A framework for integrating a complex harvesting and transport system for sugar production

The Australian sugar industry is seeking to increase profitability through better integration across a value chain fragmented among many owners. Within the cane harvesting and transport sectors, many existing inefficiencies are a result of excessive numbers of harvesting machines owned by harvester contractors and growers, and the fact that most harvesters operate within a short time window each day. In order to improve the complex system from a tactical and strategic planning perspective, leading to reduced costs of production, a modelling framework identifying the key drivers and links must first be developed. Upon developing the framework, techniques in operations research, financial modelling, and simulation can be applied to investigate opportunities to enhance the system in partnership with industry. This paper describes the development of such a framework through participation with two case-study mill areas within the Australian sugar industry, along with its application to improve the efficiency of the harvesting and transport system. Through reducing the number of harvesters in the region and implementing best practice principles for harvesting, one of the case study mills showed potential gains in profitability of up to AUS$1 million per annum. Implementation took place in one of the case study regions during the 2003 harvest season for which the region is now pursuing further adoption in 2004.