In addition to the supply chain, agInfo has developed the online software for the McDonalds Global Ocean Freight Council, a partnership of logistics companies which provide logistics services to McDonalds on all containerised shipments of meat, totalling 60,000 each year.

While Brian heads the operation, most of the work and programming has been done by Ken Chan, who has worked as a contractor to Brian and agInfo since 1996 when Ken was studying at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Aged in his early 30s, Ken is "a very clever lad", Brian says. Ken was delivering pizzas part-time while studying at UTS when Brian approached the student employment service about his "need for some smart guys who know the internet".

For just under two years now, Brian has been able to operate the growing business from his home in the Manning after moving out of Sydney.

With a long career in business, marketing and administration, he established agInfo in 1995. He also established the Australian Meat Trading Floor, a facility for people to trade meat internationally, linking business-to-business.

Its users include processors such as Nippon Meat Packers (operators of Wingham Abattoir), through to the Australian Meat Industry Council, the Australian Meat Producers Corporation and a host of international organisations.

In 2003 Brian was approached by an executive who had just joined the McDonalds organisation and set up a new business, McDonald's Asia Pacific Consortium (or 'Mac').

Equally owned by the five North American McDonald's beef pattie manufacturers, Mac is an Australian company developed to provide the global McDonald's supply chain with assured supply. Most of its meat is sourced in Australia or New Zealand.

Mac's managing director until recently was Matt Toll, who according to Brian provided him with the impetus in 2003 to start up a new business which has developed today into "a very large, worldwide business concern."

"What we did was sit down with Matt and develop a system that I call an online supply chain.

"It links all businesses from the producer of the cattle through to the abattoir, the processors, to the people who make the hamburger patties for McDonalds."

These include well known Australian companies with connections to the highly successful 'McDonalds story' since the 1950s and 60s, and which now enjoy multi-national status.

There are currently plans to roll out a far bigger footprint to Asia, including China, as well as existing operations and connections in Korea, Japan, the Middle East, Europe and Russia.

"It's gone from a business that was very US-based to now become global," Brian explains. Future growth is expected to become particularly fast in China and Russia.

"Australia and New Zealand are seen globally as being very reliable, clean and green suppliers," he says. "So obviously McDonalds Australia have a very large footprint.

"The part we at agInfo play is provide the software for the online capacity, that drives the websites and linkages through the supply chain technology."

Brian's software system ensures traceability, which in turn protects quality standards and food safety.

One of agInfo's recent successes has been the rollout of Angus beef products to McDonalds, the end product meeting with high acclaim.

"From the point of view of business operations, ours is a very clever way of linking people together," Brian says.

"An online software system provides a far more efficient way to connect the businesses down the supply chain than the old traditional system. It's just a touch of the keypad."

Brian writes a weekly newsletter, 'carvings', which he distributes to all his clients and members, across Australia and overseas.

It contains market intelligence such as trends, prices, what's new, how the industry is regulated, what's happening overseas, for example in Japan, Russia and China. His topics often include a look at individual restaurants in Australia, what they are serving and what they are charging.

"Global shipping line Hamburg Sud have been my loyal sponsors all along ... from the meat trading floor through to the distribution of 'carvings'. They are a huge company shipping large quantities of meat in containers overseas."

Brian's expertise has been used in the creation of websites for many other industries, including one connected with his own family. His son-in-law runs Sydney Water Taxis on Sydney Harbour and Brian and his team have designed its website and software.

He also works as an expert witness in legal proceedings involving the meat industry.

Brian is keen to learn how farmers, graziers and other businesses in the Manning Valley go about their businesses, and is willing to share his knowledge of services - the internet in particular - to help grow their operations.