MOBILE MANIFEST BRINGS EFFICIENCY THROUGH CONNECTIVITY

Mobile Manifest uses geofencing data to provide DETAILED and RELIABLE electronic records of each load of our farmer-owners’ milk with LESS MANUAL DATA ENTRY.

Mobile Manifest first came to life in 2018 in DFA’s Mountain Area, and the program has saved our Cooperative time, money and a lot of paper ever since. Five of DFA’s seven geographical Areas — Mountain, Mideast, Central, Southeast and Southwest — will have fully implemented Mobile Manifest by the end of 2023.

Previously, milk haulers used paper tickets to record information about a load of milk, entering all relevant data by hand — like where the milk came from, weight and temperature, on-farm test results, where it’s going and who it’s being sold to. This information is essential for DFA’s farmer-owners to get paid and for consumers to receive safe, high-quality milk. But entering information by hand is inefficient — the slips can easily rip, get wet or be misread, causing delays. With Mobile Manifest, everything is electronic. It’s more efficient, but launching this technology-driven milk tracking program in all seven Areas will be no small feat.

farmer-owners receive added value from saved labor, but they can act quickly to optimize their milk and to get the highest price possible.

“Mobile Manifest has given us the opportunity to enhance our customer service to our farmer-owners, and it has benefited our raw milk logistics,” says Tim Houck, senior vice president of membership and Area operations. “This gives us the ability to drive additional value back to our farmer-owners.”

Launching Mobile Manifest took innovative thinking and connectivity throughout the Cooperative. From making the decision to switch after years of using paper manifests to tailoring the system to our Cooperative’s needs, strong teamwork happened at every corner of the process.

Paper Manifests

Farmer-owners WAIT DAYS for milk test results

Paper manifests can be LOST, DAMAGED or ILLEGIBLE

1.3 MILLION PAPER MANIFESTS must be collected every year

Handwriting manifests is TIME-CONSUMING

Since launching Mobile Manifest, our Cooperative has saved paper and reduced errors. Our farmer-owners depend on knowing their milk’s test results to fix any quality issues or adjust their herd’s feed rations accordingly. Prior to using Mobile Manifest, our farmer-owners were waiting days for these results, and now, on average, manifests are available in less than a day. So, not only do our

“The way we laid out our program set us up for success,” says Cory Johnson, senior director of operations and transportation. “We made it a collective decision that we were all-in. If a hauler, driver, plant or employee was not 100% on board, we said we wouldn’t go forward. We got everyone’s buy-in before we started, and once everyone accepted it, the integration became easier.”

Mobile Manifest is just one example of our teams harnessing innovation and working together to bring Cooperativewide change and efficiency.

In early 2023, the Ingredient Solutions Division finalized the transition of its hard, grated cheese business to the Dairy Brands Division. As part of this transition, the DFA plants in Chili, Wis., and Dalbo, Minn., moved from Ingredient Solutions to Dairy Brands.

Through intentional connectivity efforts, the teams of both divisions have been working together to identify and review opportunities for the two commercial divisions to better collaborate, and this transition is a result of these efforts.

Prior to the transition, the plants in Chili and Dalbo sold hard, grated cheese products to their retail customers through a third party. Dairy Brands, however, has direct relationships with retail customers. Transitioning the hard, grated cheese business to Dairy Brands now allows DFA to leverage these relationships, invest in retail-facing growth opportunities and support connectivity and synergies between the two divisions.

“To me, connectivity is about utilizing the strengths and attributes of teams, programs and individuals to improve a situation or a business case,” says Ken Orf, group vice president