Industry overview
What is shaping fishing
Fishing connects coastal communities, processors and exporters in a supply chain where freshness, ice and timing decide value. Livelihoods depend on seasons, regulation and access to cold chain.
- Seasonal fishing bans and weather drive income cycles
- Cold chain and processing determine export quality
- Welfare schemes and cooperatives support fisher families
Client background
A regional fisheries cooperative, working in Goa. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- A regional fisheries cooperative
- Sector
- Fishing
- Team engaged
- IT & Development
- Services
- Custom business applications, Web application development, Accounting & bookkeeping
Client challenge
Auctions were recorded in registers and payments to members were calculated by hand, leading to delays and disputes. Annual audits were difficult because records were scattered.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: digitising auctions and payments for a fisheries cooperative.
- Design around the real needs of members.
- Define requirements and success criteria the solution would be tested against.
- Deliver a reliable, secure solution the team can run and extend.
Target audience
The work focused on 1,200 members.
- members1,200
Audiences we typically reach in fishing
Fishers and boat ownersFish traders and auctioneersProcessors and exportersSeafood consumersCooperatives and scheme officials
Geographic coverage
Coverage: Goa. Market: India.
- India
Research methodology
An iterative delivery approach: discovery, design, build and test in short cycles, with the client reviewing each step.
- 1Brief
- 2Process mapping
- 3Auction and payment app
- 4Insight
We mapped the auction and settlement process with staff and members, then built a simple tablet-based auction record linked to member accounts. Payments, deductions and statements were generated automatically and fed into the cooperative’s books.
Custom business applicationsWeb application developmentAccounting & bookkeeping
Sampling strategy
- members
- 1,200
- Users and stakeholders from every affected team took part in discovery workshops and acceptance testing.
Data collection
- Requirements were gathered through workshops, process walk-throughs and a review of existing systems and data.
Data quality & validation
- Peer code review on every change
- Automated and manual testing
- User-acceptance testing with the client
- Release checklist and rollback plan
Data analysis
- Usage and performance monitoring after launch
- Defect and support-ticket trends
- Process time before and after
Key findings
- Members received printed or SMS statements after each auction, disputes reduced, and the annual audit was completed with far less effort.
Transparency for members was as important as efficiency for staff.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: transparency for members was as important as efficiency for staff.
- Track adoption and support tickets, and plan the next release from real usage.
Business impact
- The board now reviews landings and payments monthly.
Impact is described qualitatively.
Deliverables & next steps
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Deployed solution with documentation and handover
- Support and maintenance plan
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: where is value lost between catch and market?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.