VisionQMS transforms quality management at Scottish Shellfish
- VisionQMS
- Jul 23
- 5 min read
Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group’s (SSMG's) paper-based quality management system was inefficient, provided no real-time visibility of their operation or material traceability, and relied on manual processes that increased the risk of human error. With the possibility of fines, product recalls, reputational damage, or lost business if errors reached customers, the company needed a better solution. VisionQMS delivered a paperless quality management system incorporating SSMG’s specific processes, digitally transforming how quality and traceability is monitored, managed, and maintained. Since adopting VisionQMS, SSMG has reduced risk, improved operational control, and given its team the visibility and confidence to always deliver consistently high-quality products.
About Scottish Shellfish
Founded in 1992, Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group (SSMG) is the UK’s leading supplier of rope-grown mussels and cultivated Pacific oysters. Over the years, Scottish Shellfish’s range has expanded to include scallops, crab, and other premium seafood selections, all sourced from the pristine seas of the West Coast of Scotland, Orkney and the Shetland Isles.
Established as a co-operative, the exceptional quality of Scottish Shellfish’s products reflects the passion of its farmers and the care and pride they take in their work.
SSMG's products are prepared at its state-of-the-art facilities in Bellshill and Brae, where they are packaged for sale as fresh shellfish or made into a superb range of ready meals, available in supermarkets, fishmongers, and other retail outlets across the UK and Europe.
The Challenge
For businesses in the food industry, the cost of a mistake can be significant. If errors are not caught in the factory, they can lead to significant fines from retailers, costly product recalls, reputational damage, and the potential loss of future business.
SSMG had been relying on a paper-based quality management system at its Bellshill site, which was heavily dependent on manual processes. This approach was inefficient, offered limited operational visibility, and therefore increased the risk of human errors occurring. To ensure such errors were not reaching customers, products had to be checked, double-checked, and checked again by three different team members, including an operator, a supervisor, and a member of the technical team, before anything could leave the factory. However, even with this level of oversight, errors still occasionally could slip through.
Relying on paper made it hard to identify issues in real time, and employees were under pressure to keep up with the essential administrative demands. Data was also scattered across paper records and spreadsheets, offering no overall visibility and little opportunity to spot risks before they developed or identify actionable insights.
SSMG needed a more reliable, efficient system, one that could reduce the burden on staff, improve visibility, and help prevent errors before they ever reached the customer.
The Solution
Having ruled out several potential systems due to limitations in capability and exorbitant costs, SSMG identified VisionQMS as the ideal fit. It offered a comprehensive solution covering quality assurance (QA), quality control (QC), and traceability, all with the flexibility to configure the software to meet their specific requirements, and at a price that made sense.
SSMG saw the potential for VisionQMS to digitally transform its approach to quality management and material traceability, replacing its reliance on manual processes.
In addition to robust QA and QC functionality, VisionQMS provided real-time visibility over production and packing, automated scheduling, and dynamic reporting. Its intuitive interface made it easy for staff to adopt, while the system’s flexibility ensured it could handle all existing processes and be integrated smoothly with SSMG’s other essential systems.
Crucially, the VisionQMS team worked closely with SSMG to customise the software to fit their unique requirements and further enhance material tracking and traceability throughout all operational processes, including:
Full batch tracking from mussel receipt to customer packing, including the full production process and cooking and recipe control for added value items
Container-level tracking to trace quantities of mussels from large batches through all operations
Extensive use of barcoding via container tags to facilitate material tracking and traceability, ensuring all products are cooked and blast chilled correctly, and that all items – used and produced – are in life
Item movement profiles governing the locations where all materials can be stored, transferred to, consumed from, and moved post-production
The system also supports a range of quality checks, including:
Tolerance checks on key variables such as broken shells, mussels per pack, and temperature
Item code scanning during packing to ensure the correct products are always produced for the right customer
Verification that only in-life materials are used
Ensuring use-by dates on the packed products are accurate by dynamically referencing production plan data
“VisionQMS's has allowed all our extensive checks to be digitised. Its flexibility is the key to why our project is the success that it is for us today, that’s for sure.” - Steven Gallacher, Operations Manager
VisionQMS’s willingness to modify its standard system when needed meant more of the immediate challenges that SSMG was facing were resolved, and the groundwork for permanent, long-term improvements in efficiency, control, and product quality was complete.
Adoption
Like any significant operational change, the introduction of VisionQMS was met with some initial hesitation. However, once the system was in place and training was complete, the response from the team was overwhelmingly positive.
Staff quickly recognised that VisionQMS made their jobs easier, reducing the administrative burden of their role and helping them identify errors quickly and reliably. In addition, operators no longer needed to leave their stations to enter data on a computer, with the switch to tablets saving time and improving performance. Several team members, having seen the benefits on other lines, began requesting the system be introduced on their lines.
The technical team was also cautious at first but soon came round. Within two months, they approached management directly to share their feedback:
“VisionQMS is brilliant, and we’re glad we’ve got it.”
This shift in attitude has played a major role in the system’s success and is reflective of the intuitive, user-centric design of VisionQMS, with staff across the factory actively engaging with the platform and valuing the clarity and confidence it brings to their roles.
The Results
Since introducing VisionQMS’s paperless quality management system, SSMG has significantly improved management’s visibility over operations, enabling them to boost efficiency and overall product quality. Most importantly, material traceability is optimally controlled, and errors that might previously have reached the customer are now being caught and addressed in real time, exactly what the team set out to achieve.
The system has given staff the tools to work more effectively. Operators no longer need to manage piles of paperwork or rely on separate systems to input data. Instead, they can complete checks directly from a tablet, with prompts and alerts guiding them through each step. The technical team now has instant access to live reports, saving time and improving oversight.
“In the period we’ve been using VisionQMS, we’ve had errors, but those errors have been captured in real time and have not gone out the door, which was the fundamental thing we wanted in the first place.” - Steven Gallacher, Operations Manager
The platform has also enabled SSMG to consolidate its quality and production data in one place, giving the team real-time visibility across the factory. Reports can be generated instantly, helping staff stay on top of compliance requirements, identify recurring issues, and extract insights that support continuous improvement, all without the burden of manual record-keeping.
“We’re getting a higher quality product from the same employees.” - Steven Gallacher, Operations Manager
VisionQMS reduces risk, improves visibility, and gives your team the tools to deliver quality with confidence. To find out how VisionQMS could transform quality management for your business, get in touch today.