Plymouth, Mass.-based online marketplace Open Ocean Trading partnered with Aikido Bay to create better price-establishing methods for American lobster, providing transparency and stability through open and competitive transactions.
The partnership aims to improve quality, risk and logistics management throughout the supply chain.
“Auctions and forward markets share a common overlap in price discovery,” said Keith Flett, CEO and founder of Open Ocean Trading. “It was only a matter of time until we merged our ideas and overall enthusiasm to create major change in this industry.”
Kevin Murphy, CEO and cofounder of Aikido Bay, added, “This strategic partnership will broaden the marketplace and ensure stable margins for both buyers and sellers. We are excited that our teams can work together going forward, and will continue to deliver on our promises of transparency, anonymity and traceability.”
The companies will combine technology platforms, clients and resources after a successful pilot program in the second quarter of 2014. Through these efforts, the two companies unlock access and provide price discovery for the lobster fishery across two countries, five provinces and five states.
“We all know how fragmented the lobster industry is in North America,” said Jean Lavallee, lobster expert and Principal Consultant and Founder of Aquatic Science and Health Services. “I see a lot of potential in this partnership to better unify some of the segments of the chain-of-custody. I also see great opportunities to implement consistent and standardized quality practices and grading to help reduce shrinkage and price fluctuation."
The two companies are currently wrapping up the Canadian season and have a handful of ports online in Maine.
