MASTER THESIS

TITLE: Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post

Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

MASTER’S DEGREE: Master's degree in Applied Telecommunications

and Engineering Management (MASTEAM)

AUTHOR: William Safo Oboobi

ADVISOR: Jesus Alcober Segura

DATE: January 30, 2020

Title: Design and implementation of intelAgri platform to reduce Post
Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

Author: William SafoOboobi

Advisor: Jesus Alcober Segura

Date: January 30, 2020

Abstract

The intelAgri project is aimed at introducing solutions to serious shortcomings

in agribusiness in Ghana. To provide incentives in the development and
enhancement of the bounties within our borders; incentives which have so far
eluded the agricultural sector by reason of Post-Harvest Loss (PHL). Research
has proven that about 50% of the total harvest, especially of perishable farm
produce is loss even before getting to the consumer.

Our solution entails applying expertise in the use of innovation in

telecommunication to provide real time interface between farmers and buyers
for the express purpose of reducing PHL. This will accommodate the obvious
inadequacies in basic infrastructure like logistics, poor road networks,
incoherent government policies among others, prevalent in the Sub Saharan
Africa.

This project also aims to spotlight solutions for utilization by government in

shaping policies in the agricultural sector. It proposes to design and implement
platforms that will bring farmers together on one hand and connect them to
buyers on the other all in real time. Our proposed solutions are designed to
overcome the obstacles posed by a preponderance of farmers with no or low
formal education.

The proposals adduced by this project will ride on the use of Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) software featuring a website functionality to
showcase an on-line marketplace. It will also include the creation of farmers’
hub and the participation of the Local Telecommunication Companies (Telcos)
employing the unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) solution.

The proposals do not only aim at reducing Post Harvest Loss but to:
1. Improve the income of the farmer.
2. Provide incentives for investments in the agricultural sector.
3. Contribute to National Food and Nutritional Security.
4. Stimulate floundering economy. Agriculture contributes to 54 % of
Ghana’s GDP and accounts for over 40 % of export earnings, while at
the same time providing over 90 % of the food needs of the country and,
5. Contribute to universal human right which the current food insecurity has
left unmet.
CONTENTS

TABLE OF FIGURES

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………. 1

CHAPTER 1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES…………………………………………………… 5

1.1. Motivation……………………………………………………………………… 5
1.2. Proposed Solution………………………………………………………………….. 5
1.3. Aiding Government Policies……………………………………………………….. 5
1.4. e-Agribusiness Platforms Research in Sub-Saharan Africa…………………… 5

CHAPTER 2. INTRODUCTION OF ERPS…………………………………………………. 10

2.1. Introduction ERPs for intelAgri……………………………………………………. 10
2.2. Adopting ERP………………………………………………………………………. 11

CHAPTER 3. ADAPTING ODOO ERP intelAgri…………………………………………. 15

3.1. Initial Configuration………………………………………………………………… 15
3.2. Installation of Modules…………………………………………………………….. 16
3.2.1. Sales Management…………………………………………………………... 16
3.2.2. Customer Relationship Management……………………………………… 17
3.2.3. Purchase Management……………………………………………………… 17
3.2.4. Inventory Management……………………………………………………… 17
3.2.5. Invoicing………………………………………………………………………. 17
3.2.6. Website Builder………………………………………………………………. 18
3.3. Business Process Management………………………………………………….. 18
3.3.1. intelAgri Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN)………………... 19
3.4. A Typical Sales Generation Process in intelAgri……………………………….. 22
3.5. intelAgri Business Model Canvas………………………………………………… 24
3.6. ODOO Front End Capabilities in intelAgri……………………………………….. 24

CHAPTER 4. REAL TIME INTERFACE BETWEEN FARMERS AND BUYERS……... 26

4.1. Farmers’ e-Hub…………………………………………………………………….. 26
4.2. Collaboration with Telcos…………………………………………………………. 27
4.3, Scenario of intelAgri’s Purchase of Produce through e-Hub………………….. 28

CHAPTER 5. intelAgri AS A MIDDLEMAN……………………………………………….. 30

CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………… 33

ACRONYMS…………………………………………………………………………………… 35

REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………… 36

ANNEX…………………………………………………………………………………………. 38
Table of Figures
Figure 0.1. Food losses vary by the stage of supply chain across countries …...5
Figure 0.2.Food losses vary by commodity across countries……………….……6
Figure2.1. ERP system’s modules…………………………………………………13
Figure2.2.Odoo’s customised ease of use comp. chart ………………………..17
Figure3.1. Odoo’s “app store”………………………………………………………18
Figure3.2. Installed Modules………………………………………………………..20
Figure3.3. Business Process Management……………………………………….21
Figure 3.4. intelAgri BPMN ………………………………………………………….22
Figure3.5. Sale Generation Process in intelAgri………………………………….26
Figure 3.6. intelAgri Business Model Canvas……………………………………..26
Figure3.7. The intelAgri website……………………………………………………27
Figure3.8. The Contact Form……………………………………………………….28
Figure4.1.A basic Illustration of the e-farmers’ hub………………………………30
Figure4.2. Some existing Telcos in Ghana………………………………………..30
Figure 4.3. Collaboration with Telcos using the USSD technology……………..31
Figure 4.4. Analysis of purchase of tomatoes by intelAgri……………………….32
Figure5.1. intelAgri as a Middleman Diagram…………………………………….33
Figure5.2. intelAgri Sales Teams…………………………………………………..33
Figure 5.3. Customer’s request……………………………………………………..34
Figure5.4. A Sent Quotation to Customer…………………………………………34
Figure 5.5. Purchase Order to Procurement………………………………………35
Figure 5.6. Received Produce by the Logistic Team……………………………..35
 Introduction 1

INTRODUCTION
For decades, Post-Harvest Loss and its negative impact has plagued
agriculture worldwide. Africa has borne the brunt of this menace. With about
80% of Africa’s population engaged in agriculture, and also utilizing primitive
methods of farming, food production levels have not been commensurate to the
quantum of labour dedicated to it. The result is that in spite of good soil fertility
Africa imports food that it otherwise should be producing. Matters are made
worse by the fact that even the modest efforts and investments put into food
production is blighted by the particularly chronic menace of post-harvest loss.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that one third of the food
produced globally for human consumption is lost or wasted along the supply
chain every year (fig. 0.1 below). Losses are even higher in Africa, Ghana
inclusive and have a negative effect on food security, nutrition and economic
stability. The loss of harvested maize and other food commodities can be
qualitative or quantitative. Quantitative losses are easy to determine and report
since they constitute a physical reduction in the marketable volume and can be
easily measured. Globally, quantitative grain losses for example, are estimated
to be 10–20% of the total volumes.

This is a whopping 1.3 billion metric tons of food that doesn’t ever reach the
consumer. Some reports have estimated that this lost or wasted food could be
used to feed 1.6 billion people every year.

Figure 0.1. Food losses vary by the stage of supply chain across countries

In Africa, the losses are even higher: between 30% and 50%. They occur
mainly downstream, between the production and retail stages of the supply
chain. Fruit and vegetable losses are estimated to be 50% or more (figure 0.2)
2 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

[1]. This estimate is cumulative because losses occur at every stage of the
supply chain – from production to the consumption. Losses at the farm level can
be attributed to poor harvest practices, poor handling, non-adherence to
farming best practices and a land tenure system that is resistant to mechanized
farming (figure 0.1).

Generally, any loss of produce translates to lost production resources, mainly

land, water, energy and inputs. It is obviously lost income for the various actors
in the supply chain. A 2011 World Bank study estimated the value of African
grain losses alone at USD$4 billion for grains alone in Africa. This could
feed 1.6 billion people each year [1].

This study further showed that 470 million smallholder farmers suffer a decline
of 15% income, while 25% of fresh water and 20% of farmland is wasted on
unconsumed food. These figures are alarming and important in highlighting the
seriousness and impact of post-harvest losses. In Ghana, the impact of post-
harvest losses is felt mostly in perishable farm produce because of their short
shelf life; in many cases about 50% of the harvested farm produce is lost before
it finally gets to the consumer, constituting a serious strain in the supply chain.

With 52% of Ghana’s population engaged in agriculture which also contributes

to 54 % of Ghana’s GDP and accounts for over 40 % of export earnings, while
at the same time providing over 90 % of the food needs of the country [1], the
negative impact of PHL is brought home to every Ghanaian household virtually.

Figure 0.2. Food losses vary by commodity across countries

The world’s population is projected to reach 9 billion people by 2050, with Africa
contributing more than half of that increase [1]. Ghana’s population in 2017 was
28.83million, currently the population of Ghana stands at about 30,141,514
which indicates an increase of over 2million within 2years. To feed these
Introduction 3

people, production must increase by up to 70%. However, production resources

– land, water, energy and so on – are limited and inelastic. Instead of producing
more, we could increase the amount of food available by ensuring that most of
the food produced for human consumption reaches the end user.

Quantitative and qualitative losses negatively impact on all aspects of food

security – access, availability, utilisation and stability. There can be no
sustainable food systems when 30% of food produced using limited production
resources is lost or wasted along the supply chains (figure 0.2). There are
unique challenges at each stage depending on specific commodities and value
chains as well as context. The causes are complex and interrelated; actions or
lack of action at one stage of the supply chain could be the driver of post-
harvest loss at a different stage.

Qualitative and quantitative losses are driven by poor or wrong harvest

practices and poor handling. This includes poor storage or packaging, mode of
transport, processing practices, lack of or poor access to markets and poor
coordination among the actors in the supply chains. There are other broader
factors such as poor infrastructure and lack of policies that have a direct impact
on post-harvest issues.

Many technologies and innovations have been developed to address the

various causes of food losses. However, some of these have either not reached
the targeted user or have not had the desired result. This is partly because
people aren’t aware of them or can’t afford them. Some technologies are also
unsuitable for the African context.

Creating awareness about the applicable technologies and demonstrating their

benefits is one way to yield results. This strategy has been used in promoting
hermetic storage bags for grains. Hermetic storage is a proven solution for the
threat of storage pests like weevils which attack stored grain. Its adoption has
risen because of stakeholders’ concerted efforts. The same aggressive
campaign should be adopted for other technologies that are useful for
smallholder farmers. In this discourse, further technologies for intervention will
need to be explored. Technologies that will leverage on emerging innovations in
telecommunications.

Fortunately, Africa, nay Ghana is witnessing rapid expansion in innovations in

Telecommunications, with mobile connectivity having tremendous impact in
business and social activities across Africa. This development has tended to
mitigate to a large extent obstacle presenting in the forms of inadequate
infrastructure and low levels of formal education on the parts of stakeholders in
the supply chain.

intelAgri proposes a platform to connect rural farmers in the remote parts of

Ghana together with buyers of their produce, creating a real time interface
between them for the purpose of reducing the scourge of PHL. This platform is
important in that not only will it leverage on innovations in telecommunications,
it will also be user friendly; giving easy access to individuals with low formal
education while not excluding those in the supply chain that are internet survey.
 4 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

We believe that our model will contribute positively to the reduction and
perhaps, the complete elimination of PHL in the nearest future.

The document is divided into the following chapters:

● Chapter 1 explains the aims and objectives with a proposed solution along with
an intensive research of the existing e-Agric platforms in Sub Saharan Africa
and their focus.
● Chapter 2 highlights on the introduction of ERPs researched and conclude on
the ideal choice for intelAgri project.
● Chapter 3 gives a detailed explanation of how our preferred ERP (Odoo) was
adapted to meet an objective of intelAgri, a concise BPMN for it and a model
canvas designed for the project.
● Chapter 4 focuses on giving an overview of how a real time interface is
established between farmers and buyers through collaboration with the Telcos
to aid intelAgri plug in to an already existing farmers’ hub in Ghana with a
typical scenario of the process.
● Chapter 5 presents the design, implementation and a proof of concept on how
the Odoo ERP provides a platform for intelAgri to act as a middle man using the
intelAgri BPMN as a means to provide a real time interface between farmers
and buyers in a bid to reduce PHL.
● Chapter 6 is the conclusion of the intelAgri project.
Aims and Objectives 5

CHAPTER 1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1.1. Motivation
The intelAgri project is aimed at introducing solutions to serious shortcomings in
agribusiness in Ghana. To provide incentives in the development and
enhancement of the bounties within Ghana. Approximately 80% of human
capital in Africa is invested in agriculture, it being the economic mainstay. The
practice of agriculture in Africa has so far been sluggish in plugging into the
digital age, to the effect that the practice has remained relatively at a
subsistence level. The insufficiencies inherent in this type of farming are made
even worse by heavy losses incurred after harvest. We also aim at introducing
digital solutions that will help farmers efficiently manage their resources within
the framework of the prevalent farming methods because efficient management
of resources will ultimately reduce post-harvest loss.

1.2. Proposed Solution

Our solution involves broad spectrum application of digital resources spanning
cyberspace and telecommunications technology to provide real time interface
between farmers and buyers of their produce. This will accommodate the
obvious lack or absence of basic infrastructure like poor road networks,
unregulated transportation system, dilapidated equipment, and insecurity
among others. This will also provide an incentive for the injection of improved
human capital that should enhance good returns on investment.

1.3. Aiding Government Policies

Our aim is to enable government leverage on our solutions in shaping policies
in the agricultural sector. Government will therefore benefit from data provided
by intelAgri in this regard. Data to be provided by intelAgri will include the
number of farmers, their locations, their contacts, acreage of land under
cultivation, and kinds of crops produced. Data will also include rainfall patterns,
weather conditions, agricultural best practices and other harvest loss abating
processes envisaged as the project evolves.

1.4. E-Agribusiness platforms Research in Sub Saharan Africa

In a bid to assess the extent of the penetration of e-commerce platforms in
agribusiness in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) within which our core area of project
application – Ghana is located, a lot of time has been expended in exhaustive
and intensive research of existing platforms in order to determine the similarities
or otherwise of their purpose to ours. Our research subjects span the West
African Sub region, the East and Central Africa, the South West and South
Africa including the Islands of Comoros, Equatorial Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean
and Madagascar in the India Ocean.

Our research findings show the huge potentials in agriculture in the sub-
6 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

continent (Sub Saharan Africa) that can be harnessed by the timely intervention
of innovative technology in the digital space. To better understand the
transformative potential of the digital space in Africa, it is an established fact
that smallholder farmers make up more than 60 percent of Africa’s population
and grow 80 percent of its food. Our project is poised to leverage on the rapid
expansion of internet connectivity in sub Saharan Africa which stands at about
half a billion with an expected growth of about 725 million in the next 5years.
This is also coupled with an even deeper and wider penetration of GSM phone
connectivity.

This expansion in connectivity has given rise to a rapid growth in e-commerce

platforms all over Africa. Mercy Corp [3], an NGO supported by the Bill and
Melinda Gates foundation, and one of our research subjects, inventoried
models from around the world with a focus on agricultural markets. Their
Researchers reviewed 11 digital marketplaces for agriculture, ranging from new
and innovative players like Twiga foods in Kenya to well-known giants like
Taobao. Alibaba and Amazon maybe icons of e-commerce in the sense that
they link consumers to an endless array of buying options [3]. However, a wider
variety of companies with more focused and nuanced models are emerging in
developing markets, addressing constraints inherent to those markets, including
lack of infrastructure, low financial inclusion, and poor access to technology,
often resulting from lack of political will on the part of government.

Our research into some of the countries highlights this lack of political will and
its adverse effects in the realization of inherent agricultural potentials.

In Equatorial Guinea, the enabling environment for growth in the agricultural

sector has been almost non-existent. The Ministry of agriculture was headed by
a senior government official ostensibly to emphasize the importance of
agriculture as a major contributor to the country’s GDP yet, of the 45Billion
dollars of oil revenue that accrued to the country between the year 2000 and
2013 [4], there are no indications that any significant portion of that revenue
was ever spent in the development of the agricultural sector. Hence the
agribusiness development did not seem to be a priority.

In Cameroon, agriculture was the principal occupation of 56 percent of the

economically active population thus contributing to 44 percent of the country’s
GDP [5]. It was once noted as the cornerstone for growth of the formal
economy, agricultural development and productivity declined from neglect
during the oil boom years of the early 1980s. However budgetary allocations
that would have been used in harnessing the potentials in agriculture is rather
expended in building and maintaining machinery for government self-
perpetuation.

Our survey spotlight top Agric centred e-commerce platforms that focus on
different aspects of agribusiness. Some of these platforms are already up and
running in different countries, many more are operating as pilot projects
sponsored by such foreign bodies and NGOs as Food and Agricultural
Organization (FAO), World Food Program (WFP), World Health Organization
(WHO) among others. All platforms and apps surveyed are focussed on
Aims and Objectives 7

agribusiness but with emphasis on different aspects; marketplace, food hub,

product pricing, logistics, finance, agricultural inputs and extension services.

Emsika, based in Zambia [6] is a platform specialized in wholesale and retail

trade in agricultural inputs ranging from farm equipment, agro-chemicals to
seedlings. It is a platform through which wholesalers and retailers can source
products through their website. Emsika also proposes to introduce an app to
further enhance its performance. However, this platform can only be accessed
by individuals with above average literacy level and only serves those with large
scale mechanized or semi-mechanized commercial farms.

AgriZoom[7] is a crowdfunding and e-commerce platform powered by an

Android app that is revolutionizing agriculture in the Congo DR. Its crow funding
activity is aimed at scaling from subsistence to commercial agriculture and to re-
energize cooperatives in farmers, fishermen and processors of agricultural
products. The AgriZoom platform is only accessible via smart phones powered
by android. This implies that it is only limited to smart phone users with internet
connectivity to be able to download this app.

In Nigeria, easyagro is a tech-driven company which owns an e-commerce

marketplace platform (easyagrog.com.ng) created specifically for small-holder
farmers, all Agribusinesses and Final consumers of Agricultural products and
services. easyagro is web-based marketplace platform that can be accessed
through subscription. It is designed to empower small holder farmers to have
direct access to the urban market demands at the comfort of their farm. It also
provides a link to a mixed bag of key players like manufacturing companies,
groceries, eateries, value adding companies, hotels, agro-storage companies,
logistics, the urban market trade Union and to the final consumer of Agricultural
products and services. It does not have the mechanism for reaching the
remotest small holder famers who are educationally disadvantaged.

Farm Fresh [8] in the Gambia, is also a platform that has tweaked the
marketplace to include home delivery. It is a premier online food store and
delivery service in the Gambia. By partnering with smallholder farmers, Farm
Fresh ensures a regular source of income generation for farmers thereby
contributing towards poverty alleviation. It thus intervenes in the value chain by
bridging the existing gap between production and delivery. The platform
enables Gambians in the diaspora to order and pay directly online to purchase
fresh and healthy food for their families in Gambia.

Twiga [9] is a top-rated organized platform that the creators say has been
bridging gaps in food and market security for an efficient, fair, transparent and
formal marketplace. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, it sources quality produce from
thousands of farmers, providing them with a ready guaranteed market, and
delivers from its pack houses to thousands of vendors, at prices fair to
everyone, acting as a food hub in this regard. It simply aggregates produce
from various farms, send them to their warehouses for onward distribution to
about 60 destinations. They pay for produce on farm, harvest it themselves and
do all the necessary coordinations.
8 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

KHULA [10] from South Africa has apps and platforms that address the area of
logistics (transportation, cold chain and warehousing). KHULAs driver app
allows for shared logistics costs amongst many farmers. A warehouse
management platform manages farmer profiles, it allows the viewing of
inventory levels in the warehouse location radius. In addition, it allows for the
sharing of cold chain to enable the delivery of products fresh every time.

Coming to Ghana, Esoko [11] is an award-winning agricultural profiling and

messaging service platform, it is leveraging on the explosive growth of cellular
services in Africa. The platform which is managed on the web and delivered via
mobile is used by individuals, agribusiness and government. It is primarily a
platform that enables the user to collect and send out market data that includes
market prices of different commodities using simple text messaging.The Esoko
platform provides automatic and personalized price alerts, buy and sell offers,
bulk SMS messaging, stock accounts and SMS polling. Though Esoko is a
private initiative based in Accra, its services extend to 16 countries; Ghana,
Nigeria, Swaziland, Burundi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Ivory Coast,
Madagascar, Rwanda, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania,
and Uganda. Along with the technology, Esoko has a partner support program
focused on capacity building and financial sustainability, with an emphasis on
market data enumeration and business development services. In Esoko, we see
an obvious collaboration with the local Telco. However, this collaboration
facilitates the sharing of market data (market prices) and sundry information that
are disseminated via SMS, voice messages, and call centre that do not
necessarily need internet connection. In addition, the collaboration includes the
purchase and sale of bulk SMS. While smallholder farmers in remote areas may
receive information on market prices and extension services through SMS,
voice call among others, there is no concerted efforts to link the farmer to a
buyer in real time. Glaringly, Esoko is deficient in the area of PHL reduction.

All e-agribusiness platforms surveyed indicate commendable efforts in pushing

the digital frontiers within the context of agribusiness in SSA. They have
excelled to some level, in surmounting the myriad challenges besetting
agriculture and agricultural practices in SSA to the extent that the levels of
connectivity have allowed. Thus, the impact of these platforms on the supply
chain has been appreciable, and with the impending explosive growth of cellular
services, and even greater multitude of innovative players are expected to join
the fray.

However, the successes registered by these platforms run parallel with obvious
voids that have not been addressed, mostly because the models that drive
these platforms do not take into account the importance of filling these voids.
Our survey revealed that the platforms are rather elitist in that they are mostly
web based presented in languages that border on the abstract and accessible
to people with above average education, not inclusive of the vast number of
practitioners in agriculture that have low or no formal education. PHL which
accounts for 50 to 70% of loss in the farmer’s productivity in Ghana is very
huge. It is a phenomenon that is endemic throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, the
reduction of which should lead to increase productivity and income for the
farmer. All platforms surveyed do not have a mechanism for PHL reduction. It is
Aims and Objectives 9

not clear whether any of the platforms surveyed is managed via ERP software.
intelAgri’s proposal differs from all the above platforms researched in that it is
inclusive of practitioners with all levels of education and targeted at reducing
Post-Harvest Loss.
10 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

CHAPTER 2. INTRODUCTION OF ERPS

Enterprise Resource Planning, also referred to as ERP, is a business
management software that enables an organization or a company to use a
system of integrated applications to manage the business and automate many
office functions related to technology, services and human resources [12]. The
goal of the survey is to be able to identify one that is most suitable for the
intelAgri project and also provide one central repository for all information that is
shared by all the various ERP facets to improve the flow of data across the
organization.

Figure 2.1. ERP system’s modules. Source: IndiaMART

2.1. Introducing ERPs for intelAgri

ERP systems evolved rapidly during the 1990s. They provided a cost-effective
way of replacing multiple, old systems with a standardized package.

In recent times, ERPs have become more user friendly by incorporating such
front office functions as customer relationship management (CRM), E-business,
and Supplier Relationship Management (SRM). Mostly web based, this latest
generation of ERPs allows the interaction of clients, employees and suppliers in
real-time. In addition, current advances include the integration of mobile devices
with ERP systems to enhance the efficiency and ubiquity of such systems. The
integration of ERPs with mobile devices is a confluence of tools that are vital to
Introduction to ERPS 11

the IntelAgri project, specifically towards the reaching of the objective of

reducing PHL.

2.2. Adopting ERP

ERP software has for many years witnessed rapid and extensive development.
It has in the process become an industry standard and a highly competitive
sector. This development has led to a preponderance of proprietary and open
source alternatives, each lending itself to different customers or business
applications in terms of suitability which in turn, benefit from different trade-offs.
In choosing the best suited option for IntelAgri, it has become necessary to
engage in an intensive research into the different available alternatives. By so
doing, we thus present an overview of the leading ERP software brands.

 Trending ERPs Research

Netsuite is a complete and scalable ERP software designed for fast-growing,

mid-sized and large businesses [13]. It offers a homogenous solution for
businesses from the top management cadre to the key clerical staff. Back-end
and front-end processes are automated including order management, inventory
management, financial management, revenue management, billing, and fixed
assets. Its strong points are in its supply chain visibility, fast order-to- cash
process and revenue recognition management. Netsuite’s high price and
complexity of use makes it affordable largely to big corporations that can also
afford the technical staff needed to operate it.

Another heavy weight ERP software is SYSPRO [14]. Its footprint is indicated in
a large customer base, catering to the mid-sized enterprise market. With
particular emphasis on manufacturing and distribution, SYSPRO ERP product is
a purpose-built solution. It is unique in the sense that, It is cloud based as well
as on premise and studded with a powerful set of modules designed to help
Businesses run smoothly. SYSPRO is a prefered ERP by businesses by reason
of its industry-grade features. It can seamlessly integrate with external systems
and intelligent devices, regardless of its deployment type. It expedites
redundant processes, improves supply chain collaboration, and makes
operations more efficient by the use of BOT agents.

Epicor is an ERP which specialty is in manufacturing, distribution, retail and

services. It is widely used medium-sized to large scale businesses. It supports
Internet of Things, Big Data and business analytics [13]. Fully-integrated, it
handles CRM, accounting, project management, human capital, inventory, pre-
production, finance, and supply chain etc. Epicor ERP’s modular architecture
enables customization without compromising on the system’s full-level
performance. The platform offers a familiar interface for client-based and
browser-based navigation. It also supports remote or on-location employees
through its mobile app that is available on iOS and Android devices [15].
12 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

SAP ERP [17] is a full-suite platform that makes accessible, analytical apps,
key data, and essential tools designed to simplify the business process. This
enables have businesses have a headstart in a highly competitive environment
[16]. Its constituent modules, CRM, financial management, human capital
management, product lifecycle management, and supply chain management
among others make it an exceptionally integrated platform. It is available on-
premise, online or a combination of both to give easy and ready access to any
user at anytime. It is scalable to the need of any Business. Once again its high
price and complexity puts it out of reach of most small and medium sized
businesses.

Odoo is an integrated group of applications made up of modules for project

management, billing, accounting, inventory management, manufacturing, and
purchasing. These modules interacts with each other in an efficient and
seamless manner, exchanging information. Odoo makes friendlier with a simple
interface, ERP which can be rather complex. Thus, it amalgamates, e-
commerce, POS, sales and project management, and MRP in one tool. It
replaces the need for having multiple applications to run a business. With 100
modules, the system allows you to even add more. You can tack on access to
apps for a monthly fee that help you build a website, install e-Commerce
portals, run a CRM, and so on and so forth. The beauty of this system is that it
enables you to run a slim setup. With a user friendly and intuitive graphical
interface and features that are highly modular, Odoo however is not without
drawback. For one, apps that are free for download are limited. Though it gives
the user freedom to add more modules, that activity requires a technical
expertise. Luckily, adding more apps isn’t prohibitively expensive; each module
comes at a cost of 20USD per month of use [18].

Dolibarr ERP is an open source and web-based ERP for small and medium
sized entities. It offers modules for end-to-end management solutions for small
and midsize businesses from keeping track of invoices, contracts, orders,
inventory and payments to managing documents and supporting electronic
point-of-sale system [16]. Dolibarr comes with everything an ERP needs,
including accounting, CRM, HR, and inventory modules. That Dolibarr is
popular is very obvious. The fact that it is free and readily customizable has
made it the acknowledged leader in free software and open-source ERP [19].

WP ERP is tailor made for start-up and small businesses contemplating

expansion. Its core modules, which include accounting, CRM and HR are totally
free [20]. Using this platform is particularly easy for those using WordPress for
their blogging activities. In all, it is scalable and flexible thus easily adaptable to
specific customer needs.

Our research covered a select number of ERPs, from Proprietary through Open
Source to even Free. All categories offered very interesting features, however
not all lend themselves in suitability to IntelAgri. The high costs, inflexibility,
Introduction to ERPS 13

complexity and accessibility requiring technical expertise among others, have

ruled out the Proprietary ERP software as a suitable option. Of the Open
Source ERPs researched, Odoo emerged as the choice. Though it is not free, it
was still chosen for all the reasons for which the Proprietary ERPs were
rejected. For one, Odoo offers one application for free for unlimited users when
hosted online, and adding additional apps do not attract prohibitive cost, cost
which can easily be accommodated by IntelAgri.

Odoo’s distinction is that the whole system revolves around a collection of apps.
The software has apps to cover everything from warehousing, manufacturing,
and sales channels, to timesheets, websites, and purchasing. This gives
IntelAgri access to features that can be adapted onto the peculiarities typical of
the business environment in which the IntelAgri project will apply. Besides,
Odoo’suser-friendly interface is a winner. It enables the installation and use of
the modules without technical expertise. This is demonstrated in the “drag and
drop” features offered by the website module expressing the ease with which
anyone without prior knowledge in html can build e-commerce website from
scratch. The table below is a summarised ERP appraisal from which Odoo ERP
was chosen as suitable for IntelAgri, followed by figure 2.1, an illustration of
Odoo ERP in the Gartner magic quadrants in the market.

Netsuite Syspro SAP EPICOR Dollibar WP Odoo

Affordability No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Accessibility Limited Limited Limited Limited Yes Yes Yes
Scalability Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Customizability Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Cost No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Effectiveness
User Friendly No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Full Features Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes

Table 2.1ERP Appraisal

14 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

Figure 2.2. Odoo’s customised ease of use comparism chart amongst ERPs in
the market. Source: Odoo.com.
AdaptingOdoo ERP to intelAgri 15

CHAPTER 3. ADAPTING ODOO ERP TO intelAgri

The adaptation of Odoo ERP to intelAgri is predicated on the choice of Odoo as a

suitable resource for the operation of our platform in a sustainable manner and in
accordance with the business custom typical of the Ghanaian environment. Its
design avails intelAgri of the processes that will impact the supply chain to produce
the desired aim of reducing PHL with the attendant result of improving the income
of the farmer on the one hand, and meeting consumer demand on the other.

3.1. Initial Configuration

To start with, the Odoo version 9 that we deployed in this project is already
installed in a remote server provided by UPC. An admin user was assigned to
IntelAgri through which it logged in to initiate the configuration. The process of
setting up a chart of account for Ghana was completed.

3.2. Installation of Modules

In Odoo, the admin user has latitude to install modules, selecting the ones that
target his specific needs. These modules may range from project management,
billing, accounting, inventory management, manufacturing, point of sale, CRM,
MRP to sales, purchasing among others. Depending on the admin user’s needs,
there are over 100 modules available. The correct functioning of the IntelAgri
project has necessitated the installation of several modules. The installation of
complementary modules i.e. contact form is automatic and consequent upon the
installation of the apps, the details of which shall be enumerated in the following
sections. (Fig. 3.2)

Figure 3.1. Odoo’s “app store”

16 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

3.2.1. Sales Management

This module is the prime mover of the sales operation processes, which covers
quotations to invoices. In addition to enabling the storage of customer’s
preferences like payment terms or addresses, this module also allows navigation
through all the documents relating to the same customer. You can also, through
the integration with CRM, expand your functionality with a feature such as
customizable sales pipelines, automated lead creation among others. It is indeed
the ultimate back end organizer for intelAgri.

3.2.2. Customer Relationship Management

The customer relationship module equips intelAgri with tools to consolidate

customer information and documents into a single CRM database for easy access
and management. Thus, it is basically the combination of practices, strategies and
technologies that is used to manage and analyze customer interactions and data
throughout the customer lifecycle with the goal of improving customer service
relationships and assisting in customer retention and driving sales growth.

3.2.3. Purchase Management

The purchasing process and related aspects in a business often defines its
orientation. Thus, a structured management process is pre-requisite to its
operation. The purchasing management (PM) module enables intelAgri to
moderate this process in order to ensure that all services, goods, supplies, and
inventory needed for the organization to operate are ordered and kept in stock, as
well as control inventory levels and costs associated with purchasing the items. In
addition, it helps to build a strong relationship with vendors.

3.2.4. Inventory Management

Inventory management is the supervision of non-capitalized assets or inventory

and stock items. It is a component of the supply chain management in that it
supervises the flow of goods from manufacturers or vendors to warehouses and
from these facilities to point of sale. A key function of inventory management is to
keep a detailed record of products as it enters or leaves a warehouse or point of
sale. Inventory management involves a retailer seeking to acquire and maintain a
proper merchandise assortment while ordering, shipping, handling and related
costs are kept in check. It also involves systems and processes that identify
inventory requirements, set targets, provide replenishment techniques, report
actual and projected inventory status and handle all functions related to the
tracking and management of material [14]. With robust features that seamlessly
AdaptingOdoo ERP to intelAgri
Agri 17

integrate with accounting, purchase, and sales modules, intelAgri

Agri is availed of the
tool to moderate the process of purchasing through to delivery.

3.2.5. Invoicing

intelAgri employs this module to automate all the processes of invoice

management leading to smooth and effortless operation. Such invoice
management processes as receipts of invoice, extraction of invoice operation,
validation and verification of iinvoice
nvoice information, approval of payments and
archiving of invoice for future reference are done effortlessly.

3.2.6. Website Builder

Website builders are tools that typically allow the construction of websites without
manual code editing. The Odoo website builbuilder gives intelAgri
Agri the latitude to build
a professional website due to its “drag and drop” functionalities which eliminate the
need to write codes. It becomes possible to easily add features to its website as it
grows, features like jobs, eCommerce, custocustomer
mer portal, events, company blog,
call-to-action,
action, newsletter etc. With intuitive interface incorporating WYSIWYG
editor, you can create your page from scratch by dragging and dropping pre pre-made,
customizable building blocks. With the usual integration with CRM, sales, Human
resources, E-commerce,
commerce, Blog live chat& newsletters, it is also integrated with
Gengo for professional standard translation [14]. The installed modules can be
found in this project can be found below in fig. 3.2

Figure 3.2. Installed Modules for intelAgri

3.3. Business Process Management

Business management often involves processes that are complex and varied. The
processes require engaged management in order to effectively run a business.
Management
gement of business processes spans people, systems, functions, customers,
suppliers, and partners, components which are integral to the intelAgri project.
Business process management (BPM) therefore is a collaboration between
businesspeople and information technologists to foster effective, agile, and
transparent business processes. It often involves business process modelling
18 Design and implementation of an intelAgri
Agri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

which basically is an activity of representing processes of an enterprise, so that the

current process may be analysed, improved, an and
d automated [21].IntelAgriin
[21].
modelling its business processes management has adopted Business Process
Model and Notation (BPMN) which is a standard for business process modelling
that provides a graphical notation for specifying business processes in a busbusiness
process diagram.

Figure 3.3. Business Process Management. Source:Keensoft

3.3.1. intelAgri
Agri Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN)

The intelAgri
Agri business process diagram (BPD), the details of which we shall be
describing is based on the BPMN [22] pool and swim lane structure.
 AdaptingOdoo ERP to intelAgri 19

Figure 3.4. intelAgri BPMN

20 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

The above BPMN Process is made up of one pool (PHL) with five lanes; Lead
developer, Sales Team Leader, Sales Team, Procurement and Logistic Team
Lanes respectively representing the departments depicted in the above intelAgri
BPMN diagram.

In the first lane (Sales Team Leader Lane), a lead is generated (from the contact
form filled by persons who show interest on the website, Trade Fairs, markets,
phone calls, business fora and etc). In our case, we have four main sales Team
Leaders in charge of the different products; fruits and vegetables, food crops,
Grains and Cash crops. Any of the Sales Team Leaders can work on the
generated lead which happens to be the start event. The Sales Team Leader
verifies the lead by interacting with it thus communicating with the Lead either via
telephone or email (as indicated in the task 1), this can be done by any of the
Sales Team leaders, however in case the Team Leader at a point notices that the
Lead is relevant to a different sales team, he then hands it over to the appropriate
Sales Team for further development. This task is also performed within the first
lane.

When the Lead becomes won based on enthusiastic response and commitment
of the Lead, it is then converted into an opportunity by the Sales Team in the
second lane. However, the Lead is Lost where response from it is either lacking
or insufficient. The Opportunity could be developed based on different
predetermined parameters for instance; an agreement on price and quantity of
product needed, a negotiated mode of payment, or any other mutually agreed
parameters.

At this point the customer sends his request pertaining to what he needs; the
request is then received by the relevant sales team leader. However, where
request is not confirmed as a result of for instance; request is mistakenly sent to
the wrong sales team or request is not very clear; in the first instance the action
will be to send request to the appropriate sales team leader and in the second
instance, the request is sent back to the customer for further clarification. Note
that, the above are just examples and also action on other scenarios may be
determined by their nature. At this juncture, request has arrived in the appropriate
sales team for processing. However, in the course of processing Customer’s
request, Sales Team will confirm from customer whether or not he wishes to
make any alterations to his request. If he wishes to make any changes, a
questionnaire will then be sent to the customer as to what changes he wishes to
make. Liaising with the procurement, the team determines that customers’
specification in terms of his requests is met.

When the specifications from requests are satisfactory, the Sales team then
raises a quotation for the customer. Upon the acceptance of quotation by
customer, the Sales Team then raises and sends a purchase order to
procurement. Where quotation does not meet customer’s needs, the Customer
may negotiate and send his proposal to the Sales Team or rejects the quotation
outright in which case it becomes a lost opportunity. If the customer chooses to
negotiate, he now sends his proposal back to the Sales Team. The sales team
evaluates the proposal to see if it can be applied; if yes, the Sales Team raises a
 AdaptingOdoo ERP to intelAgri 21

purchase order and sends it to the procurement, where it cannot be applied it

becomes lost opportunity.

The Procurement/Purchase team receives the purchase order and initiates

negotiation with a Supplier possibly for good bargain, best products quality, and
timely delivery, among others. Where negotiations are successful, procurement
purchases products. Procurement prepares and sends notice to Logistic Team
that customer’s goods are ready for delivery. This notice includes all relevant
paperwork indicating who the customer is and the agreed mode of delivery. I n
the Logistic lane, notice (“message”) of readiness of customer’s goods is
received from the Procurement team. The Logistic team then analyzes notice to
check for discrepancies. Where discrepancies are found, it is sent back to
procurement for rectification. Where there are no discrepancies, Logistic Team
prepares and delivers products to Customer. Upon receipt of products, customer
makes payment.

3.4. A Typical Sales Generation Process in intelAgri

The following scenario offers a graphic explanation of the processes that are run
using the Odoo software to the end of generating a sale. It is an attempt to give
the reader a complete understanding of the practical application of the software.
In addition, it apprises the reader of the steps and processes involved in
generating a sale and the functions of all stakeholders to this end.

A potential customer sends request to appropriate sales team leader. Team

leader verifies customer’s request. If the request needs clarification, it is returned
to the customer for further action. The request is sent to the appropriate sales
team for further processing. Sales team evaluates customer’s request. If
customer needs to adjust request, sales team sends questionnaire to customer.
Where no adjustment is needed, customer’s request is sent to the procurement
team to check the availability of customer’s request. Where Customer’s
requirements are available, the sales team raises a quotation to the customer. A
lost opportunity results when his requirements are unavailable.

In which case also, the customer is informed. Customer evaluates the quotation,
where he needs to negotiate the quotation, he sends a proposal to the sales
team. A lost opportunity occurs when Customer completely rejects quotation. The
sales team evaluates the proposal, if the proposal cannot be applied it becomes
a lost opportunity. Where proposal is applicable, sales team raises a purchase
order and sends to procurement team. The procurement team purchases items
ordered. The procurement team sends the notice readiness of customer’s goods
including the mode of delivery. The logistic team evaluates the notice, if there is
any discrepancy it is sent back to procurement for rectification. Where there is no
discrepancy, Logistic delivers products, sales are generated.
22 Design and implementation of an intelAgri
intel platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

Figure 3.5. Sale Generation Process in intelAgri

AdaptingOdoo ERP to intelAgri 23

3.5. intelAgri Business Model Canvas

This business model canvas is an approach that gives a concise account of the
business idea represented by the intelAgri
Agri project. It leverages on the business
canvas as a strategic management tool which works through the fundamental
idea of the intelAgri project
roject which aims at bringing customers and farmers
together in real time. The business idea also aims at maintaining a sustainable
supply chain. The figure 3.6 below is an illustration of intelAgri’s
Agri’s business model
canvas.

Figure 3.6.intelAgri Business Model Canvas

3.6. Odoo Front End Capabilities in intelAgri

The intelAgri
Agri project in addition to its structured back
back-end
end which deploys
modules of the Odoo ERP also features a front end. While the back end is
designed to manage leads and track sales, the front end features a website
primarily to showcase a catalogue of the ddifferent
ifferent varieties of farm produce and
present a point of contact through the contact form for prospective customers.

 The intelAgri Website

The website comprises of four pages; home, about us, Showcase and the
Contact pages as shown in the figure below.
24 Design and implementation of an intelAgri
Agri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

Figure 3.7. The intelAgri website homepage

A home page contains sundry images and our contact information i.e. phone
number and email address. The “About us” page has an overview aims and
objectives, mission and vision of the intelAgri
Agri project. The showcase page is a
display of different products on offer. The last one is the contact page. The
contact page incorporates
orporates the contact form through which a prospective
customer connects with the company. It is through the contact form that a
prospective customer shows his interest to kick start a sales process. At the
filling and submission of a contact form by a pro prospective
spective customer, a lead is
generated to be followed up by the appropriate team leader. With an efficient
way of tracking, managing, storing and contacting lead, it ensures the highest
probability of converting leads to opportunity, and eventually complet
completing a sales
transaction. Figure 2.7.1b is a display of the contact form.

Figure 3.8. The Contact Form

26 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

CHAPTER 4. REAL TIME INTERFACE BETWEEN

FARMERS AND BUYERS

As stated in the overview, the principal solution proposed in this project involves
the broad-spectrum application of digital resources spanning the internet and
cutting-edge telecommunications technology to provide real time interface
between farmers and buyers of their produce. It is a carefully calibrated
approach designed to compensate for the chronic problem of dilapidated
infrastructure especially bad or non-existent roads that hamper access to
market. The same goes for access by farmers to extension services such farm
inputs, advice on best practices and even financial resources. Our structured
approach involves the use of an electronic hub, this time a farmers’ hub, taken
advantage of the collaboration between the hub and the Local
Telecommunications companies, who will employ USSD architecture to
accommodate stakeholders who do not have internet access but can
communicate through voice call and SMS services.

4.1. Farmers’ e-hub

The farmer’s e-hub is integral to the architecture upon which the intelAgri model
is based. It is indeed the central port into which our business platform will plug
in order to access our primary stakeholders (farmers). It contains the
mechanism for a sustainable supply chain. It is a vital element in providing real
time interface between farmers and buyers, a process which is instrumental to
the reduction of PHL.

The e-farmer’s hub is a virtual environment that is populated with data from
individual farmers, cooperatives, farmers’ association and physical food hubs.
Such data include farmers’ profile, their location, crops they cultivate, and
acreage under cultivation among others. The hub is AI driven and thus enables
farmers to have access to e-extension services. This way a farmer can also
respond to a farm produce order request, all these via SMS and voice call. By
this means no farmer is out of reach regardless of how remote his location is.

Another important driver is an SMS-based supply chain management system

that's capable of aggregating any size or tonnage of order in a matter of
minutes through member farmers on the hub. This reduces the logistic cost of
picking up small quantities of produce from one farm gate to another as most
smallholder farms have small yield sizes, a winwin for both farmers and buyers.
All processes within the hub are automated and driven by several layers of
machine learning. The result is that responses to requests are almost
instantaneous. Below, figure 4.1 is a basic illustration of the e-farmers’ hub.
 Real Time Interface between Farmers and Buyers 27

Figure 4.1
1. A basic Illustration of the e-farmers’
farmers’ hub

4.2. Collaboration with Telcos

A real time interface between farmers and buyers of their produce is a synergy
of the hub and Telecommunication’s technology. It is a seamless marriage of
the virtual environment and Telecommunications. It therefore involves a means
by which the hub is accaccessed
essed using a device that does not require internet
connectivity. In the context of this project, it is a means by which the farmer with
baseline education and in a remote area can access the hub through SMS or
voice call. It is in this context also that tthere here is collaboration with the
Telecommunication companies, some of which is depicted in figure 4.2 below.

Figure 4..2. Logos of the existing Telcos in Ghana

28 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

This collaboration is made possible by the use of unstructured supplementary

service data (USSD) technology. Unstructured Supplementary Service
Data (USSD), sometimes referred to as "Quick Codes" or "Feature codes", is
a communications protocol used by GSM cellular telephones [23]. It is a Global
System for Mobile (GSM) communication technology. This technology enables
access to databases and information on the Web, such as may be available on
the farmers’ e-hub and also to input data by simple interactive messaging
through a feature phone. This technology as old as mobile telephony itself. It
can be accessed through any GSM handset. There is no special application or
internet access required on mobile handset to access USSD. The figure 3
below illustrates the collaboration with the Telcos using the USSD technology.

Figure 4.3. Collaboration with Telcos using the USSD technology

4.3. Scenario of intelAgri’s Purchase of Produce through e-hub

intelAgri procurement team receives purchase order for instance 1000 tonnes of
tomatoes. It sends request to the AI driven farmer’s hub either online or GSM.
The request indicating location from which produce is to be sourced, quantity,
time frame or expected delivery date, and suggested price among others.

The AI driven hub does all the necessary processing and sends SMS to farmers
to source the requested produce. Response as to availability is received within
minutes by intelAgri. Purchase is made and produce are delivered within the
specified time frame.

Note also that the farmers can receive payment through mobile money and
other payment methods that can be accessed through feature phones with 48
hours tops. The figure 4.4 below shows a typical path intelAgri might take to
purchase for instance 1000 tonnes of tomatoes plugging into the e-farmer’s
hub.
Real Time Interface between Farmers and Buyers 29

Figure 4.4. Analysis of purchase of tomatoes by intelAgri

30 Design and implementation of an intelAgri
Agri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

CHAPTER 5: intelAgri
Agri AS A MIDDLE MAN
The high flexibility and customizability of the Odoo ERP makes it easily
adaptable to all kinds of business scenarios. Thus, intelAgri Agri has found it
suitable as a platform that will enable it to operate in a sustainable manner
within the business environment prevalent in Ghana. The common theme that
permeates all manner of transactions in Ghana, whether it is for goods or
services, is the traditional system of haggling. The Odoo ERP is robust enough
to accommodate and even improve on this system. It has therefore enabled
intelAgri
Agri to position itself as a middleman. intelAgri
Agri leverages on the fact that
processes run on Odoo are automateautomated
d and fast. By so doing it makes it
possible to reach its stated objective of providing real time interface between
farmers and buyers of their produce. This in turn reduces post
post-harvest
harvest loss. The
diagram in fig. 5.0 depicts a summary of the interaction th
that
at places intelAgri as
a middleman between customers and vendors.

Figure 5.1. intelAgri as a Middleman Diagram

Figure 5.2. intelAgri Sales Teams

 intelAgri as a middle man 31

 intelAgri Setup
intelAgri
Agri is made up of four (4) sales teams each one corresponding to a
particular product (Fruits & vegetable, Cash crops, Food crops and Grains), a
centralised procurement team and Logistics.

In this scenario, a customer sends a request for 2000kg of tomatoes to the Fruit
and vegetable sales team.

Figure 5.3. Customer’s request

The sales team analyzes the request using all available parameters within the
platform. The sales team raise a quotation. The quotation is then analyzes
using parameters within the platform

Figure 5.4. A Sent Quotation to Customer

32 Design and implementation of an intelAgri
Agri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

Where quotation is confirmed, a purchase order is raised. The produce is then

purchased

Figure 5.5. Purchase Order to Procurement

Produce is sent to the Logistic to be delivered to customer

Figure 5.6
6. Received Produce by the Logistic Team

The scenario above is typical of the seamless interaction of the modules in use
in the intelAgri
Agri project. It helps in easily coordinating all the activities of the
different sales teams and departments. A well well-organized
organized back end gives
intelAgri
Agri the tools to consolidate its position as a middleman to the end of
delivering on its stated goal of bri
bringing
nging farmers and buyers of their produce
together in real time.
Conclusion 33

CONCLUSION

This master’s thesis has its core emphasis on providing a real time interface
between farmers in the remote regions in Ghana and buyers of their produce.
The approach utilized in this regard addresses the endemic problem of post-
harvest loss with the intent of reducing it. It is a proof of concept of the solution
proposed by intelAgri of applying digital resources and telecommunications
technology to override the ubiquitous deficit in basic infrastructure common in
Ghana. A concept as radical in origin as the combination of the technologies
proposed for its eventual application.

Basically, the concept is an interplay of cloud computing as represented by the

Odoo ERP, AI driven virtual environment as represented by Farmer’s e-hub and
Telecommunications technology as represented by the Local Telcos using the
USSD architecture. This interplay is done in a carefully calibrated manner. The
Odoo ERP platform as used by intelAgri leverages on the power of cloud
computing to automate processes in the backend and at the same time make
them very fast such that processes that would have taken days or even weeks
to achieve are done within minutes. An AI driven farmers’ e-hub empowers
farmers to respond to order very fast, this way they can also fill orders
regardless of tonnage. The Telcos extend reach to even the remotest regions,
making SMS and voice communication easy and in real time. The result of this
calibrated interplay is a sustainable supply chain, one that is insulated from
issues that have militated against it.

The intelAgri concept in its composition offers a cost-effective approach to

achieving a stable and sustainable supply chain, and to address the
stranglehold of post-harvest loss on the productivity of the small hold farmer in
Ghana. The relatively low cost of Odoo (in terms of installation of modules) and
the non-requirement of technical expertise in its installation and use, is in
evidence. It is both robust and flexible enough for start-ups, and medium to
large scale enterprises. Access fees to the farmers’ e-hub where required, are
as low as the cost of your data bundle. The ability of the hub to moderate the
activities of member farmers especially in aggregating produce from low yield
smallholder farms greatly reduces logistics cost in that it provides for pinpoint
product pick-up. The cost effectiveness translates into benefits for both the
farmers and buyers of their produce, leading to low prices for the buyer and
increased capacity for the farmer.Hence there is a higher throughput and
reduced latency in the stages of the supply chain.

The intelAgri concept is intended, in addition to its principal purpose, to

generate debate on the narrative of the inevitability of innovation in the
agricultural sector. Innovations will be powered by increased capacity on one
hand and agricultural best practices on the other. Practices like crop rotation (as
opposed to the traditional fallow system), mulching and composting (as
opposed to the traditional slash and burn system), organic soil enrichment by
cross cultivating nitrogen fixing crops (legumes), improved seedlings to
34 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

increase yield, use of organic insecticides and herbicides to avoid

environmental degradation to mention but a few, are made possible by
increased capacity on the part of the farmers. The traditional slash and burn
system does not infact enrich the soil but instead belches CO2 into the
atmosphere, contributing to greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.
The total elimination of this system will not only improve crop yield but will more
importantly contribute to attaining the goals espoused by the Paris Accord of
2015 on climate change [24].

As we all know, populations may and indeed do increase but land mass does
not. In other words, the same land mass has to produce to meet the need of a
burgeoning population. It is through innovation therefore that limited resources
can be adapted to meet increasing demand and to limit waste, and mitigate
against environmental degradation. The intelAgri project in practice will
supercharge innovation to increase capacity, on the part of the smallholder
farmer to produce more at a lesser cost and waste little. It will serve as a
catalyst for investment in the agric sector to tackle the paradox that is currently
in evidence in the supply chain.

About 60% of the Ghana population is actively engaged in agriculture, with 58%
of women contributing to the agricultural labour force [25]. Thus to say that,
58% of the smallholder farmers are women. The integrity of the agricultural
sector therefore is upheld by the female gender. The reduction of PHL will go a
long way to empower all women involved at every stage of the supplychain
economically, raise their social status, providing impetus for affirmative action
leading to cultural revolution and changing mindsets that will help bridge the
gender gap in Ghana. 50% of food produced is lost post-harvest, yet Ghana is
a net importer of food to the tune of $2.4Billionusd annually [26]. The intelAgri
concept will help free this money for the improvement of basic infrastructure,
rural development and the Female gender empowerment.

This project is a stepping stone for further research into innovation into the core
issue it addresses and more.
Acronyms 35

ACRONYMS

BPM Business Process Management

BPMN Business Process Model and Notation
BI Business Intelligence
BPD Business Process Diagram
CRM Customer Relationship Management
ERP Enterprise Resource Planning
FAO Food and Agricultural Organization
GDP Gross Domestic Per capita
GSM Global System for Mobile Communication
HR Human Resources
MRP Material Resource Planning
PHL Post Harvest Loss
PM Purchasing Management
PO Purchase Order
POS Point of sale
SMS Short Message Service
SRM Supplier Relationship Management
SSA Sub Saharan Africa
TELCOS Telecommunication Companies
USSD Unstructured Supplementary Service Data
VAT Value Added Tax
WFP World Food Program
WHO World Health Organization
WYSIWYG What you see is what you get
36 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

REFERENCES

[1] «Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,» FAO Ghana,
2019. [Online]. Available: http://www.fao.org/ghana/fao-in-ghana/ghana-at-
a-glance/en/. [Last accessed: 01 December 2019].
[2] N. Schalit, «Why reducing post-harvest losses is a priority for Africa,» The
Conversation, 20 November 2017. [Online]. Available:
https://theconversation.com/why-reducing-post-harvest-losses-is-a-priority-
for-africa-87312. [Last accessed: 01 Dicember 2019].
[3] L. Shrader, O. Morawczynski y A. Karlyn, «Mercy Corps Global,» Mercy
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38 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

ANNEX

 Sales Related Business Terminologies Used in this

project

Sales-based terminologies are terms used in describing the stages of sales

processes within a business, such as lead, opportunity, quotation among
others.

The term “lead” usually is the contact information and in some cases,
demographic information of a potential customer who is interested in a specific
product or service. It is a necessity in every business setting; however, it is most
often very difficult to keep track of this information from potential customers.
Lead generation is the initiation of a potential customer’s interest or enquiry into
products or services of a business. Leads may come from various sources or
activities, for example, digitally via the Internet, through personal referrals,
through telephone calls either by the company or telemarketers, business fora,
through advertisements, markets, person-to-person contact and events

The word “opportunity” as used in business is a qualified lead, it undergoes

multiple sales stages before the deal is won. An opportunity represents a
potential contract. Each opportunity must be followed up by a salesperson
spending time to make a quotation or the cancellation of the opportunity.
Opportunities are usually tracked one by one by the salespeople because that
involves a process of negotiation. Odoo provides several menus to handle sales
opportunities efficiently.

A quotation is also often known as a quote. It is a document that a supplier will

submit to a potential client that lists the proposed prices for the supplier's goods
or services. The quotation is normally created based on certain conditions
stipulated by the client. It is a document which purpose is to invite suppliers into
a bidding process to bid on specific products or services.

A purchase order (PO) is a commercial document issued by a buyer to

a seller indicating types, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services.
It is used to control the purchasing of products and services from external
suppliers or vendors. Purchase order is an integral part of enterprise resource
planning system order.

An invoice, bill or tab is a commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer,

relating to a sale transaction and indicating the products, quantities, and
agreed prices for products or services the seller had provided the buyer.

 Some Terms Used in Describing the BPMN

Appendix 39

POOL: A Pool represents a Participant in the Process. A Participant can be a

specific business entity (e.g, a company) or can be a more general business
role (e.g., a buyer, seller, or manufacturer).

LANE: A Lane is a sub-partition within a Pool and will extend the entire length of
the Pool, either vertically or horizontally. Lanes are used to organize and
categorize activities within a Pool.

EVENTS: An Event is something that “happens” during the course of a business

process. These Events affect the flow of the Process and usually have a cause
or an impact.

ACTIVITY: An activity is work that is performed within a business process. The

types of activities that are a part of a Business Process Diagram are: Process,
Sub-Process, and Task.

GATEWAY: A Gateway is used to control the divergence and convergence of

Sequence Flow. Thus, it will determine branching, forking, merging, and joining
of paths. Internal Markers will indicate the type of behaviour control.

SEQUENCE FLOW: A Sequence Flow is used to show the order that activities
will be performed in a Process.

 Customers Database

 Detailed Sales Generation Process in Odoo

40 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

Creation of sales teams (Each sales team is made up of a team leader and 3
team members)

 Sales Teams
Appendix 41

 Generated Leads

There are 5 main steps involved in the whole sales process on the intelAgri
platform:
New Customer Qualified Proposition Negotiation Sale

Teams Responsibilities
Team (NEW)
Leader Analyze the request and record the data ordered by the NEW
customer
Assign Ordered request to the relevant Sales Team
42 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

Relevant (QUALIFY)
Sales
Team Discusses the order with the customer

Check availability of product from Procurement team

(PROPOSAL)

Sends Quotation to the customer

Appendix 43

Customer (NEGOTIATION)

Customer signs to confirm that he is ok with the quotation

The platforms enable the customer to haggle where he wants to
negotiate via the feedback button
44 Design and implementation of an intelAgri platform to reduce Post Harvest Lost (PHL) in Ghana

Sales
Team Sends an invoice to Customer

Sales Sends a purchase order to the Procurement to buy the order

Team requested by the customer

Logistic Receives the purchased products from the Procurement team in

Team the inventory, analyzes, validates and delivers to the customer
along with the delivery slip.
Appendix 45