caniasERP is Our Technological Guide

İlknak Aquaculture worked with caniasERP when it had just a single plant and now with four plants they continue both domestic and international activities by increasing capacity and expanding product range. The company continues to grow every day producing over 140 million juvenile fish and 800 tons of grown as well as processed fish. Thanks to caniasERP, they are able to work with real data by providing integration between the plants. Ms. Şirin Şanlı explained the digital transformation journey of the company: “We are able to easily obtain accurate analysis quickly because all of our facilities are integrated. IAS’s İzmir consultanting team supported us while we were designing and mapping out our processes. 

Can you talk about your company?
Five years ago, İlknak Aquaculture was a company that sold just a small amount of grown and juvenile fish. It has been expanding its customer base over the last 5 years and increased its capacity. Currently, the production of juvenile fish and grown fish, including sea bass, sea bream and granny, continues in our four plants. 

What has changed in your company since you started to work with caniasERP?
When we originally met with caniasERP, we operated from a single plant in Çandarlı. The second plant in Mordoğan is where processed some of the juvenile fish has just opened. Our capacity at that time was 40 million juvenile fish and 1,900 tons of grown fish. With the new facilities in operation our capacity has doubled. We have also established a packaging facility in Menemen for the production of processed fish, including frozen and fillet. Thus, our product range also expanded. 

We Analyze the Right Data with caniasERP

How did you get into the digital transformation process and when did the need for ERP software happen in the process?
Before partnering with caniasERP, we used packaged programs to manage processes such as human resources, assets, and accounting and stored our data in office programs. However, this system of gathering and combining data from many computers was insufficient and did not meet our needs in terms of traceability and the results did not equal our efforts. The margin of error was very high and there was no common language in the corporate sense. We also had no way of checking common data in the system. Even if those were saved in the system, most of the data was kept as hardcopy, creating problems in terms of backup. More practical and reliable methods were needed. It is critical to us that management can follow the production with accurate data to assist in our decision making process: We were in need of an ERP software to do all this.

What was the most defining feature of caniasERP for you?
I am sure the reason why many companies choose caniasERP is similar to ours. When we started our search for ERP, we met with several companies. In addition to standard solutions, the most determining features we were looking for was that it offered a flexible structure, and the TROIA development platform provides complete mobility and also offers industry-specific solutions. As a sector, we required a flexible structure because our products are alive! We do not have a standard BOM and our production-cost calculations are very different. The software that met our needs was caniasERP. In addition, it was clear our company would growing fast. We had to work with a visionary software company that could keep up with us to grow bigger. We eliminated several programs in the beginning of our search because they were not flexible. The professionalism of the IAS team in our demo meetings was one of the major factors in our decision making process. They correctly identified the issues we needed to address and offered pinpoint solutions. In addition, the experience IAS has in different sectors provided assurance that they would deliver what they promised. As an added bonus,  the caniasERP product was one of the most competitive in terms of cost-benefit.

Our Journey with caniasERP will Never End

How was your go-live and adaptation process?
The things we do are very specific because we are not an ordinary manufacturer. Therefore, the adaptation of a comprehensive, standard ERP system for our industry was a challenge for us.  Honestly, I said "No way!" I thought that ERP software could not be adapted for our industry.  We’ve heard stories of the problems experienced by companies with similar working environment, so we’ve  approached the issue carefully. This time however was difference as we were fully supported by our executive team and the IAS consultants. In the initial stages we had difficulties and , including internal resistance.   As with all, innovations we faced resistance, but our employees became supportive once they realized how much it made their work easier. So far, we have received positive feedback from our users and each department is satisfied with outcome. This project was launched in three stages. First ,we started the mandatory modules that are accounting, human resources and assets. The first phase went live in approximately three months. Our transition to the second phase took longer due to  internal changes. While trying to implement the ERP system, a new facility was opened. In the second phase, we implemented the purchase, sales, cost and production modules. During this phase, we also made progress in the production section. In addition to standard modules, special screens were designed specifically for our industry and company.

Which screens are designed for your company?
Within our system everything proceeds through forecast. It was impossible to get  clear counts of weight and measurement. Screens that created consistent predictions from estimated calculations were designed. Several customizatios we made to follow the procurement processes in a systematic manner. Price control systems have been activated in sales. We can now follow up on investment through caniasERP. With our project codes, we follow the deviations of our projects according to their budgets using the screens that were designed for us. With live feeds, we are now able to use this as a platform to monitor the production of oily fish.

Which phase are you currently on the project? What do you plan for the future?
We are currently working on the quality module. We are awaiting the completion of our packaging plant to start working on this issue.  Later we will implement our quality-related plans. Currently, an intense study is being conducted on traceability and barcode system and we are starting to see results. This process is expected to be completed by March 2020. As a result of the study, we will be able to follow the entire journey of a fish that is packaged here and exported, from which fish it came, the rootstock from which it was derived and the baits it eats. With caniasERP, our work never ends. As we grow, our needs also change and caniasERP offers flexible solutions that addresses those needs. We will continue to work on these changes and we believe that ERP software can be like living organism, always changing.

We Reached Solutions with caniasERP

You mentioned that your company is growing rapidly. What effect did caniasERP have on this process?
The reports we’ve received so far are more consistent and accurate which helps us to measures our progress more clearly. We are now able to make  more informed decisions about the profitability of our company and in what areas we should be looking for growth. With the old system, we would work for months to get a new plant integrated with caniasERP. Since we do all configuration in the new plants on caniasERP, we continue by adding a plant to the already established order with a very simple two code  plant expansion. All of our plants work integratedly thanks to caniasERP. In additional to our plant here, we also have a manufacturing facility  operating in outside the county. We are now able to easily control and integrate their work with the ones here.  Being with us in every step we took while growing, caniasERP became our technological guide. Together we have found the solutions to many business processes. For example, IAS İzmir consultancy team provided support not only for software but also for determining the method to be followed and analyzing the process, so of our business processes were designed with the IAS Izmir consulting team. In addition to immediate needs , we have found solutions to other business requirements with caniasERP. E-Transformation processes are one of the most important items on our agenda. As a company we are now very concerned about the digital transformation process. Over time we have established an internal technology team that allows us to find solutions to our problems using TROIA, which is offered to IAS customers with open source code.

Considering your personal experience, how would you describe the importance of companies having a digital transformation process?
Digital transformation has already been mandated in many ways. This was born out of the need between luxury or choice. It provides great advantages both in terms of data security and correct interpretation of data in terms of practicality. If I start with our company; when we need data, we can reach it regardless of time, place and vehicle. Our general manager, who waited two days to see how many puppies we had before, can now access this information directly from his own mobile phone! Such things are a great advantage in decision making. Besides, I consider digital transformation quite necessary in terms of data security. The company's know-how can be easily transferred to newcomers. Personally, I think it is much easier for the person coming after me to adapt to a designated system. Thanks to caniasERP, the experience is not obtained from people but from the institution.

We Believe in caniasERP

Would you recommend caniasERP?
Of course, I would recommend it. caniasERP is a software I trust.  It succeeded in ways we never thought would work in our industry! The flexible structure that offers solutions to special needs as well as wide standard modules is a great advantage. If we could go back in time, we would choose caniasEPR again. When we look at the cost-benefit analysis, we always prefer caniasERP. I think it has no alternative in its field. It has a very reliable and professional team in terms of consultancy. We left behind the times we worked very hard together, but we built our relation on solid basis.