MILAN – Rudi Albert, ceo and founder of Alkaff returns to these pages together with Maurizio Zugna, Dimitra Europe, Italy Project Manager, to go into more detail about the operation that has seen these two companies working together to address the new challenges posed by new European regulations in relation to sustainability, supply chain, raw material: in one word, EUDR.
Alkaff joins Dimitra’s EUDR DDS platform. What is it?
Rudi/Alkaff: “We have always believed that quality and innovation are the true drivers of
growth and development. In a context where changes are the order of the day, we want to
be a reliable partner for our customers. For this reason, we decided to rely on Dimitra’s
expansive experience, choosing their EUDR DDS platform to improve transparency and automate compliance with current and future regulatory requirements.”
Maurizio/Dimitra: “Alkaff is the first Italian company to equip itself with the software
necessary for compliance with the European Regulation called EUDR, essentially the
European monitoring system for natural products from areas that have not undergone
deforestation processes from 2020 to today. Dimitra offers solutions for the digitalization of the supply chain and technological support to all stakeholders, from the farmer to the importer to the value chain of the finished product.”
What advantages does this innovative tool bring compared to others of its kind?
Rudi/Alkaff: “The combination of the Dimitra system with the technology of our Alkaff app
makes the work of roasters extremely fluid and intuitive. This integration simplifies daily
operations, minimizing complexities and optimizing document management.
Compared to other tools, our solution not only increases efficiency, but also guarantees greater precision and ease of use, making each phase of the production process leaner and less prone to errors.”
Maurizio/Dimitra: “Dimitra develops proprietary artificial intelligence solutions and
blockchain enabled traceability and information management based on industry specific
knowledge from key team members with over 30 years of experience in the coffee sector.”
Dimitra: how important is it that a company like Alkaff has decided to integrate into this system?
Rudi/Alkaff: “The integration of our app with the Dimitra system represents an important
step in ensuring that roasters have quick and effective access to all the necessary
documents. To better meet the needs of our customers, we have also made the desktop
version of our app available. All the features that our users know and appreciate are now accessible directly from the PC. Through a link on our website, they can access an
interface optimized for the big screen and directly download the EUDR documents, thus
improving their productivity with the convenience of the desktop version.”
Maurizio/Dimitra: “Alkaff is an innovator on the Italian market and thanks to investments in
technology and vast product knowledge, they will now be able to offer its customers
constant monitoring and streamlined compliance required by the EU regulatory bodies.
Through this system, the batches of (green) coffee that Alkaff sells to its customers will
have total transparency including compliance with the European Deforestation Regulation,. Compliance and transparency powered by Dimitra’s technology.”
How are Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain technology used to ensure the supply compliance process?
Rudi/Alkaff: “I think it is right to leave the explanation of this process to Mister Zugna.”
Maurizio/Dimitra: “To identify potential deforestation problems in the production areas, high- definition satellite images are analyzed by proprietary artificial intelligence developed by Dimitra.
All this particularly “delicate” information is recorded on a blockchain system to guarantee the immutability of the data and definition of access for each participant in the value chain.”
At Triestespresso, at the Alkaff stand, will it be possible to touch the Dimitra technology with your own hands?
Rudi/Alkaff: “It is a pleasure for us to host Dimitra at our stand.”
Maurizio/Dimitra: “As honored guest at the Alkaff stand we will demonstrate the process of
data acquisition, analysis and drafting of the necessary documentation. Join us for a real leap into the digital future!”.
How much will its cost affect the final price of green coffee?
Rudi/Alkaff: “The cost associated with the implementation of this technology is so low that it is practically negligible in the final price of green coffee. On the contrary, the costs that the entire supply chain could sustain without this sophisticated process would be much more significant. Thanks to this technology, we guarantee efficiency and compliance, preventing potentially much more burdensome expenses.”
Maurizio/Dimitra: “The cost of the “certification” itself is marginal on the cost of the raw
material, the initial major effort that requires collaboration and investment by each
stakeholder in the value chain, is the global data collection of the producing entities, the
smallholder farmers. Dimitra is diligently working on this complex task together with public and private sector partners in all the coffee growing regions.”
