Cintia Leitão de Souza *
On July 20, 2019, the new rules for the calculation of the minimum freight transportation freight published by the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) would start to apply. In this new edition of the MP, the methodology for calculating the minimum freight should consider 11 types of cargo categories. The type of load, travel costs, loading and unloading costs, as well as the number of axles loaded should also be considered. There would be the application of fines for non-compliance with the payment of the minimum floors established. However, the distance traveled by the truck driver would still be taken into account. I say it would be because, on Monday, the 21st, two days after the date foreseen for the new calculation rules to take effect, the government went back and decided to suspend the changes. This attitude, of launching a new table with new rules in one day and 48 hours later announcing its end, is probably the biggest problem that Brazil faces for its growth. There is no greater obstacle to development than instability and uncertainty in the rules of the economy.
Stability: a necessary asset
Let's think of Australia, for example. Australian GDP has changed by 0.9% per year since 1991. You will not find Australia on any list of the fastest growing countries in the world, in fact its GDP remains stable at 2.5% year on average for more than three decades, but it is one of the most predictable countries in the world for the entrepreneur. He knows exactly when and where to invest, as he has confidence in the country's stability and certainty of its growth, even if modest. With that they can do something that for us here in Brazil seems like an impossible mission: to plan for the future.
For us in agribusiness, without planning, there is no harvest. The food that goes to your table today was planned years in advance. A farmer or an agribusiness company can only invest in actions to improve next year's harvest with an assessment that considers planning and strategy, something that involves logistics. For crop planning, there are specific technologies and solutions that can meet this agro entrepreneur in a specific way, according to his objectives and planning, including the management of all the logistics that this market needs. However, for this the vision of the future is essential.
Agribusiness Logistics vs. Country Challenges
Brazil occupies the third largest producer in the world, leading the production of the main crops such as soybeans, corn, sugar cane, coffee and cotton. All this complex business and production dynamics encompass a chain that is best suited to a tangle of routes or interconnected networks, from end to end, which go through various logistical decisions.
When we talk about the logistics infrastructure in Brazil as a whole, however, in the list of modal transport, highways are the most expensive options, they only lose to air transport. Waterways and railroads should - but are not - the most logical and economical means of transporting cargo, especially if we are talking about food products. However, there is a lack of investment to build an infrastructure compatible with the amount of commodities we produce and export. Railways require large investments and take years, often decades, to be ready. 70% of what we produce still uses highways. And this is the discussion that really matters to the future of our country. How to create, in a consistent and planned way, a national infrastructure that meets the demands of our commodities?
A study published by Fundação Dom Cabral in 2018, found that 12,37% of companies' gross sales have been eroded by logistical costs. In another 2015 survey, this time conducted by an ESALQ researcher, it was estimated that Brazil loses an average of one crop in the year, something around R$ 2 billion reais in soybeans and corn. This money is literally spread over Brazilian roads, never reaching the destination port. R$ 2 billion reais every year.
Strategy: technology
The numbers are frightening, and with good reason. We need to roll up our sleeves and take responsibility for our roles as leaders and management professionals in agribusiness. Considering so many obstacles, waste, distances and costs, operational efficiency is part of our homework. It is necessary to invest in management and, with it, in technology. Only with efficient controls and planning will we have competitive differentials that allow us to move our goods in the country internally and on all continents, raising Brazilian agribusiness to even higher levels. The adoption of technology is no longer an option, it is mandatory.
To this end, we now have modern management technologies. We develop and provide solutions that optimize and improve the entire logistics performance of the agribusiness chain. We connect data from the planning of manufacturing facilities, access controls for employees and visitors, people management, warehouses, silos controls, scales and all logistical aspects allowing freight planning, cargo predictability and port deliveries.
As a leader within one of the largest management technology companies in Brazil, I affirm that today we have the latest technology to defend and act with our agribusiness executives. We do not stop innovating, and more than that, we do our part by planting to harvest the agro Brazil that we want tomorrow.
* Head of Agribusiness at Senior Sistemas
Warning: The opinion presented in this article is the responsibility of its author and not of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies
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