The core to agriculture’s success

As the market leader in the agri-software sector, CORE Technology has gone from strength to strength since it started more than 30 years ago.

With some of the biggest food brands in the country such as Dairygold, Glanbia, and Kerrygold on its books, the Mitchelstown company designs and sells management software products which help agricultural businesses deal with milk processing, animal feed and grain storage.

“This business is based on 30 years of experience and research and development,” said Mairéad Cosgrave, general manager at CORE Technology.

“There’s 30 years of research and development in our product suite . . . and our customers are market leaders in Ireland and globally in their own right. That has put this company on an incredibly firm footing.”

Its success hasn’t gone unnoticed either. In 2015 it was acquired by Cultura Technologies, one of the biggest agri-tech companies globally, which gave it a boost in resources and reach which will help it further expand.

The acquisition will see its Mitchelstown headquarters being established as Cultura’s European centre of R&D excellence in the last quarter of 2017. The move puts it at the centre of research and development in the agriculture space; something CORE plans to take full advantage of.

“This is where the next generation of agri-technology will be designed, built and deployed,” said Cosgrave. “[The move] is exciting and it ensures that our technology continues to be cutting-edge and it is our attempt to futureproof our technology for the next generation.

“ICT is used as an efficiency and as a productivity tool, and that’s certainly what it is in this sector. They’re using them to reduce their costs and increase their efficiency . . . [We have apps and services] that are based on the same thing: how do we enable our customers to enable theirs to access data faster, on the go and in real-time? That is through continuous investment in mobile and cloud from our perspective.”

When we think of the technology sector in Ireland, it’s likely that agriculture isn’t the first thing you would think of but the sector is thriving, according to Cosgrave. Something that she feels doesn’t quite get the attention it deserves.

“What has been happening from an innovation and entrepreneurship perspective within agriculture in Ireland has been nothing short of phenomenal,” she said.

“Look at our leading brands, they are global brands with global footprints, Dairygold, Kerrygold, Glanbia . . . we’re talking about significant players quietly going about their business and really establishing a significant global footprint in the agri-space. Whether that is food or drink . . . it accounts for nearly 13-14 per cent of all Irish exports. That’s incredible in what is a very challenging environment.”

Those challenges have been something the agriculture business has continued to face and take on. Cosgrave references the removal of the EU’s dairy quota in 2015 as an example. While there were concerns over what it would mean for Irish dairy businesses – prices collapsed as a result, leading the EU to introduce new rules encouraging farmers to take up incentives to reduce milk supplies – the Irish dairy sector has continued to “innovate and move forward”.

The agriculture sector also faces new challenges in the form of Brexit, the uncertainty surrounding it means predicting the impact on businesses is difficult. CORE Technology is entering the British market with its own products so it’s experiencing it both directly and through its customers.

Cosgrave believes that regardless of what happens, the relationship between Ireland and Britain will get stronger.

“That level of uncertainty can bring with it a raft of challenges,” said Cosgrave. “With Brexit, there’s also an opportunity. As Britain begins the process and we understand what it’s going to look like and what the implications are from a legislative and regulatory point of view, Ireland and Britain are going to remain strong trading partners.

“That, in my opinion, is not going to change as a result of Brexit. In fact, I think the partnership is going to be strengthened but from a customer point of view, things like border controls and export regulating are going to cause disruption for a short period of time. The more the Department of Agriculture and the government engage and get out ahead of what it’s going to look like, then we can start to get ahead of them as well.”

Its experience holds it in good stead too, not just for preparing for situations like Brexit but understanding what its clients need now and in the future. That long-term collaboration with its clients has helped it become what it is today.

“The majority of our customers have been with us for 20 years or longer, and we continue to improve our service year after year in consultation with them,” she explains.

“That has been the most unique aspect of this business through the years. It’s that level of experience and expertise and the Cultura acquisition demonstrated a clear willingness to invest in what good looks like. Our customers get the full benefit of a partnership with us because that’s what it is.”

“That is one of the keys to our success because this is a huge investment for any customers. You’re not looking at anything short-term, you’re looking at the long-term lifetime of a partnership so we always like to start as we mean to go along.”

That approach ensures that CORE Technology can help its clients deal with future problems, and Cosgrave says how it’s approaching Brexit is a good reflection of what the company does best.

“Our approach to Brexit is very similar to our approach to everything else,” said Cosgrave.

“We’re highly engaged with our customers, with the department and with major stakeholders so that as soon as uncertainty becomes certainty, we can get out ahead. If we can at all, we create a cushion for our customers.”

While Brexit may lead some to worry about the future, the company is on solid ground. The majority of its customers have been with it for 20 years or longer and it’s the approach to customer service and research that brought it to the position it’s in and that won’t change any time soon, according to Cosgrave.

“Our approach is an open collaborative partnership approach,” explains Cosgrave. “What is relevant and important to us is the return on investment for all of our customers and the level of customer experience and service that we provide to them, on into the future.”