Australian Wool Exchange uses Azure to transform sheep shearing

Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) is using Microsoft Azure to transform sheep shearing. In partnership with Microsoft partner MicroChannel, AWEX has developed an app and a cloud-based system named WoolClip to speed up the process by replacing slow and error-prone manual reporting. 

WoolClip is a web and smartphone app that allows registered users to create and manage inventory data from the wool harvesting process in a shearing shed, even if they don’t have internet access. By reporting the data immediately, the app reduces the risk of errors that can slow the wool processing down. When the user is able to connect to the internet, all the collected information is synched and secured in Microsoft Azure. 

“The project management and relationship between AWEX staff and MicroChannel was a standout,” said Mark Grave, CEO of AWEX. “The relationship and the understanding fostered allows both organisations to proceed with confidence.”

Developed by MicroChannel using software from Xamarin, WoolClip aims to ensure that on-farm data is readily available to the first receiver in the wool supply chain. It also establishes a traceable system for wool bales and boosts the overall information integrity of the industry.

The solution also takes advantage of the fact that most wool classers will have a smartphone in their pocket while  working, even if they don’t have access to a computer. 

“The app has been developed to make it simple to record data immediately and accurately,” said Ross Smith, manager for Customer Relationship Management and Marketing Automation at MicroChannel. “From WoolClip the information can be synched up to the Microsoft Azure cloud when it’s possible to connect to the internet.

“The information is held securely in the cloud with access provided to authorised users to ensure the efficient processing and monitoring of wool in the supply chain. We always say Australia was built on the sheep’s back – well now we’re taking that to the next level and helping to make the industry more efficient and accountable, with the provenance of wool made clear all the way from the sheep’s back right through to the completion of processing.”