MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

FIS announces new e-commerce platform in partnership with major Japanese seafood

In partnership with seven major Japanese seafood companies, Fish Information & Services (FIS) has announced the pending launch of a new electronic seafood commerce system, Fish On line, that will provide buyers and sellers of seafood with a business platform for one of the largest seafood markets in the world.

Fish On Line will allow seafood retailers and distributors immediate access to the seafood product lines of Nichirei Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, Chuo Gyorui Co., Ltd, Marusen Chiyoda Suissan Co. Ltd, Osaka Uoichiba Co. Ltd, and Matsuda Sangyo Co, and Nippon Suisan. These companies, with long histories of importing, processing, and distributing seafood in Japan, have combined annual sales in excess of USD 10 billion. Other major seafood companies are currently negotiating to participate as well.

Companies based outside of Japan will discover that Fish On Line offers long-awaited access to the highly complex Japanese market. As companies will be able to sell their products and more deeply penetrate the Japanese market, business transactions will be supported by eGuarantee (credit guarantee) and Logistics Planner inc., ltd. (logistics systems). Fujitsu Business Communication Systems Ltd has developed the technology behind Fish On Line, with venture financing supplied by Softbank Technology Fund.

With its tremendous demand and multi-layered distribution system, Japan is widely regarded as the most promising market for seafood e-commerce. FIS is developing similar e-commerce systems to for its operation in FIS Europe (Norway, Iceland, Faroe Islands, France, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Russia, UK, and the Baltic Republics), FIS Latino (Latin America, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, West Africa), and FIS North America (US and Canada). Co-operation with existing websites and auctions is planned in other markets.

Since 1995, FIS has supplied the international seafood industry with multilingual news, market intelligence and support services.