Customer Overview
Dickinson Family Farms is a family‑owned produce hub based in Fallbrook, California, that grows, sources, and packs a variety of avocados, citrus, and exotic fruit. What started as a partnership with a local organic grocer blossomed. Today, the farm supplies over twenty school districts in Southern California, runs an online store that ships nationwide, and continues to grow its wholesale customer base. Dane Petersen, Production Manager at DFF, said the quality of both their product and relationships helped them move from a small farm mentality to a scaled operation.
The Challenge
As the business grew, DFF’s leadership realized their legacy tools could not keep up with modern demands. Orders were logged across emails, spreadsheets, and phone calls. Inventory visibility was inconsistent, making it difficult to plan harvests and allocate fruit efficiently. Accounting processes lagged behind real-time operations, creating stress at month-end and uncertainty around margins. To maintain their exceptional bar of customer service, comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA204), and keep up with school‑district procurement requirements, Dickinson needed a new set of tools.
Before Agriful, they relied on handwritten notes, a whiteboard for orders, and paper jackets. Maintaining inventory accuracy was difficult, which led to incorrectly shipped orders. Delivery drivers’ invoices wouldn’t match pallets on the truck, slowing deliveries and forcing staff to adjust on the fly. A whiteboard-based order management system meant staff lacked clear pick lists and needed manual intervention (and employee hours) to ensure customer needs were met. As Dane put it, “If I’m in the cooler counting cases, that's not the right use of time for Dickinson.”
The Solution
DFF chose Agriful, an intuitive system built for produce. Dane described Agriful as an online operating system that “translates what we do as a food hub electronically from incoming fruit to outgoing orders, tracking everything in between.” Agriful’s platform automates traceability and inventory by scanning pallets and cases rather than manually writing them down. Dane emphasised that Agriful isn’t “rocket science”; it’s purpose-built for produce operations and especially suited for food‑hub and wholesaler businesses. The system automatically generates pick tickets for each order, empowering the warehouse staff to rapidly create pallets. Scanning each case when building an order means the pallet’s contents and invoices automatically match.
Agriful provides real‑time visibility into inventory levels across each cold‑storage location. DFF’s leadership team can check inventory availability from their desk or phone instead of driving to another warehouse. Agriful empowers DFF to meet traceability regulations while scaling throughput.
“We’re an intentionally lean team… and we get a lot done. Agriful is really helpful to keep us all on track.”
“We’re an intentionally lean team… and we get a lot done. Agriful is really helpful to keep us all on track.”
How Agriful Delivered
Agriful has catalyzed a shift from manual processes to drive efficiency gains and business resilience for DFF:
Faster warehouse operations and deliveries
Dane noted that drivers used to leave at 9–10 a.m. despite starting at 6–7 a.m. They often spent three hours building orders using the whiteboard system. With Agriful’s pick tickets and scanning, drivers now depart around 7:30–8:00 a.m. DFF estimates deliveries are 20–25% faster due to real‑time inventory and reliable picking processes.
Time savings for management
Dane no longer spends 1hr+ each day doing lower-value tasks like counting pallets. Agriful helps him refocus that time on activities that help the company operate more efficiently and deliver their customers a better experience.
Accurate orders and reduced customer issues
Scanning means the pallet contents match the invoices. Dane said it has been “a while” since he’s had a driver call to say, “this isn’t right”. Agriful’s platform has practically eliminated mis-shipments.
Reduced stress and empowered employees
Pick tickets give warehouse staff the autonomy to build pallets without constant supervision. Employees are no longer confused about which product goes where and can fulfill orders seamlessly.
Compliance and scalability
Agriful provides the traceability and documentation required by FSMA 204, which is critical when selling into school districts. Dane said the system already supports operations beyond what their current infrastructure can handle and will help them scale.
