The Canadian Wheat Board launched a multi-year initiative aimed at revamping its grain marketing supply chain that is expected to translate into millions of dollars in annual savings and increased e-business opportunities for Western Canadian farmers.

Supply Chain Transformation is a large-scale project aimed at streamlining processes in every link of the grain marketing chain - from farm-gate to customer and back again - the CWB said in a release. The result will be an end-to-end overhaul of the supply chain and its many components, from grain inventory management to marketing support services to the processes that ensure reliability and consistency of supply to grain customers, the CWB said.

According to Cattle Network, the project will also introduce new e-business options for farmers, such as online permit applications, Producer Payment Options (PPO) contracting and tracking, producer car-ordering and farmer account management, as early as spring 2007. A fully automated farmer payment system will also be created, the CWB said.

"Grain marketing is a highly competitive industry and farmers need every edge they can get," said CWB President and CEO Adrian Measner. "The purpose of this major overhaul is therefore to make our processes operate as smoothly and efficiently as possible."

The three year project is expected to cost about C$46 million, the CWB said. Resulting efficiencies could save farmers as much as C$10 million a year once the project is complete.