Digitalization

As digitalization continues to accelerate, changing the way we live, work and communicate, businesses increasingly rely on cloud computing, big data analysis, blockchain and more, to support safe, sustainable, efficient and customer-centric operations and decision-making.

At LDC, we recognize the potential of digitalization to address issues and opportunities across our industry, while enhancing products and services, driving operational efficiencies and productivity, and supporting business growth. Our digital transformation strategy underpins our business commitment to help shape stronger, more resilient and sustainable value chains and food systems.

In 2022, we advanced our digitalization strategy to reinforce key customer relations across our different business lines and regions, sharing market intelligence, logistics reports and other insights. In China, for instance, we launched a new customer portal that provides customers with a secure, one-stop digital hub to streamline commercial processes.

Accordingly, a customized Customer Relationship Management (CRM) was rolled out in Argentina to improve service quality between LDC origination teams and Grains & Oilseeds suppliers, generate new leads for the business and enable the team to improve customer engagement, resulting in high-quality service.

Internally, we advanced with digitalization programs to support commercial decision-making. In addition to enlarging our research teams for enhanced data-based analysis capability, we deployed Microsoft’s Power BI app in all EMEA distribution countries, providing commercial teams with up-to-the-minute market insights and analytics, while in North Asia we rolled out SAP S/4HANAacross the Region for real time operational insights to enhance business steering, productivity and efficiency.

Also on the back office side, our initiatives focus on standardizing repetitive, time-consuming tasks such as document management, inventory controls and other administrative operations, aiming to reduce the complexity of different legacy systems for greater efficiency and alignment, and allow our teams to focus on higher value tasks. In North Latin America, Coffee back office digitization efforts aim to centralize operations within our Shared Service Center in Santos, again using SAP.

Leveraging smart technologies for industrial excellence also offers great supply chain management benefits, such as optimized logistics, real-time data collection for better decision making, more efficient inventory management and increased transparency.

For example, in selected Latin American Grains & Oilseeds facilities we implemented a cloud-based platform that stores operational data and makes it accessible through digital applications. This allows our asset managers to make decisions based on factual, real-time information, resulting in optimized energy consumption amongst other benefits.

Elsewhere, our Freight Platform installed sensors on board vessels to measure and improve efficiency, while the Platform’s strong overall performance was driven by predictive model and accrued digital eco-system integration – from data to decision-making.

Importantly, digitalization also supports our sustainability ambitions. In line with our global commitment to eliminate deforestation for agricultural purposes from our supply chains, in 2022 our Sugar Platform implemented a global satellite-based deforestation monitoring tool that offers real-time imagery, tracking, statistics and analytics, while in South & West Latin America the Grains & Oilseeds Platform launched a new tool for soy producers to make soy sustainability declarations 100% digital.

These are just some of the many initiatives introduced in 2022 as part of our accelerating digitalization journey, aiming to support our teams as they work to engage and empower value chain stakeholders from farm to fork toward a more sustainable future of food and agriculture.