Success Stories
Pixobot Inc. D.B.A Quantified Ag
Nebraska Manufacturing Extension Partnership
“The assistance provided by Nebraska MEP added value to the core business of Quantified Ag and has allowed us to expand into another large cattle feeding region of the world in a significant way.”
Andrew Uden, Chief Operations Officer
Australian International Partnership Development
Pixobot Inc—doing business as Quantified Ag—is a Lincoln, Nebraska, based data analytics and biometric sensor company serving the beef industry. The company’s products enable their customers to collect data from animals in real time and analyze that data with machine learning platforms in the cloud to aid animal health managers in finding and treating outliers earlier in the disease cycle. Quantified Ag operates largely as a software and data analytics service company but has also developed a unique hardware platform to support the collection of data from their customers’ animals.
Situation
Quantified Ag identified Australia as a market with high potential for the company’s product offerings. Andrew Uden, Chief Operations Officer, led the expansion efforts into this market. The first steps involved traveling to Australia with several Quantified Ag employees to (1) visit with prospective customers in market to begin testing prior to a broader international product launch, and (2) find a distribution partner for their technology in Australia. Ultimately, the company sought to establish formal agreements within the Australian market. Quantified Ag reached out to Nebraska MEP for assistance in finding programs and funds to help offset costs. Additionally, Nebraska MEP helped with researching who would be appropriate to contact.
Solution
Nebraska MEP connected Quantified Ag with the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) which provided funding to initially travel to Australia for market intelligence gathering and exploration, saving close to $5,000 in expenses. Traveling to Australia allowed Quantified Ag to spend time with potential customers and distributors. Company representatives traveled extensively with Provenance4, a technology company based in Geelong, Australia. Provenance4 has now become Quantified Ag’s Australian technology and distribution partner. Formal agreements are in place and return trips have already happened to support the first round of product testing and beta sales
Results
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From this process Quantified Ag has accomplished the following in Australia to date:
- Cost savings of $5,000
- Signed an Australian technology and distribution partner
- Installed systems at four Australian cattle feedlots and started large scale testing
- Signed up the first round of beta customers, leading to increased sales revenue
- Attended the Beef Australia trade show to promote the product and make sales