AHDB Unifies Compliance and Service Delivery with HaloITSM

About

AHDB is an independent, evidenced-based statutory levy board funded by around 100,000 farmers and other businesses in the food supply chain. They serve the Beef, Lamb and Pork sectors in England, Dairy in Great Britain and Cereals & Oilseeds in the UK.

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Their purpose is to unlock the success of British agriculture, to help improve business performance, allowing levy payers to be competitive and share good practice. To achieve this, AHDB undertakes data analysis and research and development, leading to easy-to-use products, tools and services to equip levy payers to make informed decisions.  

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AHDB communicate their knowledge through a regional team of experts. This critical work is underpinned by their mission to add value to world-class British produce, through both marketing activity for meat and dairy in the UK, and by seeking export opportunities for levy payers across the world.

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The Challenge

AHDB’s previous tool managed requests across IT and other departments, but it proved limited in scope. The system was too rigid for non-IT teams such as Facilities and Events, and lacked the flexibility to handle structured processes including change management, Freedom of Information requests, and regulatory reporting.

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When the time came to re-evaluate, AHDB needed an enterprise platform rather than another IT tool. Multiple departments needed a consistent way of working, but with procurement rules requiring a fresh market review and development slowing, confidence in the previous system had already fallen.

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“Our previous tool wasn’t flexible enough for us… it’s not just IT that need a tool like this. It’s multiple departments.” 

Jamie Blakeman, IT Support & Infrastructure Manager

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The Solution

After evaluating the market, AHDB selected Halo for its flexibility and ability to scale beyond IT. The platform was configured to support tailored workflows across multiple departments, and the transition was given plenty of time to ensure a smooth rollout.

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A key win has been for the Data Protection team. They now manage Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, Subject Access Requests (SARs), and Data Protection Impact Assessments through Halo. SLA timers are set to statutory deadlines, giving the team confidence that no request will be missed and creating a clear audit trail for compliance reporting. Previously, these processes were fragmented and difficult to monitor. Now they are centralised, trackable, and transparent.

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Security incidents are also logged in Halo and passed to the Security team for review and reporting, creating a clear and auditable workflow for sensitive cases. Health & Safety officers use the platform to track accidents, near misses, and risk assessments, supporting formal reporting to regulators. Alongside this, AHDB has invested heavily in knowledge management. A centralised knowledge base gives staff one place to find answers and log requests if they still need support.

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“Just having one self-service portal for everyone is a really great user experience. From the end user’s point of view, their request just goes into one place and automatically reaches the right team. It’s seamless.”

Jamie Blakeman, IT Support & Infrastructure Manager

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The Results

Halo has given AHDB a unified platform that serves IT and non-IT teams alike, simplifying processes and improving user experience.

• Enterprise-wide adoption – Halo is now used by 8 departments across AHDB, extending far beyond IT into Facilities, Events, Health & Safety, Data Protection, Security, and more. Licence numbers have also more than tripled since go-live, reflecting both the wider demand and the organisation’s confidence in the platform.

• Regulatory compliance – all FOI and SAR requests are logged and tracked against statutory deadlines, with full visibility and an auditable trail. This ensures AHDB meets strict legal requirements and reduces the risk of missed deadlines or fines.

• Knowledge growth – the knowledge base has expanded to over 800 articles, with usage increasing by more than 350% since 2021. By encouraging self-help, the organisation has reduced demand on service teams and enabled staff to resolve issues faster.

• Self-service shift – portal adoption has more than doubled between 2021 to 2024, with all requests now channelled through a single, centralised portal. This has cut down on email traffic and improved the overall user experience.

• Operational efficiency – scheduled tickets, event templates, and seamless cross-team hand-offs have reduced manual effort and improved reporting to regulators, including HSE and Defra. Teams spend less time chasing information and more time focusing on higher-value work.

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"It blows my mind the amount of features and new things that go into every release for Halo… I just love looking at the release details and seeing what’s coming up.”

Jamie Blakeman, IT Support & Infrastructure Manager

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Looking ahead, AHDB plan to continue simplifying processes, expand Halo into more areas of the organisation, and explore opportunities for integration with specialist project management and DevOps tools.

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