An industrial site that follows the rhythm of the seasons
Established in the Aude department since 1970, the Bayer site in Trèbes is dedicated to the production of corn and rapeseed within the group’s Crop Science division. It comprises two plants—one for foundation seed and the other for commercial seed—and operates on a highly seasonal basis: the permanent staff is supplemented each growing season by a large number of seasonal and temporary workers.
This structure presents an ongoing challenge: keeping track of everyone’s authorizations, providing training quickly, and assigning the right person to the right position—whether it’s a permanent employee or a temporary worker who arrived the week before.
At its seed production facility in Trèbes (Aude), Bayer managed its production teams using a multitude of scattered files and tools. With Mercateam, the site now has a single platform: authorizations visible to everyone in real time, training scheduled more easily, assignments based on actual skills, and even cross-support between its two plants thanks to a shared view of skills.
Before: Information scattered across departments
«Before Mercateam, we had a wide variety of tools available to manage information related to the production team management. It's a relatively tedious process—gathering information, updating it, and also sharing it with the various stakeholders.»
Aude Bergère, a time manager and administrative assistant, oversees the site’s permanent and temporary staff on a daily basis. As in many factories, each department maintained its own files: this led to duplicate data that quickly became outdated, and a constant back-and-forth of emails to piece together the big picture.
The shift: a single platform, visible to everyone
«The tool has allowed us to centralize each person’s authorizations by providing an overview that’s accessible to everyone, which streamlines the flow of information and reduces email traffic», continues Aude Bergère.
«We can make it easier to schedule team training sessions thanks to the schedule, which gives them an overview. With this overview, I can more easily update and track authorizations that have expired or are about to expire.»
From a site management perspective, the benefit is evident in the quality of staff assignments. «Mercateam has been a real asset because it centralized that data. It allowed us to manage our teams more effectively: we were able to assign our employees to different positions based on their skills,» explains Stéphanie Drigo, site manager.
Two plants that support each other through a shared vision
For Julie Manzanares, team leader at the commercial seed plant (calibration department), centralization has opened up a new opportunity between the site’s two plants:
«It also allowed both plants—since we have a basic seed plant and a commercial seed plant—to help each other out and to be able to assign employees from the other plant It also allowed our two plants, since we have a foundation seed plant and a commercial seed plant, to help each other out: we can assign people from the other plant to workstations in ours.
Versatility is no longer limited by organizational boundaries: when one plant needs reinforcements, the skills available at the other plant are immediately visible.
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Download the guideIn the field: forklift compliance without the admin detour
Cédric Gane is the loading dock coordinator and lead forklift instructor at the plant. He uses Mercateam in a very practical way:
«I mainly use Mercateam to check all the documents required to operate forklifts. For each employee, that covers forklift certifications (CACES, the French forklift operator license), operating permits, and medical check-up tracking. The biggest benefit for me is having a per-employee view of everything they need to work properly, without going through admin. It's a real time saver, and organizing and scheduling my training sessions has become much easier.»
Key takeaways
At a highly seasonal, two-plant site, Mercateam enabled Bayer Trèbes to:
Centralize authorizations, skills and schedules on a single platform accessible to everyone; cut email exchanges and the administrative work of collecting and updating information; anticipate authorization expirations and plan training more easily; assign employees according to their actual skills, including from one plant to the other; and ensure compliance at the workstation (forklift certifications, operating permits, medical check-ups) without any admin detour.
FAQ
What is the role of the Bayer site in Trèbes? Established in the Aude department since 1970, the site produces corn and rapeseed seeds for Bayer's Crop Science division, with two plants: foundation seed and commercial seed.
Skills and authorization data was scattered across a multitude of tools and files. It is now centralized on a single platform, with a real-time overview accessible to everyone. The fragmentation of skills and authorization data across a multitude of tools and files has been replaced by a centralized platform that provides a real-time overview accessible to everyone.
How does Mercateam help manage regulatory authorizations? Each employee has a record covering forklift certifications, operating permits and medical check-up tracking. Expired or soon-to-expire authorizations are easily identified, which simplifies the planning of training and refresher courses.
Does Mercateam work for seasonal and temporary workers? Yes. At the Trèbes site, permanent and temporary workers are tracked in the same system, which speeds up onboarding and secures their assignments.
