The Opportunity

ISC is supporting industry to fast track a transition from paper NVDs to digital consignments. MLA Donor Company (MDC) co-funding is available to support processors, livestock agencies, saleyards, transporters and their software providers to shift their businesses and supply chains towards electronic National Vendor Declarations (eNVDs).

ISC is seeking project proposals from commercial supply chain parties who are interested in taking advantage of the benefits of end-to-end supply chain digitisation of National Vendor Declarations (NVDs). This will be achieved by implementing a co-funded program of work to uplift their business’ systems, processes, culture and capabilities (people and technology) which results in a shift to digital eNVDs. The program of work must involve collaboration between supply chain partners and will increase digital consignments by the end of the project.

Background

Integrity Systems Company (ISC) is a subsidiary of Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and is responsible for managing and delivering the core components which make up Australia’s red meat integrity system. A key component of the red meat integrity system is the use of NVDs. The Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) NVD is a key legal document used to declare necessary and valuable information about the food safety and treatment status of livestock when being moved between properties. Paper based NVDs have been in use since the 1990s and an alternative, eNVD platform was deployed in 2017.

Since 2017, the eNVD platform has evolved and includes both a website and mobile application. The eNVD platform supports end-to-end digital transfer of livestock consignments including Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) NVDs, Meat Standards Australia (MSA) Vendor declarations, national health declarations and National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme (NFAS) forms.

Digital consignments can be created on the eNVD website, or using the eNVD app. Both are considered eNVDs. eNVDs immediately transfer consignment data to the eNVD recipient (destination / consignee PIC) and the transporter (if included), enabling a paperless transfer. If required, eNVDs may be printed from both the app and web. In locations without internet, the eNVD can be transferred between a creator and the next party using QR codes, but does require creator and receiver to be side-by-side. eNVDs address the inefficiencies of paper NVDs from the book such as not readable, lost, use of old versions, and incomplete data.

Benefits of eNVDs to the receivers include:

· Receive consignment information ahead of the livestock arrival, allowing early insight into upcoming consignments and corrections to be made ahead of livestock arrival,

· Improved administration efficiency by removing manual and duplicative data entry requirements or the need to request correction of NVD details,

· Reduces the processing time of NVDs by receivers,

· Ensure the latest NVD form is always received,

· eNVDs are saved in the cloud and are accessible at any time; and

· enable integration into existing software systems to provide streamlined data management

Benefit to the creators of eNVDs include:

· It is free for the NVD creator to use; no need to purchase books,

· The latest form is always available on the eNVD platform including new questions for voluntary LPA modules as they are added in response to emerging markets; and

· You only need to enter details once and the eNVD system populates fields of any attached declaration forms (NVD, MSA, NFAS, Health statements etc),

· You can create templates for regular consignments,

· Submitted forms are stored online, in one place. They are then always available and simplifies preparation for LPA audits

The Australian Government has put plans in place to improve the uptake of digital agriculture technologies across the supply chain. In the Red Meat Advisory Council’s Red Meat 2030 vision, the priority ‘Our Systems’ includes initiatives such as ‘Ensuring end-to-end integrity, traceability and provenance’ and ‘Enabling supply chain data integration and efficiency’. This vision highlights the digital direction our industry is taking, where the use of eNVDs via the app or web for livestock consignments is second nature, just like the use of an app or the web to do bank transfers. Before digital or paperless consignments become an industry expectation, ISC currently has co-funding available via the MDC to support your business to implement systems, processes and supply chain activities to take advantage of this technology now.

Project description

ISC is seeking project proposals from commercial parties who are interested in building the capability and capacity of their business and red meat supply chain to fast-track implementation and use of digital NVDs. Projects must work within their business and supply chain to fast-track implementation of the systems, processes, culture and capabilities (people and technology) to take advantage of eNVDs benefits and achieve a shift to digital consignments. Projects may involve the integration of eNVD into the software used by the applicant’s business operations.

An API is available to allow commercial parties to ingest data from eNVD forms. eNVD Developer information including ‘Using the GraphQL API’ is available on-line and ISC can work with the applicant’s relevant software/technology solution provider or project manager to implement the eNVD API. Projects must make an attributable shift in the percentage of consignments that are digital in the business and supply chain i.e. a shift away from paper NVDs to operating with eNVDs. Projects will deliver end-to-end digitization of NVDs in supply chains. Partnerships with supply chains, such as a cohort of livestock suppliers, to drive digital consignment uptake and practice change will be favourably viewed. ISC support will be available to support conceptualisation of the implementation plan, if required.