Integration isn't just technology. It's process.

One of our customers runs an ERP at the head office — one of those big, traditional ones. upCampo’s expertise is in field operations, so the group’s farms use upCampo while the head office uses the ERP.

Integrating the two systems is essential, mainly for inventory and costs. Simple in theory. In practice, there’s always a headache here and there.

With this customer, the start was a bit bumpy. These large ERPs have a hard time — and sometimes little interest — supporting field operations, precisely because operations aren’t their specialty. The head office had a tax department that considered the process finished once the entry was posted in the ERP, with a certain siloed mindset: the famous islands every large company has when communication and integration are missing.

Early on, the ERP had failures: it didn’t pass the transactions on to upCampo. And without that data, there’s nothing we can do. The result is what you’d expect: friction between departments, “he said, she said,” and so on.

In theory, it’s simply a lack of integration testing and planning. In practice, even with all the testing and planning, problems can happen on either side.

In this case, we found that the tax department wasn’t confirming that each item had reached upCampo — that is, its final destination, the farm.

We quickly built a simple screen, accessible through a link, so the tax department could check these items in upCampo and print or save them. Matheus Gonçalves was the developer behind that quick turnaround.

We also gave the farm an operational guideline: only accept transfers that come with the printout.

A simple action, a quickly customized screen, an adjusted process. The result: fewer problems and inventory that matches.

Soon, this fairly manual step of printing or saving won’t be needed anymore — or so we all hope.

This is a real example of the value of the customization and proactive support we provide at upCampo.

Have you been through something similar? Share it with us.

Frequently asked questions

Why does integrating the ERP with the farm system cause problems?

Because integration isn’t just technology; it’s process. Even with testing and planning, problems can happen on either side, and poor communication between departments (the silos every large company has) keeps information from reaching its final destination, which is the farm.

Why integrate the office ERP with farm operations management?

Mainly because of inventory and costs. When the office uses the ERP and the farms use an operations management system, both need to work from the same information for inventory and cost to match.

Why doesn’t the farm’s inventory match the ERP?

Often because an item entered at the office is never confirmed at its final destination, the farm. In the case reported by upCampo, the tax department considered the process finished once the entry was made in the ERP and didn’t confirm that the item had reached the farm, which led to discrepancies and conflict between departments.

How do you fix inventory discrepancies between the office and the farm?

By adjusting the process, not just the technology. In the case reported, upCampo built a simple screen, accessible through a link, so the tax department could check the transferred items and print or save them, and the farm started accepting transfers only with that printout. The result was fewer problems and inventory that matches.

Does upCampo customize screens for its customers?

Yes. In the case described in the article, upCampo quickly built a simple screen for the tax department to check inventory transfers. Customization and proactive support are part of how upCampo works with groups that run an ERP in the office.