Custom Automated Product Counting System

A leading wholesale plant nursery in South Africa, supplying some of the country’s largest retail chains, faced an ongoing challenge in their packaging and dispatch operations. Each plant needed to be packaged and labelled in a specific way according to retailer requirements. With multiple retailers, each with different packaging and labelling rules, the nursery relied on separate conveyor belts to process and prepare each order.

Until recently, this process was managed manually. Staff were required to count plants by hand as they moved along the conveyor belts, while also ensuring they were packaged and labelled correctly. During peak seasonal periods, when volumes surged, this manual process became especially difficult to manage. Inevitably, errors occurred — plants were miscounted, packaging mistakes were made, and the nursery often under-billed retailers, leading to revenue losses.

• Manual counting was error-prone – Staff struggled to keep track of the fast-moving plants, especially during busy seasons.
• Revenue was being lost – Incorrect counts meant incorrect billing, cutting into profitability.
• Complex packaging requirements – Each retailer demanded different packaging and labelling, adding further complexity.
• Separate conveyor belts for each retailer – With multiple production lines running simultaneously, accurate oversight was nearly impossible.

To address these challenges, TGR Software developed a custom Automated Product Counting System designed specifically for the nursery’s needs. The system automatically counts each plant as it moves along the production line, ensuring complete accuracy in product tracking.

Key features include:

• Automated product counting – Eliminating manual counting errors.
• Real-time monitoring – Product counts are displayed instantly on wall-mounted monitors for packaging staff to see.
• Transparency and traceability – Each monitor displays the retailer name, the type of product being packed, and the total count.
• Multi-line integration – Three conveyor belts, each serving a different retailer, now run with their own dedicated automated counter.

The nursery now operates three Automated Product Counting Systems, running continuously across three different conveyor belts. The new system has transformed their operations:

Key features include:

• Losses and errors have been dramatically reduced.

• Billing accuracy has improved, ensuring the nursery is paid correctly for every plant supplied.

• Packaging staff benefit from instant feedback, making the entire process more efficient and transparent.

• Peak season operations are now manageable, with automation taking pressure off manual labour.