Microsoft .NET software turns outdated reporting processes into a dynamic, simple and cost-ffective system
Norway is a major exporter of fish and fishery products around the world, relying heavily on the fishing industry as a source of export revenue. Fish breeding generates a large portion of the export revenue and is seen as an integral part of the fishing industry in Norway.
Over 800 fish breeding sites were using a system of reporting that produced inaccuracies and was costly to maintain. Capgemini built a system on Microsoft .NET software that empowered the fish farmers by enhancing productivity and removed human error in the reporting process.
Client Profile
Norway’s fishing industry is of vital importance to its economy. The Norwegian coast, which measures over 25,000 km, benefits from an up-welling system that makes its banks one of the most productive coastal marine areas in the world. This has provided Norway with rich fisheries, which throughout history have been of great importance both as a source of livelihood to the coastal population and as a major source of export revenue to the nation.
Norway is one of the world’s largest exporters of fish and fishery products, representing an export value of around 30 billion NOK, of which the European Union and the Japanese markets are the most important. Exports of fish represent the second largest commodity category of Norwegian exports.
In 1946 Norway became the first country in the world to establish a separate Ministry of Fisheries. Today, its responsibilities lie in all areas of the fishing industry including harbours and shipping lanes, pilot and lighthouse systems and electronic navigational aids.
The Norwegian fisheries industry consists of many small and medium sized companies spread up and down the coast. Much work has been invested in adjusting the capacity of the fishing industry resources, in promoting co-operative measures between companies, and in market orientated and profitable production. The authorities have taken measures, and a number of companies have made strong efforts to modernise facilities and equipment, ensure quality, as well as improve competence and marketing.
One such way this has been achieved is by a public/private joint venture between the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and the Norwegian Fish Farmers Association. Reporting to a number of organisations, including insurers, banks and government agencies, fish farmers are required to produce figures for the amount of fish they produce and sell. However, this was done manually by fax and paper, which resulted in a number of inaccuracies and delays, two problems that the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries was keen to remove. Capgemini were given the task of providing a solution to providing statistical data over the Web and via email on a number of applications.
Business Issues
Initial consultation meetings produced a number of requirements for both the fish farmers and the Directorate of Fisheries, which collects the monthly reports.
The farmers were used to the manual process, whereby figures were taken from a number of different production systems, that they had already inputted data into, to produce the paper-based report once a month. The new system had to take this into account and, as such, the farmers wanted to produce their monthly reports and send it to the Directorate of Fisheries in a number of different ways. The preferred way of reporting is: via a secure Internet connection, by e-mail, and through their existing production systems.
The Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries, on the other hand, needed the data to be consistent and on time. As a result, they required a system that would automatically send reminder messages to the fish framers regarding their reporting obligations. They also wanted the system to send reports back to farmers who had inputted them incorrectly, thereby reducing the number of errors. Another requirement was for Capgemini to host the new system and to provide a number of infrastructure management and support services.
Solution
After consulting with both parties on the best way to proceed, Capgemini built an Internet-based system that simplified the reporting process by utilising the features in Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000, Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 and Microsoft SQL Server 2000, as well as Analysis Services and OLAP.
The unique integration features of BizTalk Server were utilised to cope with the various production systems the farmers used and the different ways in which they wanted to produce their reports. “We needed a solution that could receive files by e-mail, via the Internet and through the production systems of the fisheries. So the system had to accept three different input methods,” says Olshausen. “BizTalk Server was chosen because of its flexibility, its integration capabilities and its reasonable price.”
BizTalk Server allowed the fisheries to send and present their data in the ways they wanted. For instance, farmers could use the Internet as their preferred reporting method by logging on to a Business-to-Business Web site with a user name and password. They then simply view the data from their last report and update the relevant figures. Another input type involved sending an e-mail report. In this case the farmer extracts the necessary data from his existing production system, inputs the data into a predefined file and sends it to the new system via Exchange Server.
Finally, the farmers are also able to connect to the new process using their existing production systems, which connects directly to BizTalk Server. The relevant information is then sent in an
In all cases the information is processed by BizTalk Server where it is validated and checked for accuracy, it is then sent to SQL Server where all the data and statistics are stored. Using Analysis Services, government agencies are provided with an overview of the statistical data for fish farming throughout the country, whilst other receivers of information also need to disseminate the information for their needs. Insurance companies, for instance, need to see how much fish at a particular farm are worth to provide details of policy cover.
Analysis Services are also used by the fisheries who are able to connect to the system via a password protected site and view the data needed to garner information about their productivity compared with other fish farmers throughout either their own region or the whole country. As such, they are able to see what impact changes in fish food, for example, have had on the volume of fish they have produced.
The system is hosted in the Capgemini offices in Oslo on Compaq Servers. Capgemini hosts the infrastructure and provides help desk services, support services and application management.
The entire project took just five months to complete.
Benefits
“To go from a paper-based, ineffective and costly reporting process to a dynamic, functionally rich, extremely accurate system in just five months was remarkable,” says Målfinn Almklov of the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries. “And the main point is that it is a system that is extremely easy to use and caters for the specific needs of all parties involved very well. This is due, not only to the technology we are using but also to the patience and technical know-how of Capgemini from the very beginning of the project.”
The new system replaces manual forms and processes with an Internet system that is easy to access, simple to use, and provides accurate data reporting. It is extremely cost effective and reduces the effort required by the fish breeders for reporting, thereby enabling an efficient flow of information in the whole value chain.
Almklov adds: “We previously had a paper-based system that produced too many inaccuracies. Today, it is a system that is almost error-free thanks to the solution delivered by Capgemini.” Olshausen says that this has been possible by using Microsoft .NET software.
For all of the organisations that require access to the statistics that are produced from the reports, from fish breeders themselves to government agencies and insurance companies, the new system also provides a single point of contact to view and disseminate all of the data.
“The new solution replaces manual forms and procedures both for the receiver and sender of information and the fish breeder has one single point of reporting using this Internet-based system. The solution is extremely cost-effective for both the breeders and the organisations that need to receive the reports,” says Almklov.
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For more information about the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries visit the Web
site at:
http://odin.dep.no/fid/engelsk
