Automation in LIVESTOCK FEED MANUFACTURING

It is not just the maize mixed with vitamins supplements and other grains, the feed mill manufacturing is a scientific process enabled by the different automation at the machinery level. The technology matrix can be depicted as per table below:

Process	Automation/Technology
Material Receipt at Gate	Electronic Weigh Bridge
Quality check of the material	Different equipment for key parameters
Storage of the Material	Electronic Silos & Pallet based warehouses
Batching	Scada Based Machines
Milling	Scada Based Machines
Pre Mix	Scada Based Machines
Mixing	Scada Based Machines
Pelleting	Scada Based Machines
Cooling	Scada Based Machines
Packing	Scada Based Machines
Storage	Bar Code/ Batch Printing
Quality	Different equipment for key parameters
Dispatch	Electronic Weigh Bridge

This technology matrix helps millers in improving the manufacturing process efficiency. The real challenge or competitive edge is to address the business issue pertaining to the process leakages such as revenue loss, poor purchase planning, unstructured purchase process etc.  These process challenges can overcome by the use of  “ERP- Enterprise Resource Planning” Applications.  An ERP is a software which tightly integrates all business functions across value chain along with core finance & accounting. The process cycle post ERP will look like:

Process	Automation/Technology	ERP Benefits
Purchase Cycle	ERP	Automated Approval Purchase Price History
Material Receipt at Gate	Electronic Weigh Bridge	Integration with the Purchase Order & Warehouse
Quality check of the material	Different equipment for key parameters	Integration with Purchase Order Centralized test reports
Storage of the Material	Electronic Silos & Pallet based warehouses	Integration with Finance, Purchase Lot wise tracking Shelf life etc.
Purchase/Production Planning	ERP	Integrated purchase/production plan based on the planned consumption
Production Execution	ERP	Planned production order to shop floor for better execution
Batching	Scada Based Machines	Each Production batch can have different mix as per the quality. Hence you can keep history. Integration with the SCADA of the ERP, help in keeping formulations secure & confidential. Storage of the pre mix as per the specification & desired locations
Milling	Scada Based Machines
Pre Mix	Scada Based Machines
Mixing	Scada Based Machines
Pelleting	Scada Based Machines
Cooling	Scada Based Machines
Packing	Scada Based Machines
Storage	Bar Code/ Batch Printing	Helps in providing complete tracking of the Bar Code or Batch
Quality	Different equipment for key parameters
Sales	ERP	Sales Order Booking as per pre-defined price matrix Approval for the deviations
Dispatch	Electronic Weigh Bridge	A control on the price & quantity
Finance & Accounting	ERP	Complete accounting cycle like GL, AP, AR, Fixed Assets, Banks AP/AR Aging Cash Flows Management Dashboards Cost & Profit Analysis

As you can visualize from above picture that you can achieve a complete automation in the livestock feed manufacturing by using the effective machine automation along with the ERP software. A process efficiency yields good results across the complete value chain helping organizations to focus on the growth.