The future of work in Timaru.
The realistic near term win is not fewer people, it is the same people not doing eleven hours of admin a week.
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 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.
What the future of work means here
Our goal is a three day weekend: compress the week by handing the repetitive work to systems that do it reliably, so people spend their hours on the part only a person can do.
- Automate the task, not the person's job
- Measure success in hours given back to the team
- Keep a human on every decision that affects a customer
- Train the team to run and change it themselves
From one-person trades to national organisations, we find the hours :)
Quotes with GST, consent paperwork, LBP records and health and safety logs: the admin every New Zealand trade business carries.
*Illustrative example based on nine hours a week of admin. Actual results vary by workflow and business.
How it works in Timaru
We find the one workflow costing Timaru businesses the most hours, ship a working slice into production in weeks, prove it pays for itself, then harden it and hand it over.
Questions Timaru businesses ask
What does this look like for a Timaru business?
South Canterbury runs on port logistics, food processing, and dairy - AI here is about coordinating shifts and shipments with fewer phone calls. We scope one workflow, ship it to production, and prove the return before expanding.
Do you actually work on the future of work?
Our goal is a three day weekend: compress the week by handing the repetitive work to systems that do it reliably, so people spend their hours on the part only a person can do.
Is this a talk or a build?
Both, depending on what you need. We speak on the future of work, and we build the systems behind it. The advice is the same either way, and it is free of charge until there is a scope to quote.
Do you work with Xero?
Yes. Xero is one of the systems we build around, and we connect to the other tools you already run rather than asking you to switch.
Can AI help with payday filing?
It can prepare it. Employers file employment information every payday, within 2 working days when filing electronically, and automation can have it ready for a person to check.
Let's chat
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Tell us what you're trying to do and we'll reply with how we'd build it, no obligation.
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