The transport of pigs from farms to slaughterhouses presents challenges in companies’ logistics management. Complying with animal welfare standards, truck capacity limitations and variability in the weight of animals for slaughter makes it difficult to choose the number of animals and plan routes efficiently. This usually results in an increase in transport-related costs, prolonging times and potentially interrupting slaughterhouse operations, affecting carcass value and the profitability of the pig sector.
In this context, researchers from Agrotecnio (AT) and the Universitat de Lleida (UdL) have developed an application that makes it possible to optimize shipment to the slaughterhouse and the logistics management of the process.
The technology is based on a route planning system for transporting pigs from farms to the slaughterhouse, taking into account the optimal time for slaughtering the animals.
It works by analyzing various data, such as the number of animals available, the distances between farms and slaughterhouses, and truck capacity, from which it calculates the most efficient routes so that the trucks complete their work in the shortest possible time and at the lowest cost. This also makes it possible to comply with animal welfare regulations, by avoiding excessively long journeys or overloaded trucks. This ensures that resources are used to the fullest, costs are reduced and delays in the production chain are avoided.
A prototype of the application is being developed with the intention of validating it with relevant companies in the sector for its subsequent optimization.
Benefits:
- Reduction in transport costs through route optimization.
- Increase in the commercial value of carcasses by improving the selection of animals for slaughter.
- Improvement in operational efficiency by minimizing the time required to complete deliveries.
- Compliance with animal welfare regulations.
- Ability to manage variable scenarios in pig availability.
- Improvement in coordination between supply chain agents: farms and slaughterhouses.
The objective of the contact is to obtain commercial feedback on the technology to guide it towards market needs. In addition, a collaboration is sought that leads to the commercial exploitation of the presented invention in the near future.
Institution: Agrotecnio (AT) and Universidad de Lleida (UdL)
Contact: Ana de la Cruz Abad / a.cruz@viromii.com
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