IT support for horticulture and packhouses

IT for horticulture & packhouses

Horticulture runs to a calendar set by the crop. For a few intense months a packhouse may double or triple its workforce, run long shifts and process fruit that must be graded, packed, labelled, cooled and dispatched against tight market requirements. Grading systems, bin tracking, pallet labelling, payroll and spray diaries all have to work at once. Then the season ends, the temporary staff leave, and the IT quietly sits until the next harvest arrives and reveals what failed while the shed was empty and nobody was looking.

Growers and packhouses also deal with geography. Orchards and sheds are often on rural roads where broadband is limited, and coolstores and packing lines are hard places for Wi-Fi. Many seasonal workers come through the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme or from overseas on working holidays, so onboarding has to be fast, clear and secure. The office side handles grower payments, exporter reporting and market access paperwork, all of which depend on accurate data captured on the floor during the busiest weeks of the year.

Office IT supports growers and packhouses with three to seventy-five permanent staff, and the seasonal teams that join them. In Hamilton and Auckland our technicians come onsite, which covers the Waikato and Pukekohe growing areas; operations in other regions such as the Bay of Plenty, Hawke's Bay or Nelson are supported remotely, with pre-season visits planned by arrangement. We focus on getting things ready before harvest, reliable connectivity across the site, and a quick way to bring seasonal staff on and off.