IGS technology is built to scale, allowing phased growth and continued operations, all while minimising any investment risk
This article was guest-written by Grant Middleton, Head of Supply Chain at IGS. With a wealth of experience across manufacturing and industrial automation, Grant brings a passion for connecting people and businesses, alongside a detailed knowledge of how to ensure conditions are right to allow companies to scale and grow.
Vertical farming works best when all the right pieces are in place to scale in order to meet commercial demand and drive profitability. This is where a savvy, knowledgeable technology provider really comes into its own – one that knows the ins and outs of supply chain management across multiple markets, alongside having the hardware and software in place that can help foster real growth. It’s a careful balance of engineering, logistics, and planning, and that’s where my team comes in.
Scalable vertical farming technology is reliant on having all the pieces of the jigsaw fitting together properly, right from the initial design and through every stage of a project, putting in place procedures and components that can easily match up to rising business demand. The concept of project phasing supports this, alongside supply chain strategies, risk management, and the challenges of successfully navigating an international market. We’ve worked with customers across the globe, putting in place systems that give them scope to grow, expand, and develop.
Project phasing
Project phasing involves a carefully structured approach: our vertical farming technology is designed to scale as the customer expands their operations. It means each Growth Tower can be operational and begin generating revenue as soon as it has passed Site Acceptance Tests and is fully commissioned, giving growers an important source of income as they look to scale up.
Supply chain plays a pivotal role in how this process starts. We don’t look at projects as one-off solutions, but as a synergy of components that can be easily manufactured in a repeatable, modular fashion. This covers every facet, from the wider structure and the Growth Towers themselves, through to the individual elements, such as the Growth Trays and their liners.
Our products need to be easily manufacturable. We need to be able to approach our suppliers and get them to deliver as many components as needed on a month-to-month basis. This allows customers to scale quickly. Let’s look at how this approach would apply to the Growth Trays – one of the most important pieces in the puzzle when scaling, as there are simply more of them than most other components. If a customer wants to operate say, 200 towers, then that translates into a much larger number of Growth Trays. We’ve therefore got to be careful about how we manage this from a supply chain perspective. This comes down to relationship building and creating supply chains that are reliable and efficient from the get-go.
Putting in place robust relationships and procedures
Successful supply chains start with proper due diligence. At IGS, this means everything from initial thorough desktop analysis, all the way through to in-person audits to ensure we’re getting the right fit. We look at different suppliers in specific regions, looking for skillsets, but more importantly, the potential for relationships. We need to know whether they’re the right fit for us and whether they buy into what it is we’re looking to achieve: world-class science and engineering to help growers produce quality plants, year-round. We’re transparent about this from the outset, which really helps when building relationships and managing supply chains.
These relationships come into their own when manufacturing at scale. We’re looking at production lines that buy up a lot of materials, so both sides need to be as agile as possible to ensure they run smoothly. We place our suppliers into A, B, C, and D subgroups, categorised both by the level of spend and the complexity of the material we’re working with. Our team will work closely with these suppliers to help put in place a rigorous global supply base to support IGS customers.
Working on a global level to help customers scale
We work actively with customers across Europe, the Middle East, and North America. To enable ready scalability, we’ve set up assembly process plants in different continents. The main component parts are sourced from either the UK or mainland Europe (80% of our direct supply chain comes from Scotland, with 60% of that coming from within a 20-mile radius of our Engineering Innovation Centre in Fife). Final assembly is undertaken closer to the customer site. This helps us to plan ahead for deliveries, ensuring that we reduce risk on any potentially problematic freight routes. As soon as the product is built in the processing plant, it’s ready to be delivered, helping our customers to scale at pace.
Many of our components are bespoke, so we need to track commodity markets (particularly steel) closely to anticipate any changes in price. We review these daily, ensuring that our teams are making decisions based on the latest information. It also helps us to avoid committing to anything which could become obsolete, leaving room for innovation and allowing us to introduce new designs without being locked into any contracts we don’t want to enter.
Getting supply chain involved at the earliest stage possible helps ensure that project phasing is practical. If we can get a feel for how a customer is wanting to scale, we can work with suppliers to help forecast delivery of materials and components. This lays the foundation for seamless growth, so customers can add additional towers without impacting those which are already operational.
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Managing risk
Every business carries inherent risks – it's about how we manage them. Our modular design means that customers can begin to generate income before funding is complete, or the full facility is operational. This helps to provide a strong financial backbone throughout the development process, helping to build financial security from the early stages of a development.
We’ve geared our supply chain management towards a similar approach. First off, we use contracts to help lock in material prices and availability. These often include cancellation windows, giving us and our customers reassurance in supply, and the flexibility to adapt to changes in market demand.
These agreements help us to forecast and reduce the impact of any changes made at the eleventh hour, as well as managing stock so we can hold any extra back when need be. This creates a nice balance between readiness and restraint, helping our customers to scale while effectively managing any risks.
Embedding scalable practices on a global stage
Scalability with IGS isn’t just about crunching numbers and a “bigger is better” approach. It’s about building relationships, both with the customers that use the technology, but also the suppliers who buy into our dream and make it happen. This comes down to careful planning, reliable and replicable products, and an agile approach to shifts in market demand. Supply chain is a key part of this, helping to ensure that our tech solutions facilitate growth not only for plants, but the businesses themselves.
Want to learn more about our technology and how it benefits customers across the world? Take a look at our blog.
