Celebrating KOSMOS at Scrabster fish market

The Don Fishing Company Limited is Scotland’s leading fish selling and vessel management company. Established in 1902, they have provided fish selling services to their fishermen clients for over a century. Don’s auctioneers are active in Scotland’s largest fish markets: Peterhead, Macduff, Scrabster and Kinlochbervie. In June 2023, at Scrabster market, the team bid farewell to the traditional pen-and-paper method during the shout auction, adopting smart tablets for registering fish supplies and sales transactions. The digital registration is facilitated by the new KOSMOS software, bringing about a significant advancement in the processing of the transaction data.  

Choosing KOSMOS

Don’s team of auctioneers continuously strives to improve practices and systems that serve the interests of both the skippers and fish merchants. They were keen to explore digitisation options that retained the shout auction while automating the sales transactions in real time. After assessing the system’s feasibility, they choose to commission Aucxis to customise its KOSMOS software to create a bespoke system capable of meeting the demands of a traditional shout auction environment. 

Major challenges

The design of the Don KOSMOS system was a complex IT project due to the need to integrate a completely new sales method into the product, which ultimately resulted in a delay in its adoption. From an early stage, it became apparent that the standard KOSMOS program required customisation to align with Don’s specific requirements and accommodate the demands of a live shout auction. Building flexibility into the system was crucial to ensure that the shout auction was not held up during a live market. The implementation of the new handheld registration system had to guarantee that the pace of the auction remained consistent with traditional method using pen and notepad. 

A new way of working for the auctioneers

Initially, the auctioneers faced a learning curve as they transitioned away from the traditional method of recording sales. However, during the trial period, they gained confidence and became more familiar with the usability and functionality of the new system. They were comforted to find that the new tablet-based system for recording sales matched the speed of the old method. They also appreciate having species and vessel information readily available on the tablet during the auction, having counts automatically updated and remaining boxes shown for each lot. 

More input and work are required pre-sale to create the catalogue before publishing lots, but then time is saved in the back-office environment post-sale as transactions are automatically transferred to the financial system. 

Happy buyers

The Scrabster buyers have warmly embraced the system changes, as they now receive their post-auction documentation much faster – a significant advantage! This enables buyers to cross-reference purchases with invoices and allows ample time for preparing export and transport documentation. Since the shout auction remained unchanged, buyers experienced no substantial alterations to the market process, except for the auctioneer’s switch from pen and paper to an electronic device. 

Benefits for skippers

According to David-John McRobbie, Assistant Manager, the primary advantage of implementing the new system is the enhancement of back-office efficiency: “Previously, each sales transaction had to be inputted into Don’s fish selling system from the sales pad, a process that consumed 1 to 2 hours every morning. This issue has been effectively addressed by the new system, as all sales transactions are now instantly uploaded into Don’s financial system by transferring a file from the Aucxis KOSMOS system. Consequently, skippers receive their sales notes promptly, streamlining administrative processes for their associated companies to settle on income, pay crew, etc.” 

Aucxis and Don Fishing: advancing together

Turning challenges into opportunities, the collaboration between Don Fish Co and Aucxis flourished as the project unfolded. Though there were initial hurdles in aligning visions, Aucxis swiftly grasped Don’s needs, paving the way for a fruitful cooperation. David-John McRobbie: “Aucxis, being market leaders in auction automation, brought valuable expertise to the project, with a solid understanding of fish market practices gleaned from their extensive experience. Looking ahead, there is anticipation regarding how the new system can be further enhanced to continue strengthening Scrabster fish market.”   

David-John McRobbie

Following an initial soft launch in April 2023, the KOSMOS system was officially introduced at Scrabster Fish Market in June of the same year. As we approach the one-year anniversary of implementing KOSMOS in Scrabster, we witnessed its great success for Scrabster; the feedback received from both skippers and buyers has been extremely positive. It is hoped that the introduction of this system will encourage more vessels to land at Scrabster and utilise the benefits of the system. The highest amount of boxes sold in the system for a one week period was 3,700 boxes in early Summer 2023.

KOSMOS

Today, KOSMOS, Aucxis’ trade and information platform, is being used by 19 auction markets, among which 14 in the fishing industry. The software contains numerous functionalities and evolves to accommodate specific requirements of new customers. The implementation of KOSMOS at Scrabster was a strategic decision driven by Don’s commitment to innovation and enhancing practices beneficial to both the catching sector and fish merchants. As a result of the system’s success, it will become a permanent fixture, with the potential of the system being rolled out in other Scottish markets. 

Willem

For the Don Fishing project, a new KOSMOS module was developed to enable digital transaction registration at the same speed as the traditional method with pen and notepad. Furthermore, shout auction-specific sales methods were integrated, such as swiftly splitting lots during the sale. Another new feature, which distributes the fish supplies across multiple tablets, allows each auctioneer to sell his own specific species of fish.

I would like to express my gratitude to the committed teams of both Don Fishing and Aucxis. Their tireless efforts have been instrumental in overcoming challenges and achieving the project’s objectives. Together, we have forged a strong partnership built on mutual respect and determination.”