Under the brand name Lee Fish, Leigh Fisheries market and distribute seafood to wholesalers and supermarkets worldwide. Within 24-36 hours of being caught their fresh fish can be found on tables halfway around the globe.

Given this and the minimal handling procedures they commit to, it’s understandable that the quality of the Lee Fish brand is recognised around the world as representing premium-quality chilled seafood.

Behind this success though are a myriad of complexities which need to be carefully managed.

Making local history
Established in 1957 by pioneering families in the coastal village of Leigh, just north of Auckland, Leigh Fisheries is predominantly owned by private shareholders and has associates in Europe, the United States and Asia as well as part ownership in the specialist Lee Lobster operation. The overall business also encompasses ownership of a fishing retailer in South Auckland, as well as a bait company and a pilchard processing company. Local fulltime staff number around 23.

Unlike most other fisheries in New Zealand Leigh Fisheries don’t own boats or employ fishermen. Instead their fish are caught by over 75 independent boat owners New Zealand wide who specialise by species, and elect to have a non-contractual partnership with them in direct recognition of commitment by Leigh Fisheries to ensuring that they are rewarded fairly and consistently for their efforts.

Karen Butterfield is group financial controller for Leigh Fisheries. “For our fishermen to fish for us there’s got to be something in it for both of us,” say Butterfield. “Normally within a primary industry the fisher or producer is the lowest paid in the chain but we are committed to sustainability of income and growth for both their businesses and ours.”

Friend of the sea
As part of their commitment to sustainability Leigh Fisheries carries certification from the highly regarded international organisation Friend of the Sea. The group’s seal of approval verifies that products are caught using sustainable practices and originate from sustainable fisheries. Visibility of catch and accurate reporting is also essential to managing the company’s quota allocation under New Zealand’s quota management system to ensure it doesn’t exceed its quota and lose the right to catch and supply desirable species to the world market.

Fish to order
The logistics of catching fresh fish to fulfil specific global orders are daunting. The company is constantly balancing the high expectations of the market and the supply chain, against maximising shareholder return and making the best of fluctuating exchange rates.

Such an environment requires constant attention to the next catch and the next order, and the ability to re-plan quickly once available catch volumes become clear.

Greg Bishop, chief executive officer of Leigh Fisheries is forward planning virtually 24/7. “To support the markets we’ve developed we can’t let them down,” says Bishop. “We have to ensure our pricing delivers value to the market and an income to our supply chain, as well as the company. There are so many logistical factors which impact on us but we can't just turn on the freezer, or leave fish in the chiller for 3-5 days to make up an order. Our brand is all about delivering fresh fish, and that’s exactly what we do.”

Old systems
Leigh Fisheries legacy system ‘Fish Pack’ manages the initial catch from boat to packing, compliance certification through to sales and export documentation. The data generated by this system then needs to be input into the quota management system ‘Solutions’ to generate quota returns to the Ministry of Fisheries, as well as to pay the fishermen and act as a general ledger.

Uncertainty about the practicalities of on-going development and achieving the degree of visibility and reporting required saw them re-evaluate the future of both systems.

When Butterfield joined Leigh Fisheries she had already had exposure to Microsoft Dynamics AX and was able to see how it could integrate with the legacy systems to improve the overall correlation and dissemination of data, and provide improved financial management to the benefit of the company.

New system
1 October 2010 saw Leigh Fisheries implement Microsoft Dynamics AX with partner Koorb Consulting.

The subsequent integration of Fish Pack, Solutions and Dynamics AX now sees a flow of information from one to another and crucially through to the Ministry of Fisheries online QMS.

Reporting was a key deliverable in the project. From a central data repository, OLAP cubes were developed to produce a range of real time views and reports which provide valuable information to Bishop.

“We’ve got a cube which gives us a catch analysis from Fish Pack data,” he says, “one for our quota management system and another for our financials from Dynamics AX. They give me the information I need at my fingertips to make the right decisions.”

The company can also analyse the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations and other variables.

Dynamics AX has also enabled quicker reporting, for example moving from time consuming and complex spread sheets to standard FRx reporting (FRx is a plug-in financial reporting application from Microsoft) has reduced a half day’s work to a mere minute.

“Our system makes us unique”, says Bishop, “it provides complete transparency and traceability from catch through to sale and includes the individual fisher’s name and the boat name on labels. Customers enjoy being able to identify with the fisherman as well as the company behind the brand.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION//

KOORB CONSULTING
W: www.koorb.com
Nicholas Birch
P: 09 361 1304










11/10/03_ex_m_h_nl