By Jayci Bishop
Whether your office is a F-250 or a John Deere tractor, almost any information you could want can be at your disposal on your smartphone. However, this has not always been the case. PCCA forged a path in this arena for grower-owners to access their account and crop information in 2003 by creating the Member Access website and, later, its myPCCA® mobile app.
“Originally, we started with the idea that we wanted a way for members to be able to view some of their information online,” said Adam Foley, PCCA Applications Programming Manager. “Initially, it wasn’t very much. I think it was just some screens we copied from Gin Services, so they didn’t have to go to the gins to see their accounts.”
Class recaps and statements were the main elements of the system’s original version. The system has continually evolved each year since then, adding value and information with each enhancement. More recently, the Member Access app received an update and facelift to become the myPCCA app.
“The myPCCA app was created to further enhance the tools available for our grower-owners. Innovative solutions are at the heart of the DNA at PCCA,” said Corey Smyth, PCCA Director of Cotton Services and Gin Accounting. “The app was designed to do that and make sure that you stay connected and stay in control of marketing your crop.”
Each year Information Systems implements hundreds of enhancements to all PCCA software based on feedback from growers, gins, and employees.
“Most of the ideas for changes and updates to the system come directly from conversations with our grower-owners or their gins,” Smyth said. “That might be at a grower meeting, or gin visit, or at the Gin Workshop. They tell us what they need, and we try to do it for them. I remind growers all the time – PCCA is your company, and this is your app. We want to make it work for you.”
Today the myPCCA app and Member Access systems serve the same purpose – to give growers convenient access to their account and crop information. However, it has also evolved into a place for them to receive information. Today growers can get alerts, view PCCA news, and even sign documents all within the app.
“Well, one of the things my dad used to say is that you can never have too many tools,” Smyth said. “Member Access and the myPCCA app is just that if you are a grower-owner of PCCA, it is one of the tools in your toolbox, and I believe if utilized, it gives you a competitive advantage.”
