Map of Ag has been working with Red Tractor since 2020 to overcome the challenges of preparing for an assessment and collating documentation for assessors ahead of visits.
Red Tractor is a not-for-profit company which operates an inspection and certification scheme to provide customers and consumers with assurance that Red Tractor food is safe, traceable and farmed with care. During research in 2021, 74% of shoppers that were aware of the Red Tractor logo confirmed it was an independent source they could trust. Red Tractor has worked tirelessly for the past 21 years to drive up standards in food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection in the UK.
Map of Ag’s technology framework supports the delivery of a new web portal for Red Tractor. This enables farmers to upload records and other documentation, allowing the information to be assessed by their independent assessor prior to the physical visit. It ensures Red Tractor assessments are as efficient as possible and has the added benefit of allowing the farmer to keep their documentation all in one place.
“Map of Ag has been a great partner to work with delivering a system which allows a broad range of farmers with different IT capability the opportunity to manage their records and documents centrally via an ‘on-line filing cabinet’. It has allowed us to be more agile as an organisation which has been key during the pandemic when we were the first assurance scheme worldwide to deliver remote inspections.
Throughout the project Map of Ag has contributed ideas on improvements and acted promptly on our feedback and requests for changes. We look forward to continuing to work together to expand and improve the system in the future for the benefit of our members, their customers and the Red Tractor scheme.” Philippa Wiltshire, Head of Operations, Red Tractor.
Red Tractor works with 50,000 British farmers and undertakes 60,000 checks a year across the supply chain. Since launching at the start of the first Covid lockdown in April 2020, more than 650,000 documents have been uploaded the portal covering over 8,750 active farm sites. Key features of the portal include:
- Ability to dynamically change which requirements are shown, depending on the combination of schemes a site is enrolled with; ensuring members can easily see which documents are needed.
- Ability to manage access to each uploaded document and link those documents with relevant schemes; without having to upload the same documents multiple times.
- Simple and intuitive user interface that’s responsive to both mobile, tablet and desktop devices.
- Ability for user to provide supplementary information to suppliers including templates and additional information regarding requirements.
- Live feedback on the status of uploaded information.
- Integration with existing CRM system, ensuring user accounts and authentication are managed centrally.
Rob Burgess, Head of Product at Map of Ag explains: “The feedback we’ve had from members of the Red Tractor scheme has been very positive. They have found the portal very easy to use, while ensuring the whole audit process is more efficient”.
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