Semantic search (RAG) in Timaru.
Semantic search (RAG) that lives in your stack, not on a vendor's roadmap. Shipped from Canterbury.
How much is the admin really costing you?
Nine hours a week of admin is 468 hours a year. That could drop to about 52.*
*Illustrative, based on 9 hours a week of admin at a typical 80% automation rate. The calculator uses your own numbers.
Timaru processes dairy, meat, vegetables and beer for export through PrimePort. We automate the shift rosters, supplier paperwork and reporting those plants run on.
What semantic search (RAG) actually does
Search that understands intent, not just keywords. With the right workflow automated, nine hours of admin a week could drop to about one.*
*Illustrative example only, based on 9 hours a week of admin falling to about 1 hour a week. Actual results vary by workflow and business.
What Timaru runs on.
Food and fibre drive South Canterbury, and PrimePort handled $1.1 billion of exports in 2021, 99 per cent of them food and fibre products.
Fonterra's Clandeboye dairy factory and McCain's food processing plant are both in the district. Dominion Day (South Canterbury Anniversary) falls on the fourth Monday in September.
On the tools or running at scale, the admin still eats the week :)
The questions a public sector buyer asks, answered up front: privacy impact, the NZISM, where the data lives and how an algorithm is held to account.
*Illustrative example based on nine hours a week of admin. Actual results vary by workflow and business.
If we build the right slice first, Timaru teams feel the difference inside the first month. Average search time drops from 6 minutes to 12 seconds. Kiwi Dynamics
Not your typical AI agency.
*Every engagement is scoped and quoted up front. Results vary by workflow and business.
Questions Timaru businesses ask
How quickly can we see something running?
Week three for a clickable internal demo against real data. Week six for a slice your team can actually use. We hold ourselves to those numbers because they're what stops a project drifting into "endless discovery".
What tools do you build semantic search (RAG) on?
For semantic search (RAG) we usually reach for Pinecone, Claude, Postgres pgvector, Vercel AI SDK. We're tool-agnostic at heart - we pick what your Timaru team can actually run after we hand the build over, not what looks good on a vendor sticker.
Has this actually shipped for a real Timaru?
Yes. Average search time drops from 6 minutes to 12 seconds. We'll share comparable engagements on the call.
Can it keep track of ACC levies?
Yes. ACC work levies are set by the classification unit your work falls under, and self-employed people are invoiced after filing their tax return.
Can the AI run on New Zealand-hosted cloud?
Yes, the options now exist. Microsoft opened a New Zealand cloud region in December 2024 and AWS followed in September 2025, both with local data residency.
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