Two companies, two value chains: from field to final product, always knowing where each batch comes from.
OLIMAX buys copra in the field and at the factory gate, turns it into oil on several lines, stores it in tanks and ships it by truck and container. For each batch, it needed to know where the copra came from, how much oil it yielded, what quality it was and where it went.
In 2024, OLIMAX started recording copra purchases in FAMS, in the field and at the factory, along with the quality of the oil produced. In 2025, it also began tracking the oil from each line, the tanks and the shipments: truck, container, shipping date and weight.
In September 2026, copra processing got its own module, with redesigned batch traceability and factory reports. Each batch now has a single page with everything that matters: origin, yield, quality and destination, ready to print or export. Batches with unexpected yields are flagged.
“A client paying directly wants numbers it can trust.”
MHC buys raw honey from beekeepers, processes it at its Chimoio factory and sells it bottled. Its records only showed overall totals: if a quality problem appeared in the final product, there was no way to tell which bucket or beekeeper it came from.
MHC took part, with partners GIZ and NIRAS, in the FAMS pilot in 2021–2022 and used the system in a limited way until 2024. Beekeeper registration and the recording of honey purchases by bucket were already developed, but honey blending and bottle filling were still incomplete and did not work well.
In September 2026, we completed the implementation end to end: buying buckets in the field, receiving and weighing at the factory, filtering and blending the honey, processing and filling bottles, stock control, and recording outputs for sales, orders, transfers, laboratory analysis and other purposes.
Each bucket gets a code at purchase, stays linked to its beekeeper and follows the honey through the factory, even after the honey is blended with honey from other sources. Each beekeeper is paid by e-Mola, M-Pesa or cash and receives a printed receipt.
In Chimoio, from 21 to 24 September 2026, the team was trained and the process tested in the field, together with field and factory staff. Gaps found were fixed the same day, and the next day's test confirmed the fixes. The system is now in production use.
A system is only complete when it covers the whole journey. Designing the process with the people who work in the field and at the factory revealed gaps during training; they were fixed the same day and the fixes were confirmed in the next test.
Fill in the online form and tell us about your operation. The FAMS team will get in touch to show how we adapt the system to your value chain, from field to factory.
