Case Studies / Michigan Soybean Committee
Agriculture
Government Solutions
Process Management
Web App Development
Switchbox replaced the Michigan Soybean Committee's aging Drupal intranet with a custom Ruby on Rails portal—delivering a modern, responsive interface with bulk automation tools that freed staff to spend more time with vendors and less time on administrative overhead.
The Challenge
Outdated software stalled fund oversight
When the Michigan Soybean Committee enlisted Switchbox, they hoped to replace or improve upon their intranet project management software tools, built in Drupal. The software not only sported a stale, unappealing interface that conveyed a poor image to users, but it was also woefully insufficient from a reporting standpoint.
An important additional consideration: farmers needed to be able to access fund distribution information in the middle of the field without Wi-Fi—hence the need for a responsive, field-ready portal.
Our Approach
Evaluating Drupal and designing for modern fund management
As part of the discovery process, Switchbox worked with the MSC team to evaluate their existing Drupal intranet system across both functionality and design dimensions. We created a series of interactive wireframes to map out the new system.
A particular focus was placed on supporting users with limited internet connectivity in the field, and on designing for ease of data collection and consolidation across multiple user types with unique needs. The architecture prioritized automation, bulk actions, and a clean interface as core requirements.
What We Built
Custom portal for field-ready fund management
A brand new web portal was built using Ruby on Rails, responsive HTML, and a PostgreSQL database. Switchbox focused on ease of collection and consolidation of data for multiple user types, including those working in environments without high-speed internet.
Automations and bulk actions were built into the software to make processes far more efficient, and the clean, intuitive user interface was a welcome upgrade for all users—representing a meaningful step toward modernization for the MSC.
The Results
Automation drives efficiency and modernization
MSC’s fresh custom web portal allowed them to spend more time with vendors by reducing the time necessary to complete administrative tasks. Automations and bulk actions made processes far more efficient, and the clean interface was a welcome upgrade for users of all types.
The result was a meaningful step toward modernization for the Michigan Soybean Committee—a portal that works as hard as the farmers it serves.
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