Modernisation of Stevenson Newlyn shout auction with KOSMOS

By ordering the digital trading platform KOSMOS, shout auction Stevenson Newlyn jumped on the digitisation bandwagon in mid-2020. After a smooth installation, the go-live of KOSMOS with two clocks for 100 users took place at the end of December 2020.

KOSMOS was connected with the already existing auction infrastructure enabling the auction to make further use of it. So the trading platform in the cloud communicates with the current data input terminals, the Marel grader and the back-office package A-Fish. For each transaction, a transaction ticket is printed for the organisation of the internal logistics.

By choosing for KOSMOS, the traditional fish auction of Newlyn confirms the trend that online auctioning has become part of today’s society. Manual operations are kept to a minimum and accessibility gains in importance. Finance Manager Paul Wagstaff: “KOSMOS enables us to collect the transactions data electronically without the need for manually keying it in. It is very important whilst we are dealing with a pandemic to be able to trade without physically standing together.”

The first reactions of the buyers to the KOSMOS introduction are very positive. Mr. Wagstaff: “There were hardly any user or training issues, which is very reassuring given that we are introducing technology to a previously very manual process.” 

Mr. Wagstaff explains the advantages of the platform: “KOSMOS gives buyers a better view of the fish on sale and it allows fish to be bought without being present in Newlyn. The buyers are also able to obtain data of purchases much more quickly, including lists whilst the market is in progress and what is ready to be auctioned.”

He concludes: “For all these reasons, we are hopeful that the better buying experience and the ability to buy remotely will attract new buyers and, in turn, new suppliers”.