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Executive summary
The assignment exhibits the operations management of a New Zealand based company, titled
Sealord in detail. The company specializes in harvesting sea fishes and shellfishes from the
ocean. Discussion will be done on the company from the perspective of operation
management. This will also reflect the key concepts and frameworks required for the
operation management. The strategic operation management will include discussion on the
management models, their frameworks and concepts used to determine the current position of
the company. From the derived analysis, recommendations will also be illustrated for the
company about how it should proceed in the future (Bozhko, Pogozhev & Меlnikov, 2018).
Sealord, started in 1961, excels in the harvesting of deep-sea fishes, promises to provide good
quality sea food to its customers, while making sure that the aquatic life of the animals
remains healthy and undisturbed. The company has its sea operations being conducted in
New Zealand and Australia, and seems to be one of the largest fishing companies in Southern
Hemisphere. The company owes almost 50 years of tremendous experience in this field,
along with expertise in operations related to harvesting and processing and marketing (D &
Chinnamma, 2017).
The prime objective of the company is to deliver excellent quality food to their customers.
The company was established in 1961, in Nelson, under the ownership of two prominent
owners. Sealord is half owned by the Moana New Zealand titled Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd. And
the other half is owned by the globally owned sea food company called Nippon Suisan
Kaisha. Sealord is one of the largest sea food companies in New Zealand with a long chain of
subsidiaries connected around the world with the help of global linkages. The major interests
of the company include Sealord King reef, which is a barramundi farm located in
Queensland, and Petuna Aquaculture, which is a joint collaboration of Salmon and Ocean
The company till date employs around 1100 people in New Zealand and other countries. It
owns assets worth $775m and revenues costing to $450m (Francis & Sagar, 2012).
The fishing operations for Sealord are based in Nelson. Here, all operations related to deep
water harvesting are managed from initiation to sales. There, almost 7 deep vessels are being
operated in the waters of New Zealand and Willwatch from where the fishes are being sent to
Southern Indian ocean with its base, located in Mauritius (Hayman, Lamm & Anderson,
2013).
The company also has a partnership with Rockliff family located in Tasmania. Sealord
specializes in deep sea venturing in Australia too while collaborating with Petuna
Sealord deep water fishing ltd. The company also excels to provide processing facilities
quality and reliable sea food to its customers (Heinrich & Krause, 2016).
The company promises to deliver excellent quality sea food and frozen products to its
customers based in New Zealand and Australia, under the brand name, Sealord. They also
specialize in the marketing of canned salmon and tuna in New Zealand. From New Zealand
itself, Sealord exports around 40% of the sea food in around 40 countries (Hunt & McManus,
As per the guidelines mentioned by The Nature Conservancy, the companies engaged in the
fishing industry, need to maintain and secure the livelihood of the fishes, stability in the
supply of sea food, concrete coastal surroundings, as well as a healthy ocean. Sealord
promises to fulfil all the guidelines laid forth by the TNC (Martins, 2017).
Sealord NZ- Operations Management
The company has a long-term collaboration with the fisheries and knows to inculcate
appropriately, the advents of science and technology. They are adopting the best strategies
The recently launched Quota Management System in New Zealand in 2016, is giving major
fishery goals to company and its subsidiaries. The QMS aims to portray the status of the
fishes and their major fishing sectors. The fisheries and aquaculture department enroutes its
2. Fishing safety
2. Fishery harbours
3. Processing of fisheries
Sealord’s operation management deals with focus on fisheries operation management. Under
the fisheries management, the company needs to procure about the availability of fish
resources, and how many permits must be given from different stocks. The challenge of
determining the fishing mortality, should be allowed on a stock basis (Wolf, Georgic &
Klaiber, 2017).
The section reveals a different perspective about what fisheries operational management is.
There are many easier ways to determine the OFM. This does not involve any particular
strategies or policies to be followed. For example, any company can introduce their rights and
policies using transferable quotas to achieve the desired objectives (Zhang, 2013).
Sealord NZ- Operations Management
management cycle.
The operational management plan involves Strategic planning, the objectives of the ministers
and their representatives. The models and frameworks include discussions based on stock
status, management objectives, management measures for controlling the capacities and
limiting fishing mortality. It also includes monitoring, controlling and surveillance. Apart
from this, the operation management focusses on conservation, and managing ecosystem.
Also, discussion on Integral coastal zone planning will be an integral part of the assignment.
The management approaches will highlight on the Monte Carlo Simulation models in which
the recruitment and general population will randomly vary and levels of fishing mortality and
Capacity Management Model- Sealord is New Zealand’s largest fishing industry and
specializes in the harvesting of shell fishes, sea food and other frozen sea products. These
products are highly perishable and thus the company has to make strategies to preserve the
products as to maintain the quality of the product. The speed of delivering the products in the
market should also be taken care; as there are various competitors in the market and the
freshness of the products is always a concern hence the company should manage the speed of
catering the demand of the market. Mostly the inventory of the sea products depend on the
demand of the products, sometime demand is high and sometimes it is low, hence the
company accordingly has to manage the capacity of the product so that inventory could also
be managed. Company also has to look after the cost invested as no company wants to get
into losses because of the damaged or perished products (DE ALESSI, 2012).
Sealord NZ- Operations Management
Supply Chain Management Model- It helps in the smooth flow of the products and minimal
costing and providing high quality goods to their customers in various ways. Sealord is
efficiently using the SCM model to deliver good quality products as early as possible. A
supply chain in any business comprises of various components that are responsible for the
production of raw materials, their distribution, and their final journey of making them reach
to their consumers. The analysis of the supply chain for Sealord includes the flow of material
from upwards to downwards like a staircase. The supply chain is analysed at three levels.
How the production of the fishes has been done, what is the distribution network, what would
be the pricing strategy, all operation management is done either weekly or daily. The supply
chain of Sealord is also responsible for bringing improvements in the organization of the
network, collaborating with different partners and acquisition of leadership skills for the
Process and Technology Management Model- Sealord used Datacom solutions for
managing the product quality, as this software helped the company in managing the inventory
of the sea products by keeping a track on the quality and perishability of the product and
keeping an eye on the products which are about to ripe or even the stock that is damaged
during transportation. Also to maintain the quality of the fishes since the starting the
company used a latest technology named PVC liner, where the fishes can be sorted as per
their species and size before even entering the fishing vessel. Sealord also uses latest
technologies in the supply chain to transport the fishes and other sea products at the highest
speed so that people can enjoy the freshest fishes. The Datacom solutions also provided a
solution to the employees by taking the orders from the customers online and also in
promoting the products and the account management of the company. Datacom solutions also
provide facilities for pricing as compared with the competitors in the market as to maintain
the profitability of the company. Also it provided the mobile solutions to the company and its
employees so that they can track the orders given by the customers and the subsidiaries
Development and Organization- This management model is divided into two sections of
improvement and innovation. Section of improvement will include the points of improvement
innovation will include the new technologies or strategies that can be used in different
Improvement
Improvements can be done in the process of storing the fishes and other sea products so that
the products remain fresh and also some improvement should be made in the distribution
process so that the products can reach the consumers and the retailers in fresh quality only.
For keeping the products fresh for longer time the company can also use the cold stores.
Sealord is already having a well established supply chain which distributes the products in
high speed to the subsidiaries and the customers but then the company has to maintain the
speed of the distribution channel also to keep pace with the continuous demand for the
products in the market. Sealord has to introduce certain policies regarding the health and
safety of the employees, as the staffs catches the fishes in the sea and during that time
anything can happen with the employees, so the company has to look after certain
precautions and steps for the safety of the employees. The product prices should be best in
the industry as the company tries to deliver best quality product in the market but it also has
to be taken care that the competitors should not take advantage of the pricing policy of
Innovation
The company has done certain innovation to stand on the promise of delivering quality sea
food to the customers by introducing PVC liner in the fishing process. This innovative
method helps in sorting the fishes according to their sizes and species so that the customer
can get best quality fish and other seafood. Also the company can include some innovative
techniques in the cold stores like battery charged shuttle system which is controlled by
Sealord NZ- Operations Management
remote and pallets can be assessed even at the highest point without disturbing other racks in
the store. This strategy will enhance the quality of the products as the products will not be
perished in the cold stores and also the speed of taking out the products will decrease as to
assess one rack others will not have to be touched or moved. Some innovative methods can
be used by the company to take the customers feedback as to make better the dependability of
the company on the feedback of the customers can be improved and they can work on
improving their functioning and operations of the company. The ordering system and the
payments systems can be digitalised which will make it easier and systematic to order the
In its operational terms, Sealord is enlightened in good quality delivering of fisheries and
other sea products using the quota management system. The fishery management has evolved
using the QMS. However, it is being strongly believed, that the use of QMS can enhance the
operations management, keeping in consideration the marine ecosystems rather than just
strategy that has a good approach towards conserving ecosystem as well. There was a
scenario when the New Zealand fishery industry was observing a downfall, but the
introduction of this framework widely worked. And the pressure that was being exerted on
the marine environment is over and smoothened to a distance of about 12 nautical miles. The
entire structure was revised and emphasis was laid on how to protect and restore the marine
This system adopted by the Sealord is a boon to the fishing industry. It is their first step
towards the modernization of coastal fisheries. The integration of the system has made
Sealord grab the potential to manage fisheries, improve the collection of data and increase its
supply chain. This also gives a chance to the company to identify their target market, and
Sealord NZ- Operations Management
track incidents of when and how the fishes were collected. Sealord was highly benefitted of
the ways to exhibit and improve their packaging methods and styles. This updating of the
packaging and labelling methods brought the company at par with other fishing companies
Management plans prepared on an annual basis provide operational goals about how to
manage fisheries and their business. These plans also exhibit as to how the fishermen will be
exploiting the fish stock, annually or seasonally, and would extend information to their
stakeholders. The OFM plans designed remain crucial for a year, it also gives information to
the company that all stakeholders will necessarily not be participating in the planning
process. But after this process is established, it stabilizes the operation process and becomes
There are five components of an effective operation strategy that ensures that the company is
using the best strategy for their business. The business strategy is the key to drive the
operation strategy and excels to enhance the production of the company considering a
minimization of costs. These strategies develop the company to fight under all circumstances
1. Initiate your strategic plan – It is essential to identify the plans that drive your
objectives and let the company achieve its set goals. The company must ensure that it
possesses a strong strategic plan, and are channelized in the right direction, and that
2. Focus on the goal- The goals set by the company must not be complex. The increase
in complexity will make the employees lose their interest in achieving their
3. Usage of leading indicators- Choosing the correct KPIs is mandatory for the
operation strategy to be successful. The leading indicators are the elements that
measure the goals expected in future and help the company achieve them.
4. Give KPIs an open space- The KPIs of any organization help the employees to guide
for their goals for the next financial year. If the employee strength is less than 15, the
company needs to hold a planning session annually, where everyone associates and
within the organization to achieve benefits. It is not necessarily required that every
operation plan comprises of projects. The operation strategy basically describes the
structure of the organization, in what ways do different branches operate and what
departments have been struggling through years to solve the crisis that is coming in the way.
Sealord is one of the emerging companies in fishing industry in New Zealand who has been
developing various approaches to deal with the ethical problems, managing of commercial
Sealord NZ- Operations Management
fisheries and their uncertainties. New Zealand was the first country to build a management
system that used the individual transferable quotas and has been highly beneficial in guiding
the companies about the methods of protecting the fishes, their ecosystems and the fishing
industry as a whole. In its initiation stage, some issues were no looked upon to be serious.
The issue related the stocking of the fishes, taking care of other multispecies, their
environments and surroundings. Sealord, has managed to resolve such issue to a considerable
extent, and the outcomes have been found to be positive. Their management and expertise
and the company as a whole have adopted professionalized methods and streamlined their
activities. Various initiatives have been taken to overcome the negativities with the
positivities. Comparing Sealord with other companies, they possess a good stock status of
fishes and sea food, their harvesting methods meet all the parameters of Aquaculture and
Sealord was the first fishing company to adopt the ITQs framework as a mode of managing
the fisheries. The ITQs adopted by them are quite comprehensive and incomparable to any
other fishing industry. The individual transferable quotas are responsible to present shares of
total allowable commercial catches, the TACC, which comprises of the total catches. This
also includes the allowances for the recreation of the fishes, and other activities related to
fishing. To conclude on a whole, the launch of ITQs has been remarkably beneficial to
Sealord in terms of achieving sustainability and positive development of the fishes as well as
conserving the species of fishes that can be profitable in the current scenario as well as in
future. Its’s main focus is on the biological conservation and protect the marine environment
from overfishing. Sealord also uses the paper trail system. This system helps the company to
keep a track for where the fishes were captured and their journey till it reaches to the retailer
or exporter. The system also holds accountability and responsibility at various levels. The
paper trail system adopted by Sealord also helped them to convince the government to take
the infringements done on the fishes on a serious note and levy heavy fines and
Sealord NZ- Operations Management
imprisonments if there is any harm caused to the fisheries as well as their environments. This
highest mortality rates than any other occupation. A large number of vessels are either lost or
damaged each year while the fishing operations take place in transition from to and from the
fishing grounds. The performance of fishing industry, as a whole has been accorded to be
poor because there are various issues and concerns that are troubling the fishermen. The non-
regulation of the fishing vessels due to frequent maritime activities has made the fisheries
quite unsafe. There have been various measures taken to ensure the safety of the fishes, and
some have been implemented as well and have proven to bring significant performance. The
Sealord’s safety records can be improved as well, but this will require utmost cooperation and
attention to ensure the safety from all angles. More federal involvement is required to collect
all safety measures and plan a cohesive and effective strategy. Also, the company must plan
implementation of basic safety rules as well as the expansion and construction of available
resources with the help of support from the state governments, fishery management councils,
industries and commissions and other administrations that are interested to support the
process. All the benefits acquired for the safety program need to be taken due care of the fact
Sealord to protect its fisheries and other management systems. Sufficient goals and objectives
must be set for the company and rest ensured that they are followed to the core. A data base
must be prepared where various types of problems faced by the company can be recorded,
evaluation and monitoring of results can be done too. The vessels that are constructed must
meet all the safety measures as well as ensuring the improvement of the country’s fleets.
Various training programs, researches and developments can be done internally to maintain
the standards of the company as well as to achieve the desired objectives. The safety rules
Sealord NZ- Operations Management
and guidelines must be monitored from time to time and amendments can be done if required.
The company must get the inspection of the fishing vessels on a regular basis.
Upgrading the safety administration will immensely help Sealord to predict, and maintain
a healthy communication with different fishing agencies, councils etc. This will help the
company to monitor its current capabilities and statuses and also help determine its potential
in future. The evaluation of the maritime enforcement program can also be done which will
determine as to what level this program will effectively be implemented for a fishing industry
like Sealord. Implementation of safety vessels program can also be done to prevent hazardous
activities in future. Another part of goals includes the monitoring of manpower, costing and
Conclusion
Sealord, the emerging fishing company in New Zealand is quite confident and promises a
good sustainability of its operation management. The reports reveal that the company has no
company has raised few concerns, but they are trying their bet to resolve them. The issues
include the difficulties caused in handling of fish vessels and processing of fishes on daily
basis. Sealord has got extended support from MPI, since then they have been looking after
the conservation of fisheries. Sealord is also working at its best to modernize the ways and
methodologies of protecting the natural resources with a promise that they will stay intact for
the upcoming generations as well. They also ensure the company’s non-participation is any of
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