Case Study: Cal-Maine Foods

Kendall Kunz

Cal-Maine Foods doubles its data collection and analysis efficiency by leveraging a customized Forms On Fire mobile app

Situation: "Everything was done manually. We needed to get rid of paper forms and use an app-based system."

Cal-Maine Foods has distributed more than 1 billion dozen eggs each year since 2014, making it the largest producer and distributor of eggs in the United States. In addition to being known as a reliable supplier of consistent, high-quality, fresh-shell eggs and egg products, Cal-Maine also aspires to be the country’s most sustainable producer of eggs. Cal-Maine Foods strives for a “Culture of Sustainability” in everything it does, and a key part of achieving that goal involves maintaining a healthy environment and responsibly managing the flocks and facilities.

“We need to conduct inspections of various aspects of our business to maintain good sanitation, meet safety and quality standards, and comply with various regulations,” said Bob Gilmore, IT Director at Cal-Maine Foods.

While necessary, the on-site hen-house inspections were labor-intensive processes that involved manual data entry and too much paperwork.

“Everything was done manually,” said Bob. “We needed to get rid of paper forms and use an app-based system. However, the challenge is that we have chicken farms scattered throughout the countryside. Using an app in the field is problematic because it’s either difficult or impossible to get good broadband internet connectivity.”

To streamline the inspection process, Cal-Maine Foods required an app offering a form-based system that worked offline. The app needed to provide the capability to take photos, read barcodes, and capture signatures. Furthermore, inspectors using the app had to be able to transfer the collected information to the company’s existing database.

Solution: The Forms On Fire mobile app gives Cal-Maine Foods inspectors the ability to collect important data without having to be tethered to the internet.

"I recommend Forms On Fire because of the organization's integrity, excellent customer service, and the quality of its software." -Bob Gilmore, IT Director, Cal-Maine Foods

Since Cal-Maine Foods turned to Forms On Fire to transform its inspection process with a customized data-driven mobile app, paper forms and manual data entry are now things of the past.

The Forms On Fire mobile app gives Cal-Maine Foods inspectors the ability to collect important data using their mobile devices without having to be tethered to the internet. Upon returning to an area with internet connectivity, the inspectors can upload the data into the main database.

“Also, Forms On Fire gives us the opportunity to have a tool to create dynamic forms,” said Bob. “If someone answers a question in a certain manner, that triggers the need for other questions to be answered. However, if someone answers that same question differently, then another set of questions will need to be answered.”

Additionally, through the use of purpose-built dashboards, Forms On Fire enables in- depth analytics of the data collected through the mobile app.

“After all, data is not worth anything unless you have access to that data and can analyze it to help manage the business better,” said Bob. “It doesn’t matter what your business is. If you’re collecting data, you need to be able to have access to that data to make informed business decisions. That’s what Forms On Fire mobile app does for us.”

Results + Benefits

Increased Efficiency	Good Return on Investment	High-Quality Mobile App	Quality Customer Service
By eliminating paperwork, Cal-Maine Foods has easily improved its efficiency.	Because the cost of using Forms On Fire is relatively low, Cal-Maine Foods realizes a healthy return on its investment.	The Forms On Fire mobile app is effective and easy to use.	“The customer service is super,” said Bob. “We look at our vendor relations as partnerships, and the support we receive from Forms On Fire really solidifies that partnership.”