Bob Luedtke
is a Senior Solution Specialist for Feed Management Systems, Inc. Bob brings extensive experience in the analysis, sales, support, installation, and training of Feed Management Systems’ products, including financial, labeling, compliance and production systems.Bob was born and raised on a large cash grain and livestock farm inFairmont, MN, and graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Agricultural Economics. He managed the farm for several years before creating a consulting business working with startup agricultural companies. Bob also built and managed a vegetable production and processing company that was the first commercial producer of Edamame in the US.
Bob joined Feed Management Systems in 1996, and has held positions in Product Support, Sales, Product Management and Partner Channel Development. He gained recognition in discussing with the media FMS’s role in helping the feed company that provided products to the producer where the first case of BSE was discovered in the US, and led to FMS’ first Food Safety Award from the AFIA in 2004. He has worked with feed and agricultural companies in North and Central America, Asia and South Africa, analyzing the business needs of over 300 feed mills and designing technology implementation guidelines.
His experience and recognition in the feed industry led to his election as hairman of the Information Technology Committee of the American Feed Industry Association, and Chairman of the Emerging Technologies Committee of AgGateway.
Contact information: bluedtke@feedsys.com
Latest Blogs (1-10 of 11)
Preventative Maintenance Systems – Half of the Equation
Are you using a Preventative Maintenance System?
Everyone knows how expensive equipment outages are. Lost revenue, cost of emergency repairs, and overtime labor are just some of the costs. Preventative maintenance systems can reduce the number of breakdowns as well as increase the lifespan of the equipment. These systems vary in cost and complexity, from simple spreadsheets to dedicated software solutions. This is a case where technology can have a huge payback!
'You Can’t Manage What You Can’t Measure'
Yes, it is an old cliché, but it is still true.
The animal feed industry is facing many challenges today, and the ability to adapt and change to changing market conditions is crucial to profitability, sustainability, and competitive differentiation. So what tools do you need to achieve this agility?
What can an integrated system do for me?
Integrated systems fall into three broad classifications:
1. A common platform for all solutions
2. Best of breed solutions with integration between all solutions
3. Hub and Spoke solution integrating best of breed solutions
Do you know where your inventory is?
It is an important question!
We all have to deal with inventory shrink in our feed operations. Do you know where your shrink is occurring? Storage? Material Handling equipment? Theft? All of the above?
Alternative feed ingredients and IT
Sound like a strange combination? Think again! According to Watt Publication’s latest survey, over 50% of poultry feed operations are planning to make more use of enzymes and alternative ingredients in the future.
Technology obsolescence – Are you at risk?
Look at your critical business applications and the hardware that they reside on. Are you using the latest version of your ERP system? Are your servers and workstations up to date? What operating systems and databases are you running? What happens if your system goes down?
Break down the information barriers
Are the Information Systems in your organization compartmentalized? Are nutritionists the only people using formulation and nutrient data? Are the grain merchandisers the only ones using the commodity trading and tracking system and are the mill operators the only users with access to the automated batching system data?
An evolution in technology
In the early days, companies had “dumb terminals” for data access and applications. These terminals were located on servers in the huge computer facilities of just a very few companies. They didn’t own the software themselves but leased it from these companies. Then came the Personal Computer, and now almost every company can afford an internal networking system.
Is Big Brother getting too big?
The advances in Information Technology have definitely increased the safety of the feed/food supply chain. The track and trace information requirements that are in place from both industry and government compliance and regulations, ensure that the industry can respond quickly to an incident and narrow the scope of any recalls.
Does the feed industry need standards?
eBusiness standards that is. The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) in conjunction with AgGateway has created and is in the process of delivering a set of standards that feed companies can use to communicate with their business partners.
