BRF Bets on Digital Transformation to Become Simpler and More Efficient

Antonio Cesco, Global Director of Technology and Digital Transformation, BRF

BRF is a company that has been operating in the food industry for almost 90 years. We are present in 95 percent of Brazilian homes, and we even serve our products to people in 126 other countries, managing a process that starts in the grain trade and continues through the integrated producer, farms, factories, corporate processes, distribution, and export centers, always with safety, quality, and integrity, until it reaches the consumer.

And to be able to manage sustainably along the value chain, it is necessary to have simple, fast, and efficient processes and platforms. Through technology, digital thinking, and a culture of innovation, we generate solutions that support the growth of our business, helping our company continue to offer quality food, from the field to the table of consumers, in an increasingly efficient and profitable manner.

In 2022 alone, for example, we implemented 52 digital transformation projects in the company, always working on two fronts: Go Digital, where we work to improve our results through the modernization and digitization of processes related to the business and our stakeholders, and Be Digital, where we look at our internal processes with tools and platforms that provide more efficiency and facilitate the journey of the more than 90 thousand employees in the organization.

Digital Journey: From Field to Table

By using technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning models, and advanced analytics, we are able to make anticipated decisions that impact our business. One example is the Jornada Commodities 4.0 project, which uses territorial intelligence technology and advanced data analysis to map, through satellite images, over 7 million hectares of crops in Brazil, providing information on the best time to purchase the input over a period of up to 24 months. The initiative is also highlighted in the use of data in the sustainable purchase of grains at BRF.

Our integrated partners and farms also use the Digital Agro 4.0 platform, an app that connects BRF to the field, collecting data from farm facilities 24 hours a day with structured information in a data lake, forming our field data intelligence. We also use aviary sensing, which provides us with fast and quality information.

“The most important aspect of BRF's innovation and new technology journey is that we must never lose sight of the fact that every solution must be designed to make people's lives easier, whether they are our customers, suppliers, or employees.”

Based on these data, we generate analytical and predictive models, which allow us to obtain the projected average weight of the chickens, identifying the best time to remove animals from the field for slaughter. Timing is important to concentrate the largest number of chickens within the premium weight ranges, which range between 900 and 1100 grams, which is more valued in the Middle Eastern market. This greater assertiveness ensures us a product of greater added value and competitive advantage with the use of intelligent technology for decision-making. Over 9 thousand producers and 600 veterinarians use BRF's Agro Digital platform, which was created in-house and, in 2022, began to be escalated globally to Turkey.

In the transportation area, we use Logistics 4.0, a solution that monitors BRF's fleet of over nine thousand vehicles, providing positive impacts to prevent accidents and ensure the safety of our carriers.

Be Digital

Our digital transformation doesn't just look at the journey of our products; it also looks at the employee journey. In 2022 alone, over 30 thousand people were hired digitally and online by the company. In addition, Flor, the cognitive employee assistant that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning, takes approximately 115 thousand calls per month, answering questions and responding to requests from our employees in Brazil and five countries in the Middle East (Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait). The digital transformation is also present in our learning portal, in performance and results management, and in the attraction and selection processes.

The most important aspect of BRF's innovation and new technology journey is that we must never lose sight of the fact that every solution must be designed to make people's lives easier, whether they are our customers, suppliers, or employees. The digital transformation must be simple, fast, and efficient, with a focus on delivery and good results throughout our production chain. This is the BRF way and our vision of evolution: transforming today and building the BRF of the future.