Opportunities of Digital Transformation in Post-Harvest Activities: A Single Case Study of an Engineering Solutions Provider

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to identify opportunities that digital transformation in post-harvest activities offers to an engineering solution provider. The research method is a simple case study. The object is a company based in southern Brazil that provides engineering-integrated digital solutions to grain producers, including products and services. The specific objectives are to describe the company’s digital products and services, identify opportunities and players, and discuss how players can take advantage of opportunities owing to business process digitalization. The main results include separating products into three technological layers and identifying five types of opportunities (financing, commercialization, operation, logistics, traceability, and insurance), eight types of players, and the main opportunities for each player. The most significant opportunities are risk reduction in insurance contracts, improvement in grain quality, increments in food safety, and accurate information on grain movements. The main implication of the study is that grain producers and other players can explore opportunities, and solution providers can evolve toward complete digitalization by integrating service into the current offerings of post-harvest engineering solutions.

Digital Technologies, Sustainability, and Efficiency in Grain Post-Harvest Activities: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…Understanding technology's importance involves pinpointing the most vulnerable points to losses in the post-harvest process. A previous study [23] identifies and critically analyzes, including visual resources, the nine critical control points (CCP) for post-harvest losses that are used in this study. The process begins with grain reception (CCP1) and unloading into hoppers (CCP2).…”

“…Various connection points (CCP9) contribute to losses during storage. Implementing digital technologies can significantly reduce losses throughout the entire process [23].…”

“…Although some reviews, such as [22], have scrutinized literature related to grain storage, these reviews need to delve into digital technologies applied to FSC and mainly to post-harvest activities. As post-harvest engineered systems are complex, intricate installations, the identification of critical control points (CCP) is required [23]. Therefore, the research gap this study aims to bridge is to find what digital technologies apply to improve the effectiveness of post-harvest engineered systems.…”