Alaska Ocean Seafood is a leading producer of surimi, a processed version of Alaskan Pollack often found in imitation crab meat and other low-fat, high-protein seafood. The company utilizes a 370-foot (113- meter) factory trawler that catches, processes, and freezes the fish while the ship is at sea.

Sailing from Seattle, WA, Alaska Ocean Seafood's trawler spends about four weeks in the Bering Sea in production before returning to port. Maintenance done on the ship at sea must be accounted for at the headquarters in Anacortes, WA. Likewise, the trawler's purchasing and inventory requests must be tracked in the corporate accounting system.

The Challenge of Linking Maintenance to Financial Systems
Because the company is a wholesale business, Alaska Ocean Seafood's primary accounting activity is not sales transactions. The company makes only 20-25 large sales transactions each year. However, to keep the trawler properly maintained, the staff requires thousands of spare parts and inventory transactions each year.

"Our inventory transactions are a key part of our financial system," says Dave Crumbo, finance manager with Alaska Ocean Seafood. "The trawler uses very specialized parts from all over the world, and our inventory exceeds $2 million."

Alaska Ocean Seafood decided to link an asset management software package with a financial software package to help capture inventory costs in the corporate accounting system. The company had some strict requirements for these systems.

"At the time, we had a UNIX-based system in place, but ship-to-shore link was limited," Crumbo says. "Plus, the old system was not Year 2000 compliant, which was another key reason for upgrading."

The Solution of the Datastream-Epicor Partnership
Alaska Ocean Seafood chose Datastream asset management software to help give them more control over purchasing. For the accounting side, the company chose Epicor Software Corporation, a leading provider of client/server Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) business applications.

"Unlike some organizations, we chose the asset management system first since we had very specific requirements for any maintenance and purchasing management package," Crumbo says. "Datastream had all the functionality we needed, including an unparalleled inventory control system along with impressive interface opportunities. We then looked at the ERP packages available for a Datastream integration. The Epicor financial suite looked to be the best choice for the accounting side."

Alaska Ocean Seafood utilizes a satellite link between the factory trawler and the corporate headquarters. Purchasing, maintenance, and inventory transactions are entered into the Datastream system while at sea. That information is then transmitted to the Epicor system for inclusion in accounting operation.

"The entire purchasing cycle is being replicated, both in Seattle and aboard the trawler," Crumbo says. "We get real-time information about cost information and maintenance data."

Alaska Ocean Seafood has 10 users of the system onshore and 15 on the trawler. With the real-time information link, the ship's maintenance crew gets constant updates on the status of parts orders. With many spare parts coming from Europe or Japan, inventory orders need to be fast and efficient.

"A day of downtime for our trawler could mean the loss of $500,000," Crumbo says. "Our maintenance staff must have the parts they need before they leave port. A controlled purchasing system through the Datastream-Epicor link gives us that assurance."

The Results
Soon after going live with the Datastream-Epicor interface, Alaska Ocean Seafood began using both software packages to increase fiscal control: "One interesting thing we're doing with the combined system is allowing employee purchases on the trawler to be accounted for electronically," Crumbo says. "While the trawler is sailing, an employee can purchase something from the onboard store. That item, which is entered into Datastream software as an inventory item, is charged to the employee. The employee then receives a payroll deduction reflecting that purchase."

The trawler's maintenance staff also enjoys the Datastream-Epicor interface because of the wealth of information available. They have the parts needed for repairs, and if an order is made, they receive more updates throughout the process.

"Previously, if somebody ordered a spare part, they wouldn't find out when or where it was due in until after the part arrived," Crumbo says. "Now, they can use Datastream to find the status of the order, when it is expected, and other vital information in the purchasing cycle."

In addition, greater control over the inventory process will translate into greater control on the cost of inventory. "With the Datastream system in place, we expect to trim 10-20% from the inventory we carry. Our parts are expensive, and we're trying to find the optimal amount of parts to carry at any time. Datastream and Epicor give us that power."