With this voucher, Toleco is working on the development of the Toleco Core Platform: a generic and scalable software platform that enables the automatic processing, monitoring, and control of data streams in the food industry. This is prompted by structural problems in the sector: companies work with a multitude of different IT systems – from outdated ERP solutions to modern cloud applications – which do not communicate sufficiently with each other. This leads to inefficient processes, error-prone manual data transfer, and limited traceability, with direct consequences for food safety, quality, and cost control.
With the Smart Tech Voucher, Toleco is not focusing on customisation for individual clients, but on the development of a robust technological core that can structurally solve this fragmentation. The platform must be capable of automatically recognising, translating and harmonising data from various sources, and then making it available to chain partners in real-time. This creates a single, integrated and reliable overview of aspects such as product origin, quality and certification, which is essential for efficient chain collaboration.
Four building blocks
The development focuses on four cohesive building blocks. Firstly, a generic processing engine will be developed that can validate and transform incoming data uniformly, regardless of its format or structure. Secondly, Toleco will build a flexible scripting architecture that allows process rules to be added dynamically without modification of the core software. In parallel, comprehensive logging and auditing functionality will be developed, ensuring that all data processing is fully traceable. Finally, a scalable and fault-tolerant processing layer will be realised, capable of handling large volumes of data concurrently without performance loss.
Practical validation at Elings Meat Products
The use case at Elings Meat Products plays a crucial role in this. While Toleco is responsible for the design and technical development of the platform, Elings acts as a practical partner where the solution is tested and validated. Elings operates in a complex production and logistical environment with multiple IT systems and intensive interaction with suppliers and customers. It is precisely this realistic setting that makes it possible to test the platform for its functionality, performance, and applicability in daily practice.
Within the pilot, the platform is being used to address existing bottlenecks in Elings' data flows, such as the lack of real-time insight, manual data processing, and limited integration between systems. By automatically linking and standardising data, a more reliable and up-to-date information overview is created, which directly contributes to better decision-making, more efficient processes, and higher food safety. At the same time, the pilot provides valuable insights for Toleco to further optimise the platform, for example in the areas of performance, error handling, and user-friendliness.
The combination of technological development by Toleco and practical validation at Elings ensures that the project does not remain stuck in a theoretical solution, but actually leads to a proven, applicable platform. After this pilot, the concept can be scaled up to other companies in the food industry facing similar challenges. As such, the deployment of the Smart Tech Pilot Voucher represents a significant step towards broader sector digitalisation, with lower costs, less waste, and improved supply chain transparency as the intended outcome.
About the Smart Tech Voucher Scheme
The Smart Tech Voucher Scheme is intended to support SMEs in developing and testing innovative digital and technological solutions that contribute to greater efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness in industry. With these vouchers, companies can invest in research, development, and pilot projects with a low barrier to entry, validating new technologies in practice and accelerating their path to application. The scheme has been made possible partly by the EFRO Kansen voor West programme and the province of North Holland, and is implemented with support from the European Union. Applications can be submitted via our Smart Tech Vouchers page.