Cosucra becomes closer to its farmer suppliers thanks to the cloud

Cosucra took a fundamental step in IT modernisation in 2010 with the implementation of SAP’s main ERP modules, in partnership with delaware. Cosucra then renewed its trust in delaware for the deployment of a Microsoft Office 365-based communication and collaboration environment. A new intranet and corporate social network (Yammer) promote in-house information exchange. A portal (extranet) implemented in the Microsoft cloud (Azure) facilitates relationships with Cosucra’s suppliers, starting with chicory growers.

Efficiency and transparency

The latter access a series of personalised financial and administrative information through this secure portal in the cloud. The agronomists from Cosucra also provide growers with a series of historical data on their crops. Increasingly, the information exchange will be two-way as growers may also communicate key information on the stat of their fields (date and variety of sowing, soil properties, harvesting date, etc.) leaving the old paper forms behind.

“This portal allows us to exchange information much faster and more efficiently with our growers, reducing the risk of encoding errors. We are moving towards paperless processes,” Fabien Caré, the IT director at Cosucra explains. 

In due course, these real-time exchanges of information ‘between factory and field’ will allow Cosucra to optimise its production by anticipating crop results. 

Eyes open to artificial intelligence

With delaware, Cosucra has realised a ‘proof of concept’ to test the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and ‘machine learning’ in its specific sector of activity. “We can see what this could give us, in particular to validate or invalidate some intuitions or beliefs of our agronomists,” explains Fabien Caré. “delaware challenges us and informs us of the range of digital options open to us. We can now set our priorities.”

“Thanks to delaware, we are ready to move forward in our digital transformation and have a good insight into the digital possibilities,” Fabien Caré, IT director at Cosucra.

The added value of delaware for Cosucra

• Technical expertise combined with agribusiness sectoral knowledge (in particular the SAP FAST-FOOD modules)
• A single point of contact for both SAP and Microsoft competences (Office 365, SharePoint, Azure), which facilitates the development of gateways from the back end to the front end.
• The complementarity of the Cosucra/delaware project team