Department of Agriculture: faster forms processing
Pity Johnny Depp. Maybe he didn’t register his dogs, Boo and Pistol, because of the 19-point checklist and forms he had to fill in weeks before arrival in Australia. Depp was caught out on social media having illegally brought his pets into the country, sparking outrage from Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce and the “buggering off” of the offending terriers back to the US on their private jet.
Pity also agriculture inspectors who until recently captured data with pen and paper and then phoned it back to the office where it was rekeyed. The department has 4,000 staff in 300 sites supported by 135 IT workers. Speaking to a newspaper earlier this year, department CIO Graham Gathercole conceded underinvestment led to outdated processes.
“We have a lot of officers who visit importers and have to clear goods that have come into the country, and it is very difficult to get proper connectivity and have their systems running on the spot,” Gathercole said (18,708 import permits were issued in 2013-14).
Like all federal agencies, Agriculture is transitioning to digital processes under the Digital Continuity policy that aims to cut costs (Agriculture had a $13.4 million operating deficit in 2013-14).
Agriculture is in the midst of a three-year, $11-million program that will deploy 1,500 HP Elite tablets at $900 each by December. It is backed by HP TRIM Records Manager 8, although inspectors enter data in SharePoint and Oracle.
“Three years ago we began evaluating devices to run Windows 8.1 and our direct access technology and we settled on the HP Elite Pad,” Gathercole said.
Optus provides wireless connectivity, including VoIP, video conferencing, data cards, $17 a month phone voice plans and a pooled data plan.
Reflecting on the implementation, HP tablet manager Nada Alterisio says economies of scale kick in when workflows are transformed. “The instant capturing of the data, something that simple, can lead to huge efficiencies and time saving when you multiply across the size of the Department of Agriculture.”
Gathercole credited the system with cutting processing times from 24 hours to 15 minutes, and where a clearance that once took 48 hours, now “we can do almost on-the-spot”.
“Our clients have told us they only want officers with tablets doing their import clearances because they can do what’s necessary in real time.”
If only it had been ready in time for Boo and Pistol.
Fact file
- Number of devices 1,500 whenfully deployed
- Device types HP Elite tablets
- Suppliers HP, Optus
- Value of deal $1.35 million for tablets, including docking stations (project cost $11 million over 3.5 years including back-end systems and R&D)
- Other technology deployed Apple iPhones (208); mobile phones (62); Apple iPads (58); data cards (35); RSA tokens (111); laptops (248); tablet accessories (152); HP TRIM (Records Manager 8) for back-end forms processing
- Technology replaced Paper and pen, manual data entry and re-keying
- Business case Digital Transition
- (2011-2015) and Digital Continuity (Towards 2020) policies
- Challenges New digital business processes to replace manual systems; geographic spread of offices
- Timeline Started last October (deployed 197 HP tablets that month); 500 tablets deployed by April; department expects full deployment by December.
Cross Eatery: customer experience
Ask any of his bleary-eyed morning regulars and they’ll say Marcelo Soto knows how to pour an award-winning cup o’ joe. Schooled at recognised Sydney coffee institution, Mecca Espresso, Soto knows his doppio from macchiato but it was a grind trying to find a hospitality solution that would differentiate his new venture.
Last October, Soto and his brother partnered with the founder of Mecca Espresso to open Cross Eatery in the Red Cross building in Sydney’s CBD. In December, Soto engaged Surry Hills specialist retail and hospitality IT integrator SMB Consultants and then over two weeks in April, just before the café opened, he bought a handful of iPads from the Apple Store while SMB crafted a cloud business solution anchored on Kounta point-of-sale.
“Everything I’ve ever done was pen and paper and writing on lids in cafés,” Soto says. “We needed a point-of-sale to help us without getting too many staff on board. [Its benefits] are ease of service, less running around – it’s all instant.”
This is useful because he has a tech-savvy clientele: e-payments vendor Tyro and its FinTech hub are in the same building.
Kounta ties back-of-house ordering and logistics with front-of-house serving. Door staff equipped with iPad Minis greet patrons and take orders sent wirelessly to the barista and till. The solution ties in Beat the Q, a popular order-ahead loyalty coffee app, and Xero accounting. Deputy is next in line to manage staff rosters. And it allows for business growth, says Soto – “We’re about to start catering and this will connect with it.”
Kounta founder Nick Cloete says Cross Eatery is a model hospitality IT solution. “Not only are they using iPads to run, manage and grow their business, but they’re also using iPad Minis and mobile devices to extend the point-of-sale experience on to the floor” through mobile checkout without approaching the till, he says. “It allows them to interact with the customers in the store in a much
better way.”
Apple uses a bespoke solution in its retail stores to enable roaming staff to serve its customers, “and part of our mission is to put that functionality in the hands of small business”, Cloete says.
Fact file
- Number of devices 5
- Device types 3 iPad Minis on café floor; ; iPad for PoS; iPad on coffee machine
- Suppliers SMB Consultants, Apple
- Other technology deployed Kounta, Beat the Q, Xero, Deputy (coming)
- Business case Customer experience and efficiency
- Challenges Quick rollout
- Timeline Reseller engaged December 2014; rollout over two weeks in April
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