James and Amanda Gallo in Far North Queensland have discovered nights to be enjoyed now that using ABCpacker means they can easily complete reconciliation at the end of each pack day.
“The time saving and accuracy we now have through this software means James and I can be out of the shed at a reasonable hour, not the 9 or 10 o’clock it used to be after reconciling the pallets on hand, despatch and transport documents using excel spreadsheets. It’s given us a more balanced life,” says Amanda.
The couple is the third generation on the 240ha property on the Atherton Tablelands, with 60ha dedicated to avocados and 32ha currently in production. This year the Gallo’s packed 35,000 trays, slightly down on last year’s 40,000+ trays – the uncertainty of Covid-19 and staffing forcing them to only pack their own produce.
They introduced ABCpacker two pack seasons ago after visiting New Zealand and getting to see the software in operation at a Mr Apple Hawke’s Bay packhouse and meeting with ABC Software director, Sharon Chapman. The traceability provided through the software to meet food safety and industry compliance requirements, is another plus for the couple.
“We can easily track back to the tray, which orchard and which day if we ever need to and that’s very reassuring,” says Amanda.
She acknowledges that Avogreen could be making more use of the software and sees that will happen over time. “We know we can customise to what we’ll need in the future and we’ve got an eye on making things even easier and ultimately paper-free.”