies at AMVAC. “And where we saw opportunity to continue to add value and be a leader in the industry is with best-in-class technology that is easy to use and provides traceability.”
He says with ULTIMUS, there was a light bulb moment when the team realized the potential of using the software in a new way. Whereas SIMPAS controls 72 product cartridges as the planter applies a prescriptive application, ULTIMUS transfers that technology to all applications.
“It’s not just about the products—it’s the ability to demonstrate what we do on a daily basis,” he says. “We can put a tag on anything. ULTIMUS can provide traceability from the bulk fertilizer transport all the way to the field application. It’s a great supply chain tool—we can show inventory as it moves through the entire supply chain and then provide a verified application record.”
Compared to current tracking limitations—which, in best cases, still end when product is delivered to a farmer, Rice says, ULTIMUS links specific containers with the fields that are treated using product from those containers.
“This can be used with ground rigs or aerial applications. When product is applied with ULTIMUS-enabled equipment, the product tag put on by the manufacturer is read and recorded with the application data,” he says. “The concept is that application equipment doesn’t know what’s being applied until someone tells it. With ULTIMUS, the tag does the telling, and the machine records what is being applied without requiring the operator to manually enter the product information.”
He explains all the patents are in place for ULTIMUS, and AMVAC is currently exploring partners to bring the product to market. The system requires application equipment to be enabled with container tag readers for ULTIMUS to function.
And technology developments are smoothing the path for adoption of such technologies.
“Today, we may use hand scanners, but in the future, we see doorway scanners as a standard part of the ULTIMUS ecosystem. That way, when you drive a pallet of tagged product through the warehouse loading dock, it’s automatically scanned and recorded,” he says.
