AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xplore Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:XPLR) today announced that Vital Farms, the largest producer of pasture-raised eggs in the U.S. is now using its Android-powered XSLATE D10 rugged tablet platform to manage the more than 130 independent farms under its banner, enforce produce quality standards and maintain its USDA organic certifications. The D10s were delivered to Vital Farms earlier this year by Xplore partner DCT Mobile Solutions as part of its signature Scout Mobility suite, and has since enabled the organic farming cooperative to transfer critical business management systems into electronic form. Specifically, the Xplore rugged tablets are being used by Vital Farms’ inspectors to verify that its agricultural producers are maintaining the 104 different compliancy points required of organic-labeled operations.
“Though farmers still spend a lot of time in the field performing manual labor tasks, they benefit greatly from technology that reduces their manual labor requirements related to business processes that can be automated, such as routine inspections and record-keeping,” commented Mark Holleran, president and CEO of Xplore. “That is why Vital Farms is seeing such a significant payoff for their investment in the Xplore rugged tablet-based solution. They now have a centralized system through which their employees and suppliers can capture, aggregate and share data in real time, which brings more efficiency to all parties’ operations.”
Since the Xplore XSLATE D10 rugged tablet is dust-proof, water resistant and readable in direct sunlight, it is easy for Vital Farms’ auditors to schedule site visits, create and complete inspection checklists, and maintain up-to-date, easily accessible records about each of its independent growers while in the field. Plus, the XLATE D10 is extremely temperature tolerant. It can operate in extreme heat of Central Texas or the winters of the Midwest, which is important given that this organic cooperative is responsible for monitoring farms that span from Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois in the Midwest to Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia in the South.
“Anyone in the organic agriculture business will tell you that it’s very expensive and exhausting to conduct audits of geographically disparate farming operations, and maintain compliance with the USDA’s strict regulations, using manual data management systems,” commented Jeff Hinds, vice president of food safety, quality, R&D, grower support, Vital Farms. “We knew that we would eventually gain more control over our collective farming operations, and our costs, once we moved to an electronic records system. However, the return on our investment for the Xplore rugged tablets, and really the total mobility solution, was near immediate. We couldn’t be happier with the value we’re receiving.”
The rugged tablet-based system is not only saving Vital Farms time and money in the management of its extensive paperwork requirements, but it is saving their growers the expense of uncertainty about how to resolve any issues that could hinder their organic certification status. For example, Vital Farms inspectors use the XSLATE D10’s built-in camera to capture pictures of their growers’ infractions, which helps both parties to more effectively recommend the best corrective actions.
“Not only can we identify and address our farmers’ infractions in real-time, but we actually have a better paper trail now than we did when we were using actual paper,” added Hinds.
As Holleran added: “It doesn’t matter your industry classification, every business that operates outside of a traditional four-walled, desk-based office environment needs real-time data management capabilities that only rugged mobile computers can provide.”
To learn more about Xplore’s Android-powered rugged tablet solutions, please visit www.xploretech.com/D10. To read the full Vital Farms case study: http://xploretech.com/vitalfarms
About Xplore Technologies
Xplore is The Rugged Tablet Authority™, exclusively manufacturing powerful, long-lasting, and customer-defined rugged tablet PCs since 1996. Today, Xplore offers the broadest portfolio of genuinely rugged tablets – and the most complete lineup of rugged tablet accessories – on Earth. Its mobility solutions are purpose-built for the energy, utilities, telecommunications, military and defense, manufacturing, distribution, public safety, healthcare, government, and field service sectors. The company’s award-winning military-grade computers are also among the most powerful and longest lasting in their class, built to withstand nearly any hazardous condition or environmental extreme for years without fail. Visit www.xploretech.com for more information on how Xplore and its global channel partners engineer complete mobility solutions to meet specialized workflow demands. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Forward-Looking Statements
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