Industry Viewpoint: The ins and outs of protecting our food supply chain

In the 24/7/365 world of agriculture, companies must adapt their approach to connectivity and the protection of their assets. Why? Because the very nature of the food supply chain is centered around timing.

"We're so dependent on technology, when you have down time, you can't label, you can't ship, you can't receive; the technology has become the business," said Johnny McGuire, director of IT at The Nunes Co. Inc., whose brands Foxy and Foxy Organic have more than 20,000 crop acres across California, Arizona and Nevada. "There is a constant need to be up and producing."

The company grows and sources multiple crops, including asparagus, celery, cauliflower, cilantro, cabbage, iceberg lettuce, leeks, spinach and strawberries. “In every department we work in, the No. 1 rule is: We’ve got to ship, and we have to invoice,” McGuire said. This mantra speaks to the nature of technology, connectivity, and the need for maximum uptime for IT systems used in the perishable food business.

Speed has become the name of the game for so many, as these products need to be continually moving out of a facility; and with the connective nature of the world, technology has helped streamline that process for businesses aimed at delivering high-quality products to their customers.

“Almost every agriculture business is now an IT company,” said Greg Gatzke, president, ZAG Technical Services. “They are dependent on technology at every point: you can’t receive, process, provide quality assurance, label, or ship without the use of technology. It has become the business.” But along with the implementation of technology to make it easier for companies like Nunes to streamline their processes, there is a growing need to ensure the systems in place are protected, updated, and maintained.

Challenges to Food Supply Chain Companies
While IT security and the implementation of technology is not new to the agribusiness market, there are always a few challenges that companies face when embarking on a digital transformation journey alongside technology partners such as managed service providers. McGuire outlined additional challenges that can make the changing nature of fresh produce businesses difficult to navigate without ongoing support, such as:

• Nomadic Footprint. Different regions of the country have distinct growing seasons and as a result, companies shift operations from location to location based on the season they are in. Thus, necessitating cloud-based and remote infrastructure that enables them to navigate the seasonality of their crops around delivery, shipments, invoicing, and a highly dynamic supply chain.

• Nomadic Workforce. In some cases, users may only log in to a workstation or laptop a handful of times a month, which can make securing users and credentials a challenge. But having policies and procedures in place — along with the ability to ensure the right levels of access for specific users — is one way that an MSP works alongside Nunes to address these hurdles.

• Ongoing Upgrades. As with many technology-focused industries, software upgrades and ongoing maintenance are crucial to keeping security threats at bay; but shutting down machinery — and as a result production — can have a negative impact on the company’s ability to meet demand. Working with a technology partner or MSP that can provide ongoing support and updates to a company’s systems is part of Nunes’ concerted effort to fulfill expectations and customer needs.

• Changing Landscape. 2020 brought unique challenges for companies to transition their workforce to more remote functionality; and Nunes was not immune to it. The company had to quickly implement policies and procedures for employees to work remotely, including the use and implementation of programs like Microsoft Teams and Citrix Cloud.

• Need for Best Practices. As with any organization that requires maximum uptime, there must be best practices in place for managing a changing workforce — especially related to IT security. Implementing multifactor authentication was one way that Nunes addressed the increasing remote work needs of its workforce while balancing the core goal of security. This is possible with the help of an MSP.

While the changing nature of the business will drive more issues that must be addressed, the implementation of technology and best practices remain central to Nunes’ success.

A Focus on Security Investments
The Nunes Co. sees technology as a critical need to succeed and compete in the marketplace. “When the business started back in the 1970s, that wasn’t the case; but our customers today expect their vendor partners and suppliers to use sophisticated programs and processes if we’re going to win that contract,” McGuire said. “We have to be able to integrate with their systems if we want to establish relationships with our customers, so we have to know our systems are online and up-to-date.”

The adoption of IT security best practices is becoming easier for companies like Nunes, as well, because of the proliferation of ongoing attacks. “Our leadership now understands that to a large extent, our business is technology-driven and without implementing security across our systems, we’re vulnerable to these attacks,” McGuire said.

There’s a renewed focus not only on technology investments, but compliance measures that can be viewed as best practices implemented in a more methodical way. “Compliance now is a way to strengthen a company and continually improve the technology being implemented,” Gatzke said. “Security is now no longer being viewed as a pain that business have to ‘grin and bear.’ Instead, agribusinesses are understanding to a large extent that they are technology-driven and without focus on the safety of their systems, they may face broadening threats that could affect their bottom line.”

According to Gatzke, this has been one of the biggest changes that IT security companies have seen among agribusiness customers: a willingness to invest in the kind of security measures that will go a long way in protecting their businesses.

Business Continuity in the Digital Age
As companies like Nunes rely on technology to drive their business forward, there’s a new focus on continuity. “We’ve constantly worried about disaster recovery and ensuring that our systems are always up and running, but now we’re actively engaged in discussions around what happens when a system goes down. How do we keep producing?” said Gatzke.

Nunes works with an MSP to help identify vulnerabilities in their systems with ongoing risk assessments and planning for business continuity goals, as well as the push to move beyond being a “break-fix” shop. Managed services play a significant role in modernizing systems and providing the tools and resources necessary for an organization like Nunes to continually meet their production goals and customer expectations.