January 19, 2021
Riley Buss, a data engineer at CHS, describes how a digital supply chains boosts profitability and efficiency.
You can’t see it, but there’s an invisible data supply chain that starts in every one of your fields. Your local co-op uses this data to connect you to the global marketplace and unlock enormous potential for your grain, according to Riley Buss, data engineer at CHS.
“Our digital supply chain gives us line of sight into the flow of grain from the field where its grown to the international customer who buys it. We can anticipate what’s going to happen to that grain. In that way, when we’re connecting the grain along every step in the process, there’s no disruption,” explains Buss.
Smooth distribution helps farmers move grain quickly and secure the best market price. “We’re able to see commodity demand changes around the world and can predict supply stocks,” says Buss. “That allows us to be flexible and have an agile edge to how we bring farmers’ grain into the global market.”
In addition to more efficient and profitable grain marketing, Buss says having inputs available at local co-ops when farmers need them is another advantage of a data-driven system.
“We have a good idea what the demand is going to be for crop nutrients and crop protection products for the upcoming year. We can use that data, along with weather information for the season that’s coming, to estimate what products our farmers will need and when they will need them. That helps us develop procurement plans that align with the crop production cycle.”
