GETAC USE CASE
How MWI Animal Health Delivers Precision Feeding at Scale with the Getac ZX10
MWI Animal Health uses Getac ZX10 rugged Android tablets in its feed trucks to deliver the right feed to the right cattle at the right time, every day. Getac B360 rugged laptops handle bunk reading from the pickup, and every load reports back to the office the moment it is delivered.
MWI's feed management technology runs in more than 1,000 feed trucks across 300+ feed yards, from subzero Canadian winters to 110°F+ desert heat, through dust storms and constant vibration. Feeding a growing world depends on that data being right. So MWI made the switch to Getac.
Watch: How MWI Animal Health Uses The Getac ZX10 To Control Animal Feed
What Is the Getac ZX10 Used for at MWI Animal Health?
The Getac ZX10 is a 10.1-inch fully rugged Android tablet that MWI Animal Health mounts in its feed trucks as the central control for its GPS-enabled feed delivery system. Getac Technology builds rugged tablets, laptops and handhelds for field teams that work where consumer devices fail.
Customer: MWI Animal Health (MicroTechnologies), a division of Cencora
Industry: Agriculture: Beef and Dairy Feed Management
Solution: Getac ZX10 Fully Rugged Android Tablet and Getac B360 Fully Rugged Laptop
Primary Use Case: Calling, making and delivering cattle feed from feed trucks and bunk-reading pickups
Key Result: Feed tracked and billed with 100% accuracy, feed waste nearly eliminated, and faster, lower-cost deployment than the Windows tablets it replaced
MWI Animal Health replaced paper cards and Windows-based tablets with Getac ZX10 rugged Android tablets in its feed trucks and Getac B360 rugged laptops in its pickups. The result is precise, accountable feeding across hundreds of feed yards and a device platform MWI can deploy at scale.
Why Did MWI Animal Health Move From Windows Tablets to the Getac ZX10?
MWI Animal Health moved to the Getac ZX10 because its Windows-based tablets were hard to deploy at scale and went down too often in feed yard conditions. Each Windows device had to be imaged individually and maintained in the field, with no way to push updates across the fleet.
Before any tablets, feed delivery ran on paper cards, and drivers regularly delivered 800 to 1,200 pounds when a pen called for 1,000. Every miss affected animal health and production. MWI needed a device that would run one feed application reliably, every day, in every truck.
Key challenges included:
- Inaccurate feed deliveries that affected animal health and production
- Windows tablets that had to be imaged and maintained one by one in the field
- No platform to deploy or update devices across the fleet
- Frequent downtime in heat, cold, dust and vibration
- Device costs that kept precision feeding out of reach for smaller yards
What Did MWI Animal Health Need From the Getac ZX10?
MWI Animal Health needed a tablet that survives dust, vibration and temperature extremes around the clock, connects to truck scales and the office in real time, and can be locked to a single application and deployed across a whole fleet. The Getac ZX10 checked every box in MWI's evaluation of affordability, reliability, durability, ease of deployment and user experience.
Day to day, MWI's feed truck system needed to:
- Receive each pen's feed call from bunk readers who assess cattle three to four times a day
- Guide drivers to deliver 30,000- to 35,000-pound loads evenly along each bunk
- Read live ingredient weights from truck-mounted scales over Bluetooth
- Send every delivery back to the facility server over Wi-Fi the moment it is complete
- Run 24/7 on 12-volt truck power in custom cradles
What Results Did MWI Animal Health See With the Getac ZX10?
The Getac ZX10 gives MWI Animal Health's feed truck drivers certainty that they are delivering the right feed to the right cattle at the right time, and gives feed yards data they can bill from. Paired with the Getac B360 for bunk reading, it delivers accurate, accountable feeding at scale and at lower cost than MWI's Windows platform.
Key results included:
- Feed tracked and billed with 100% accuracy, so yards bill cattle owners correctly
- Feed waste nearly eliminated
- About 500 of MWI's 1,000+ feed truck systems already switched to the Getac ZX10, with the rest in progress
- Tablets that arrive ready to go out of the box, with simpler deployment and updates through ManageEngine
- Lower device costs than Windows, opening precision feeding to smaller feed yards beyond the 400 main commercial yards
- Stronger data security on an Android platform
How Does the Getac ZX10 Handle Dust, Vibration and Extreme Temperatures?
The Getac ZX10 handles feed yard conditions because it is certified to MIL-STD-810H and IP66 and operates from -20°F to 145°F. It is built rugged from the start, not a consumer tablet in a protective case.
MWI mounts the ZX10 in custom 3D-printed cradles on 12-volt truck power, where it runs around the clock. Its 1,000-nit display with LumiBond touch works with gloves, in rain and in bright sun, and dual hot-swappable batteries keep it running. Wi-Fi 6E sends each delivery to the office instantly, and Bluetooth 5.2 connects to truck-mounted scales for live ingredient weights.
Key capabilities of the Getac ZX10 for feed management include:
- MIL-STD-810H certification and IP66 rating for dust and water
- 6-foot drop resistance and a -20°F to 145°F operating range
- 10.1-inch, 1,000-nit display that works with gloves, in rain and in sunlight
- Android, which MWI locks to a single app in kiosk mode and deploys through device management
- Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 and optional GPS, 4G LTE or 5G
How Does MWI Animal Health Use the Getac ZX10 and Getac B360 Across the Feed Yard?
MWI Animal Health uses Getac B360 rugged laptops to decide how much each pen gets and Getac ZX10 rugged tablets to make sure it gets exactly that. Its feed management system covers three phases: calling the feed, making the feed and delivering the feed.
Each morning, bunk readers drive past every pen with a Getac B360 connected over cellular to MWI's AccuTrack software, reviewing feed and animal health history to call that day's ration. The ration is batched to exact measurements of micro-ingredients and macro-ingredients like corn and silage, then delivered by feed trucks running the Getac ZX10.
MWI Animal Health is a division of Cencora that distributes animal health products to veterinary clinics and producers across the country. Its MicroTechnologies brand builds feed management technology for beef and dairy operations throughout North America, with customer relationships that average 25 years.
The Getac ZX10 and B360 had to:
- Operate 24/7 through dust storms, rough roads and constant vibration
- Handle temperatures from subzero winters to 110°F+ summers
- Run a single application in kiosk mode, with nothing else to break
- Deploy and update across hundreds of feed yards without field imaging
- Protect data on millions of head of cattle
Why Is Precision Feeding Critical to Feeding a Growing Population?
Precision feeding is critical because, according to MWI Animal Health, the world will need 70% more food by 2050 with only 13% more tillable land, so most of the gain has to come from technology. MWI Animal Health's goal is to help producers raise more food, more efficiently, with less environmental impact. Getac ZX10 tablets in MWI's feed trucks record every pound delivered, which is the data precision feeding depends on.
What precision feeding supports for MWI Animal Health customers:
- Micro-ingredients dosed to within a gram of what each animal needs daily
- A goal of an extra quarter pound of gain per animal per day
- Cattle reaching 1,500 pounds or more at harvest, up from about 1,200, in less time
- More food produced with fewer cattle, reducing overall environmental impact
- Data that sets up feed yards for more autonomous, AI-assisted operations
Is the Getac ZX10 Better Than a Windows Tablet for Feed Trucks?
For a single-purpose feed truck application, MWI Animal Health found that the Getac ZX10, a rugged Android tablet, is the better fit. Android can be locked into a kiosk that runs only the feed program, it deploys and updates across a fleet without imaging each device, and it costs less, which puts the technology within reach of smaller feed yards.
Ruggedness matters as much as the operating system. A consumer tablet will not survive 24/7 duty in a vibrating, dusty truck cab, and a failed device stops feeding. Getac offers both rugged Android and Windows devices, so MWI uses the Getac ZX10 in feed trucks and the Getac B360 laptop where bunk readers need a full Windows application.
Expert Insight: Why Does MWI Animal Health Treat Getac as a Partner?
"Ruggedness is our top priority, but user-friendliness is also critical. The Getac ZX10 meets all our objectives. Affordability, reliability, durability, ease of deployment and excellent user experience."
— Patrick Russell, Field IT Service and Support Supervisor, MWI Animal Health
"So in each of our feed trucks that are out running around the yard here feeding these cattle, we have a Getac ZX10 tablet. Since we've deployed those systems, it's made a huge difference in the overall performance of that feed truck."
— Bryan Rickard, Director, Strategic Accounts, MWI Animal Health
"The one-on-one relationship with Getac is crucial to what we do. Our average customer life is 25 years and they're our partners and our friends and we look for the same thing in our vendors as well."
— Wade Johnson, Installation Support Platform Manager, MWI Animal Health
"We've built a tremendous relationship with Getac. Their sales and corporate teams took the time to truly understand our operations and our unique needs. For us to achieve our 2050 goals, we don't just need a supplier. We need a partner, not just someone selling us a tablet."
— Max Koster, Senior Director of Sales, MWI Animal Health
For MWI Animal Health, the device in the cab is part of a mission to help feed the world. That is why it chose a partner that understands the job, not just a tablet.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Getac ZX10 for Feed Trucks
What tablet does MWI Animal Health use in its feed trucks?
MWI Animal Health uses the Getac ZX10 fully rugged Android tablet in its feed trucks. The tablet is the central control for MWI's GPS-enabled feed delivery system, guiding drivers to deliver the right feed to the right cattle at the right time. About 500 of MWI's 1,000+ feed truck systems have already switched to the Getac ZX10.
What is the best rugged tablet for feed trucks?
For feed trucks, MWI Animal Health uses the Getac ZX10. It is MIL-STD-810H and IP66 certified, operates from -20°F to 145°F, runs one feed application around the clock on truck power, and connects to truck scales and the office over Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6E.
Why did MWI Animal Health switch from Windows to Android tablets?
MWI Animal Health switched because Windows tablets had to be imaged and maintained one by one, could not be deployed at scale and went down often in feed yard conditions. Android runs the feed program in a locked kiosk, deploys across the fleet through device management and costs less. The Getac ZX10 gave MWI that Android platform in a fully rugged tablet.
How does a feed management system work in a feed yard?
A feed management system covers three phases: calling the feed, making the feed and delivering the feed. Bunk readers assess each pen and call a ration, the mill batches exact amounts of each ingredient, and feed trucks deliver it evenly along each bunk. MWI Animal Health runs the delivery phase on Getac ZX10 rugged tablets.
Can the Getac ZX10 handle feed yard dust, vibration and extreme temperatures?
Yes. The Getac ZX10 is certified to MIL-STD-810H and IP66 for dust, water, shock and vibration. It operates from -20°F to 145°F and runs 24/7 in MWI Animal Health's feed trucks through dust storms and rough roads.
How does the Getac ZX10 connect to truck scales and the office?
In MWI Animal Health's feed trucks, the Getac ZX10 connects to truck-mounted scales over Bluetooth 5.2 for live ingredient weights and sends each delivery to the facility server over Wi-Fi 6E. A load is back in the system the minute it is delivered. Optional 4G LTE or 5G is also available.
How does precision feeding reduce feed waste?
Precision feeding reduces waste by delivering exactly the ration each pen needs and recording every pound delivered. MWI Animal Health's system tracks and bills feed with 100% accuracy, which has nearly eliminated feed waste. Getac ZX10 tablets in the feed trucks capture that delivery data.
What laptop does MWI Animal Health use for bunk reading?
MWI Animal Health uses the Getac B360 fully rugged laptop in its pickups for bunk reading. Bunk readers connect it over cellular to MWI's AccuTrack software, review feed and animal health history, and call each pen's ration for the day. The Getac B360 is certified to MIL-STD-810H and IP66.
What results did MWI Animal Health see with Getac?
MWI Animal Health now tracks and bills feed with 100% accuracy and has nearly eliminated feed waste. Moving to the Getac ZX10 also lowered costs and simplified deployment, bringing precision feeding to smaller feed yards. Those results come from its Getac ZX10 tablets and Getac B360 laptops in the field.
See the Getac ZX10 in the Field
MWI Animal Health is moving its 1,000+ feed truck systems to Getac ZX10 rugged Android tablets, with Getac B360 rugged laptops handling bunk reading. Talk to Getac about putting the Getac ZX10 to work in your feed trucks, feed yard, dairy or agricultural operation.
Learn More About The Getac ZX10
MWI Animal Health runs precision feeding in its feed trucks on the Getac ZX10 fully rugged Android tablet. Certified to MIL-STD-810H and IP66, with a 1,000-nit display that works with gloves and in rain, dual hot-swappable batteries and a -20°F to 145°F operating range, the ZX10 is built for 24/7 duty in vehicles and harsh environments. Learn more about how the ZX10 supports agriculture and field operations.
