Custom Logistics Management System
IndustryAgriculture & AgTech (Supply Chain Logistics & Commodity Trading)
TimelineJanuary 2024 – August, 2025 (Consulting, MVP) + Ongoing Enhancement
Number of Users300+
Technologies.NET 8, TypeScript, Microsoft Azure, Azure AI Document Intelligence, StoneX & Barchart APIs
Client Summary
GrainHQ is a forward-thinking agricultural technology firm dedicated to streamlining the complex logistics and data management needs of modern farming operations and Independent Brokers (IBs). Managing massive volumes of grain data and market contracts, GrainHQ acts as a critical bridge between physical farm assets and global commodity markets. By prioritizing data-driven decision-making and operational efficiency, GrainHQ empowers its users to scale their business “empires” through high-level insights and automated workflows.
“We have been working with Pell for over a year in building software for our business from the ground up. They did an amazing job of laying everything out and understanding what I was trying to accomplish to start this build correctly. Their communication and organization could not have been better.They made sure I was aware of everything and also made sure they understood what I was asking. It has been an amazing partnershipand I can’t recommend them highly enough!”
Aaron Bertels, Founder & CEO
7,000,000+
Total Bushels Managed
$104,000,000+
Managed Contract Value
200+
Grain Elevators Tracked
115,000+
Farmland Acres Tracked
Our Solution
In 2023, Pell Software partnered with GrainHQ to engineer a custom, high-scale agricultural logistics platform from the ground up. Moving away from the rigid limitations of off-the-shelf CRM tools, we collaborated closely with their leadership to design a system that truly reflects the complexities of modern commodity trading. Using an iterative, agile approach, we’ve continuously expanded the platform’s capabilities—integrating advanced AI, real-time market data, and a robust multi-tenant architecture. The result is a powerful, unified ecosystem that has liberated GrainHQ from manual bottlenecks and provides the foundational independence they need to scale their business empire.
Features
Designed to serve as the “Control Center” for the modern grain industry, the platform features a suite of sophisticated modules built to automate high-volume data workflows, provide real-time market clarity, and deliver total operational control.
Custom Production & Revenue Dashboards
The custom dashboards are the control center of the system, allowing users to build tailored views of their data purpose-built for agricultural industry workflows.
- Sophisticated visual dashboards to calculate realized profit & loss, yield and revenue
- Scenario calculator that allows farmers to model potential sales outcomes and futures pricing
- Automated, proactive alerts powered by Twilio and SendGrid to ensure users never miss a beat!
Real-Time Commodity & Market Integrations
The platform features deep connectivity with live market data and commodity brokerages, enabling farmers to synchronize critical information and develop real-time marketing strategies for their grain inventory.
- Live StoneX & Barchart API integrations provide real-time commodity market pricing, brokerage positions, and historical data streaming
- Aggregated data from multiple elevators and global market sources delivered through a single, unified interface
Mobile-Friendly Progressive Web App
Empowers users to manage their entire account with a downloadable, cross-platform mobile app (Progress Web App)
- Mobile app is developed on the same infrastructure & code base as the primary web-based system, enabling low-cost long-term maintenance & support
- Cross-platform and mobile-friendly design allows users to easily access information and receive alerts on any device
- Downloadable to the user’s app drawer and/or desktop, ensuring visibility and accessibility
AI-Powered Document Intelligence
Cutting-edge AI, leveraging Microsoft AI Foundry and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to transform manual data entry into a fully automated, high-speed data pipeline with human-in-the-loop verification.
- High-precision Azure AI models scan and extract critical data points from complex grain contracts and scale tickets in seconds
- Eliminates the grueling requirement for manual data entry, liberating staff to focus on high-level growth rather than paperwork
- Identifies commodity types, bushel counts, and pricing with surgical accuracy across varied document formats
Challenges
GrainHQ had reached a critical ceiling operating within the rigid constraints of Zoho, a generic CRM never intended to handle the intricate logistics of agricultural commodity trading. Without a true multi-tenant architecture, the system couldn’t support the high-level growth of onboarding independent brokers or diverse farm operations into a single, secure ecosystem.
Managing thousands of grain contracts and scale tickets across multiple data sources like StoneX and Barchart required a level of integration and automation that off-the-shelf tools simply couldn’t provide. The result was a fragmented workflow that forced the team into thousands of hours of manual data entry, leaving them “handcuffed” to inadequate software and stifling their ability to scale their empire.
They needed a system built for the complexity of the modern grain industry; one that offered them total control over their workflows.
Results
The transition from a restrictive off-the-shelf CRM to a custom-built, AI-driven ecosystem has transformed GrainHQ into a high-scale agricultural powerhouse. By engineering a true multi-tenant architecture, Pell Software provided GrainHQ with the independence to onboard unlimited farm operations and independent brokers, each within their own secure and isolated environment.
The integration of Azure AI Document Intelligence revolutionized their operations, automating the extraction of data from complex grain contracts and scale tickets. This single innovation eliminated thousands of hours of manual data entry, allowing the team to shift their focus from tedious paperwork to high-level business growth.
With real-time data streaming from StoneX and Barchart, GrainHQ now manages millions of bushels of grain through a centralized, “single source of truth.” The result is a robust, scalable platform that has liberated the organization from its technical debt and provided a clear roadmap for their expanding business empire.
Technology Utiilzed
The GrainHQ platform is built on a modern, enterprise-grade technology stack designed for high-performance data processing and global scalability.
- .NET 8 / C#: The latest high-performance backend framework powering the core business logic and multi-tenant API.
- React.js & TypeScript: A sophisticated, responsive frontend architecture providing a seamless user experience across desktop and mobile devices.
- Azure SQL with Row-Level Security (RLS): An enterprise relational database utilizing RLS to ensure total data isolation and security across the multi-tenant ecosystem.
- Azure AI Document Intelligence: Cutting-edge AI and machine learning models used to automate the extraction of data from complex grain contracts and scale tickets, eliminating manual entry.
- Microsoft Azure Cloud: High-availability hosting via App Services, Blob Storage for document management, and Azure Key Vault for military-grade secrets management.
- StoneX & Barchart APIs: Deep integrations providing real-time commodity market pricing and historical data synchronization for grain elevators and brokers.
- Azure Entra ID (formerly Azure AD): Secure, centralized identity management and authentication for all system users and organizations.
- SendGrid: Automated transactional email delivery for system alerts, contract confirmations, and user notifications.
- Azure Managed Identity: Enhancing security by providing an automatically managed identity for applications to use when connecting to resources that support Microsoft Entra authentication.
- Custom Data Pipelines: Proprietary ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes designed to handle millions of data points from diverse agricultural data sources.
Contact Us
Partnering with Pell Software can elevate your business. Contact us today and learn how we can help drive your business to the next level with custom software!
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