A new piece of software is having such an impact on the way Dundonnell Smoked Salmon processes orders that the company has teamed up with Ross and Cromarty Enterprise (RACE) and PICT Innovations to develop it for the global market.

Simone Nelson's company operates from the shores of Little Loch Broom in Ross-shire and has been delivering gifts of high-quality smoked salmon parcels and hampers to destinations all over the world since it was formed in 1996. 

The company's current mail order system was struggling to cope with the demand, especially at Christmas when they receive 85 per cent of annual sales during the six-week run-up period. 

Simone also faces several challenges to ensure that orders are processed accurately and delivered on time. In common with other companies in the 'gifting' market, processing multiple orders and then deferring the collection of payment can prove to be a headache without the right computer support.

Her software was severely restricting the company's potential to meet growing demand so she approached Ross and Cromarty Enterprise's e-business advisor, Ewan McFarlane, for advice.

He saw the potential to use Dundonnell Smoked Salmon's business model to develop a software application, which has significant potential to benefit the broader e-business community.  RACE awarded a 50 per cent grant through the e-Business Support Programme to enable Mrs Nelson to custom develop software to revolutionise her mail order processes.

Ewan McFarlane explains the software's potential to impact on a wider market:  "I realised that there are many other businesses, particularly in the 'gift' trade, who are in a similar position to Simone.  The gift trade is peculiar in a number of areas.  Firstly a single sales order often gives rise to multiple consignments being dispatched to multiple addresses.  Secondly, gifts often have to be delivered on a specific date - Christmas or birthdays.  This requires a system capable of capturing payment information but deferring processing and dispatch until the appropriate date. 

"When our research revealed that there is no off-the-shelf software that can achieve this I saw the opportunity to leverage the investment made in Simone's business to develop a commercial application.  In order to achieve this wider objective, I contacted PICT Innovation to see how they could help.

"Simone is testing the software for us at the moment over the busy Christmas period and if the trial is successful then PICT will develop it to make sure it can be made available to other companies."

PICT Innovation Ltd (Producing Information Communications Technology) is based at Alness Business Park in Ross-shire.  It is a partnership company established to foster good ideas and turn them into business ventures by supporting research and commercialisation.

Ken Abraham of PICT explained the company's role in the project: "PICT is about helping to make bright ICT ideas happen.  Often it is the case that organisations within the Highlands and Islands do not have the means to take their ICT-based ideas to market, and this is where PICT can help.  So I am pleased we are in a position to help businesses like Dundonnell Smoked Salmon realise their potential and develop their ICT requirements."

Customers placing their Christmas orders with Dundonnell Smoked Salmon this year won't notice the £9,000 cash injection into the software system used to collate and process their order, but it has certainly made a huge impact behind the scenes, as Simone explains: 

"The new software saves us so much time because the orders we receive over the internet, which make up the bulk of the growth in our sales, can be imported directly into our database. Because we are more organised we are able to take on last minute orders which means our business can grow year on year.

"The new software also has an automatic credit card processing facility and it can link direct to our carrier's software, which helps our orders to be dispatched speedily and correctly.  It is impossible to misplace a parcel or payment. All very comforting when we are in those frantic weeks just before Christmas!

"We processed 2,000 parcels last year and now that we are in a better position to cope with those last minute orders, we're looking at hitting the 3,000 mark as a direct result of this new software and RACE's investment."