The Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) has worked with MicroChannel to build a solution accessible via the cloud and smartphone that lets wool classers create, capture and manage inventory data arising from wool harvesting process in a shearing shed.
In 2017, Australian farmers sheared 74 million sheep, producing 340 million kilograms of wool worth $3.1 billion, according to AWEX.
To ensure the integrity of the supply chain, the wool cannot be processed until the necessary paperwork associated with each fleece and mob is completed and a National Wool Declaration is issued.
In order to streamline the process and reduce the risk of error, AWEX worked with MicroChannel to develop WoolClip.
Leveraging Microsoft Azure, WoolClip is a web and smartphone application that allows registered users to create, capture and manage inventory data arising from wool harvesting process in a shearing shed.
The smartphone app allows AWEX’s 17,000 authorised wool classers to enter data directly from the shearing shed even without internet access. Data entry at the source reduces the possible errors and oversight which can significantly slow down the entire process. When connection is available, information on the WoolClip app is synched and secured to Azure.
The app and cloud-based solution ensures that on-farm data can be made available efficiently to the receiver of the wool supply chain. It also establishes a traceable system for wool bales as they progress through the system and boost the overall integrity of the wool industry.
According to Mark Grave, CEO of AWEX; “The project management and relationship between AWEX staff and MicroChannel was a standout. The relationship and the understanding fostered allows both organisations to proceed with confidence.”
Ross Smith, CRM and Marketing Automation Practice Manager – from MicroChannel said; “The app has been developed to make it simple to record data immediately and accurately. From WoolClip the information can be synched up to the Microsoft Azure cloud when it’s possible to connect to the internet.”
“The information is held securely in the cloud with access provided to authorised users to ensure the efficient processing and monitoring of wool in the supply chain. We always say Australia was built on the sheep’s back – well now we’re taking that to the next level and helping to make the industry more efficient and accountable, with the provenance of wool made clear all the way from the sheep’s back right through to the completion of processing.”
