Johnson Breeders Expands Decade-Long MTech Partnership with Transition to Amino
Johnson Breeders is entering a new stage of its technology modernization strategy by upgrading its MTech software environment from Protein to Amino. The transition marks another step in the poultry company’s long-standing relationship with MTech Systems and builds on more than a decade of collaboration focused on improving operational visibility, data management and decision-making across its business.
With operations spanning breeder production, hatcheries, feed mills, processing facilities and broiler production, Johnson Breeders manages a complex network of activities that depend on accurate information and coordinated planning. Its partnership with MTech has helped the company bring greater connectivity to these operations while reducing manual processes and improving its ability to respond to changing business conditions.
MTech Systems is part of Speria’s connected operational intelligence offering. Over the years, its technology has supported Johnson Breeders in areas such as feed planning, production management, operational reporting and business analytics. The company’s latest migration to Amino is intended to build on that foundation and provide employees with a more connected and user-friendly technology environment.
A Partnership That Began More Than a Decade Ago
The relationship between Johnson Breeders and MTech Systems began in 2014, when Johnson Breeders introduced MTech’s FDSA software at its feed mills. The implementation provided the company with technology designed to support feed-related planning and management while helping employees work with more consistent and accessible information.
Three years later, in 2017, Johnson Breeders expanded its use of MTech technology across its broader operation. This expansion was important as the company worked to address reporting processes and operational practices that had previously been disconnected between locations.
By bringing more activities into a unified technology environment, Johnson Breeders was able to improve the flow of information between different parts of its business. The approach also helped employees and managers work from a more consistent set of operational data.
The company says the expertise of MTech’s poultry specialists has been an important part of the relationship. Rather than providing technology in isolation, MTech’s team has brought knowledge of poultry production and industry practices to the implementation process. This has helped Johnson Breeders apply the software to the practical requirements of its day-to-day operations.
Debra Segars, Software Analyst at Johnson Breeders, highlighted the importance of MTech’s industry experience.
“One of the greatest assets MTech has is the people they employ and the fact that they are extremely knowledgeable about the poultry industry,” Segars said.
That combination of software capabilities and industry knowledge has supported Johnson Breeders as it has continued to develop its technology infrastructure.
Improving Feed Management and Reducing Unnecessary Costs
Feed management was among the first areas where Johnson Breeders identified measurable operational value from its MTech investment.
For an integrated poultry company, feed planning involves coordinating production requirements, inventory, transportation and farm deliveries. Errors in scheduling can result in unnecessary transportation, handling and logistical expenses. Sending more feed than required to farms can also create additional costs when excess material has to be transported back.
MTech’s technology has helped Johnson Breeders improve the accuracy of its feed scheduling processes. By providing better planning capabilities, the company has been able to reduce situations involving excess feed deliveries and the additional freight associated with returning that feed.
The benefits have extended beyond direct transportation costs. Automating and streamlining repetitive processes has reduced the amount of manual work required from employees. This allows teams to spend more time on activities that require analysis, coordination and decision-making.
Segars described feed management as one of the earliest areas where the company recognized a strong return from the technology.
“The biggest return on investment we saw early on was in feed, where the process helped us avoid sending out too much feed and then hauling it back at an additional cost,” she said.
The experience demonstrates how technology investments can generate value not only through improved data visibility but also through more efficient operational processes.
Supporting Business Continuity During Disruptions
The value of connected planning tools can become particularly evident when unexpected events disrupt normal operations. Johnson Breeders experienced this firsthand following a fire at its Wallace processing plant.
The incident required the company to adjust its normal processing and logistics arrangements. Johnson Breeders used MTech’s broiler planning tool, BRPA, to redirect loads to external processing plants while continuing to manage bird movements between locations.
The ability to adjust planning without abandoning the company’s broader operational structure helped Johnson Breeders maintain continuity during a challenging period. BRPA has remained part of the company’s daily planning activities following the incident.
For a poultry business operating across multiple stages of production, the ability to respond quickly to disruptions is important. Changes at one facility can affect bird movements, processing schedules, feed requirements and other downstream activities. Having technology that provides planning visibility can help teams coordinate those changes more effectively.
Expanding Visibility Through Business Analytics
Johnson Breeders’ use of MTech technology extends beyond operational planning. The company also uses Axis, MTech’s business analytics solution, to provide a broader view of its performance.
Axis brings together information from different parts of the business and supports analysis of areas such as production results, grow-out comparisons and flock trends. This enables users at different levels of the organization to examine operational performance from both detailed and broader perspectives.
For local teams, access to consolidated information can help identify trends and compare results. For senior management and ownership, the same information can provide a higher-level view of business performance.
Segars said Axis has become particularly valuable because of the breadth of information it provides.
“Personally, I love Axis because it has a wealth of information that helps ownership and upper-level management see the business from a higher level,” she said.
This type of visibility can help organizations move away from relying solely on isolated reports and manual data gathering. Instead, teams can use connected information to better understand what is happening across different areas of the operation.
Moving From Protein to Amino
Johnson Breeders is now taking the next step in its technology journey by migrating from MTech’s Protein platform to Amino.
The transition represents more than a software update. It reflects the company’s continuing effort to modernize its technology environment and provide employees with tools that can support increasingly connected operational processes.
MTech’s implementation team has worked with Johnson Breeders throughout the migration. While the transition has involved challenges, the company says many of those challenges have been related to people and change management rather than the technology itself.
Segars said the Amino platform offers a more user-friendly experience.
“Moving from Protein to Amino came with challenges, but they were more people-based than system-based, and Amino is much more user-friendly,” she said.
The migration therefore represents both a technology change and an opportunity for Johnson Breeders to build on the processes and knowledge developed through its more than 10-year relationship with MTech.
Building on a Connected Technology Foundation
Johnson Breeders’ experience illustrates how technology modernization can develop gradually as a poultry business identifies new opportunities to connect data and improve operations. What began with the implementation of FDSA at feed mills in 2014 expanded into broader use of MTech solutions in 2017 and has continued through applications supporting feed planning, broiler movements and business analytics.
The move to Amino represents the latest stage of that evolution. By continuing to invest in connected technology, Johnson Breeders is working toward a more integrated operational environment in which information can support planning and decision-making across its diverse poultry activities.
As poultry production becomes increasingly dependent on coordinated data, efficient resource management and the ability to respond to disruptions, technology platforms can play an important role in connecting different stages of the production cycle.
For Johnson Breeders, the transition from Protein to Amino builds on an established technology partnership while creating a foundation for the company’s next phase of operational modernization. The experience gained over more than a decade with MTech provides the company with an existing framework from which it can continue improving data visibility, streamlining processes and supporting teams across its poultry operations.
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