Seafood ERP: Cost-Benefit analysis

With a pandemic on the loose, food safety is now the name of the game. For decades, unorganized seafood traders have managed to remain relevant in the market. However, now with consumers being cautious about seafood, ERP for seafood ought to be the new norm.

In this light, below is a cost-benefit analysis of seafood ERP for seafood traders to consider:

Costing

The cost structure of installing and implementing ERP for seafood is not standardized. The factors that weigh in when it comes to the cost are as follows:

1. Features and customizations needed
2. Size of the firm
3. Microsoft ERP partner chosen

With efficiency standards raised up a notch, ERP is useful to all firms big or small. In this regard, the subscription plans too differ for different sizes of firms.

To give seafood traders a preview of how these factors affect costing let’s look at the cost structure of these Seafood ERP service providers:

1) Wherefour

Founded in just 2015 Wherefour has come a long way with a global presence and are a formidable force in USA, Canada and U.K. which makes them a versatile service provider.

A proud member of SFA (speciality food association) Wherefour provides the following subscription plan:

Starting price: 399$/month (with free trial)

2) iNECTA

Established in 2001, iNECTA is a Microsoft Gold Certified partner. It provides cloud solution ERP and has specifically designed customisations (granules) for seafood traders.

Having been a part of the business for a decade, iNECTA provides the following seafood ERP subscription plans:

1. Small size

$125/month/user (5 users or less)

1. Medium size

$165/month/user (5-15 users)

1. Enterprise

$215/month/user (15 or more users)

With three different subscription plans, iNECTA offers seafood traders flexibility to choose their plan based on their need. Thus, it caters to small and large firms alike. Being a gold certified partner i.e. meeting Microsoft’s qualifications makes it a great fit for seafood traders.

Benefits

Now that the air is cleared on the costing aspect of ERP for seafood, lets dig deep into the benefits Seafood ERP brings to the table for seafood traders:

1) Sourcing and Harvesting

Seafood ERP is key to managing seafood operations, purchasing and harvesting. It not only gives real time information on orders but also assists in managing vendor relationships.

2) Catchweight Management

One of the biggest hurdles for seafood traders was the losses incurred owing to catchweight. The charges for additional variable weight were borne by seafood players which really hit the industry. With Seafood ERP, the weight is measured at the time of invoice which brings in transparency. This way the industry charges for what it sells and customers get to see what they are paying for right under their eye, a win-win for all.

3) Grievance handling and CRM

With seafood ERP, the seafood can be traced back to its lot number and batch. This helps to dispose of the lot in which faulty product is found and ensure no further complaints arise. Automation also helps to prioritize customers for better customer relationship management. Grievance handling and CRM bring in customer satisfaction making seafood ERP’s weigh worth in gold.

4) Processing and Handling

Seafood ERP leads to maximum yield and real time efficiency. Operational efficiency of this magnitude generates savings during the process making seafood ERP the golden goose for seafood traders.

5) Sales and Distribution

“What” “When” and “where” are the questions that differentiate the effective operations from the complacent ones. With seafood ERP, information flow is automated hence everybody can monitor what, when and where the product is available at all times. This makes the supply chain lean and effective and makes the owner control the quality of seafood helping it differentiate from competitors.

6) Effective Accounting

Enterprise accounting, receivables and payables are all managed automatically generated by investors orders instead of thus making it an error free and speedy process.

7) Quality control and Compliance

Quality control and Quality assurance is what differentiates the best of seafood from the rest. With seafood ERP, shelf life can be determined and quality is maintained during the entire process to assure the customer is having fresh seafood which tastes like no other. Seafood ERP also ensures all compliance requirements like GFSI, FSMA and SQF are met which is why seafood ERP is selling like hot cakes as regulations and quality standards killing two birds with one stone.

For decades, there has been a myth that Seafood ERP should be considered as an expense. However, with Covid-19 running wild, food safety is the only end a consumer seeks. Seafood ERP being the only mean to this end. In this light, it's high time the industry realizes what Seafood ERP brings to the table. This cost-benefit analysis should help clear the air for seafood traders that seafood ERP is not an expense but an investment with invaluable returns.