Grading Floor System for Ellerslie Free Range Farms
A touch-screen enabled application that allows staff to generate product labels quickly and accurately, streamlining the packaging process and ensuring that all products are correctly identified for production, storage, and shipment.
A tablet-based application that replaces printed pick lists, enabling forklift drivers to complete orders efficiently using scanned data, reducing errors and saving time while improving overall workflow and coordination on the grading floor.
A visual planning tool that helps managers schedule operations several days in advance, using historical data and statistical analysis to forecast outputs, optimise resource allocation, and ensure production targets are met effectively.
The Client
DA Hall & Co, now operating as Ellerslie Free Range Farms, is a Queensland-based, Australian-owned egg producer with a long-established presence in the poultry and food production industry. The company specialises in large-scale free-range egg production and operates highly automated grading and processing facilities to supply eggs and egg products to the domestic market. As the business has grown and production volumes increased, Ellerslie Free Range Farms has continued to invest in modernising its operations to improve efficiency, reliability, and data-driven decision-making across its production floor.
Background and Challenges
Initially, the client engaged LocalTeam to modernise its internally developed ERP Production Floor Management System (PFM). While the system had supported the business in its early stages, it no longer met the operational demands of a growing production environment.
The original application was built as a Windows desktop client using Delphi with a SQL Server backend. Over time, it became increasingly limited, particularly in its lack of effective multi-user support and its inability to adapt to new operational requirements as the business evolved.
Solution and Technical Approach
Following an initial scoping session with key stakeholders, LocalTeam proposed redeveloping the ERP as an API-first platform. This approach enabled multiple existing databases to be integrated into a single API layer, making the system accessible to any compatible frontend via JSON-based communication.
The solution also included a new frontend to support multi-user access across the business, including remote locations. LocalTeam began development of the API alongside a .NET ASP-based user interface, rapidly delivering a minimum viable product (MVP). This early release allowed staff to engage with the system quickly and provided valuable feedback to guide ongoing development.
By adopting an API-centric architecture, the platform achieved a clear separation of concerns between business logic, data access, and the user interface. This design ensures that future UI customisation or feature expansion can be undertaken without impacting the underlying API or database layers, supporting long-term scalability and maintainability.
Extended Functionality and Automation
The new API-based architecture introduced additional requirements for reporting, as the existing reports could not meet the demands of the upgraded system. To address this, LocalTeam developed a custom Report Engine based on Fast Reports, ensuring the new Grading Floor System (GFS) could deliver accurate, timely reporting across the business.
Following the successful implementation, it became clear that several satellite applications would further enhance operations on the grading floor. These included:
- Label Print
- Pick
- Production Planner
Thanks to the API-first design, these satellite applications and additional scheduled tasks were integrated seamlessly, further automating workflows and improving operational efficiency across the grading floor.
Results and Impact
The upgraded system has enabled Ellerslie Free Range Farms to process significantly larger volumes of eggs into egg products while operating at near 24/7 capacity, with scheduled downtime only for essential maintenance on the grader. Designed for high availability and reliability, the platform provides management with real-time insights and key operational data, improving decision-making, streamlining processes, and increasing the overall effectiveness of grading operations.
Client's Testimonial
The true impact of this project is captured most clearly through the client’s perspective. Their reflections speak not only to the performance and efficiency gains achieved through the upgraded grading system, but also to the collaborative approach and technical expertise that underpinned its delivery. In this testimonial, the Ellerslie Free Range Farms team shares their experience of the partnership and the results it has delivered for their operations.
"We have used Glenn and his team at ‘Local Team Australia’ for several projects both small and large (1 week project to a 9 month project) and would not have been able to complete these project without their skill and dedication to the job. They not only provided us with the programing skill needed to complete the work,they also took time to understand our business and brought along their collective knowledge and understanding to provide valuable input and direction where it was needed. Their ongoing support and continued interest in our business shows a dedication to quality and customer support that goes beyond what we could possibly have expected. This will not be the last time that we lean on Glenn and his team for support and skills as projects arise in our future."
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Whether you’re looking to build a new product from scratch, modernise an existing system, or create a custom solution tailored to your business processes, LocalTeam is here to help. We’ll work with you to understand your goals, define the right approach, and deliver a solution that drives efficiency, scalability, and measurable business value.