In the animal feed manufacturing industry, precision in formulation is essential to ensure consistent product quality and optimal nutrition. At Aboitiz Foods, this accuracy is more than a technical necessity, it is a reflection of the company’s commitment to delivering safe, high-quality, and performance-driven feed products.
Previously, at Gold Coin Medan, the formulation process involved manual data entry—up to 500 lines per recipe—which took approximately 15 minutes per formulation and was prone to errors, inefficiencies, and delays.
To address this, the Business and IT Solutions (BITS) Robotics, Automation & Integration (RAI) team of Aboitiz Foods developed the Bestmix Weigher App, a smart, in-house solution that allows users to upload formulation data directly to the app. Since its implementation, the app has significantly reduced input time to under a minute and provides automated reports that help optimize production performance.
The successful rollout was made possible by close collaboration between teams in the Philippines and Indonesia, who worked through technical and language barriers to deliver a tailored and scalable solution.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What problem did the Bestmix Weigher App solve at Gold Coin Medan?
The feed formulation process previously required manual data entry of up to 500 lines per recipe, consuming approximately 15 minutes per formulation. This approach was not only time-intensive but also prone to human error, operational inefficiencies, and production delays. The manual nature of the process created a consistent bottleneck in day-to-day feed manufacturing, directly affecting the reliability and speed of batch output at the facility.
2. How much time does the Bestmix Weigher App save, and how does it work?
The app reduces formulation input time from approximately 15 minutes to under a minute – a reduction of more than 93%. It works by allowing users to upload formulation data directly to the application, eliminating the need for manual line-by-line data entry. The shift from a manual to a digital upload process removes the primary source of delay and human error, enabling faster and more consistent batch preparation across the production floor.
3. Who built the Bestmix Weigher App and what makes it notable as a solution?
The app was developed in-house by the Business and IT Solutions (BITS) Robotics, Automation and Integration (RAI) team of Aboitiz Foods. Its in-house origin is significant because it means the solution was purpose-built for the specific operational context of Gold Coin Medan, rather than being an off-the-shelf tool adapted for a different environment. It is also described as scalable, indicating it was designed from the outset to be deployable beyond a single facility.
4. What role did cross-border collaboration play in the app’s successful rollout?
The rollout required close coordination between teams based in the Philippines and Indonesia. These teams worked through both technical challenges and language barriers to deliver a solution that functioned effectively in a bilingual operational environment. This cross-border collaboration model demonstrates that internally developed technology solutions can be successfully co-created and deployed across geographically and linguistically diverse operations when teams are aligned around a shared outcome.
5. What are the key takeaways from this innovation?
Three takeaways stand out. First, even well-established manufacturing operations can harbor significant inefficiencies in overlooked areas like data entry. Second, in-house technology development – when resourced and supported correctly – can deliver faster, more contextually appropriate solutions than external alternatives. Third, the app’s automated reporting capability extends its value beyond time savings alone, providing production performance data that supports ongoing operational improvement. Together, these point to a model of continuous, technology-driven operational refinement that is both practical and scalable.
