Marfrig, the world leader in hamburger production and one of the world's largest beef producing companies, constantly seeks new ways of extending and perfecting its operations. Digital transformation is a huge ally in the process of innovating in several sectors of the company: this includes the use of automation robots in the company's operating system.​

Introduced in 2020 by Marfrig's Technological Evolution Department, the automation robots are tools that are used in order to automate repetitive manual tasks, such as keying data digitally into the in-house system. Two months ago, 4 new robots were installed in order to carry out tasks in such business areas as IT, treasury, inputs, logistics and finance. All in all, 20 are already in operation. Employees can fuss devote themselves to activities that require analyses, and ensure effective savings of working hours.

“The idea is that the tools should be used democratically and help the company as a whole, 24 hours a day. The automation robots are like employees who are shared between areas. We purchase a license, they are programmed with the agenda of activities, and then perform them," says Joel Santiago, Marfrig's director of Information Technology. There are currently two robots working for the South American countries in which Marfrig has a presence — Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina.

Santiago explains that they were introduced gradually. “Initially, when we first started to talk about the use of robots, people imagined a machine roaming around the company, possibly something they had seen only in films. We took the trouble to explain how the technology works, showing that it is a software that can navigate its way between sites, access systems, and carry out repetitive activities. And when people understood how the mechanism works, the departments began to ask whether they could use the robots."

Before the robots can actually begin to play a role in any given area of the company, the area has to understand each of its necessities, check whether the solution can be provided by a robot, and then produce a financial evaluation. After this, we go to the processes of creation, testing, introducing and production. On an everyday basis, the development team is in charge of following up these robots and performing the proper maintenance.

By August of the present year, the company had saved 9,000 hours thanks to the use of the automation robots in Marfrig's operating system. They can carry out tasks more efficiently and quickly (roughly 70% faster), because those are repetitive processes that tend to generate errors. In requests for transfer, for example, a robot is expected to save 630 hours of the work of an employee in the area. At present, 1,500 working hours have been saved, more than was initially planned for.

In addition to this factor, the second main benefit is the reduction in operational errors. “Requests, for example, entered manually, can be mistyped, leading to the merchandise lying idle in the unit instead of being transferred. The robots make sure that this process is carried out correctly," affirms Santiago.

He also emphasizes that the use of technology does not make humans dispensable —  quite the opposite, in fact. “To give you just one example, robots cannot assess user experience or satisfaction. Having introduced them, we have freed up our employees to take part in more strategic activities that add value to our business."           

Marfrig has expansion plans and intends to purchase two further automation robots by the end of the year in order to enable its employees to be even more productive.