Fleet Digitalization in the Seafood Industry: A Success Story from the MENA Region
How Somafish Transformed Fleet Operations Across Morocco with Ostol
Agadir, Morocco — February to July 2025
In early 2025, Somafish, a multinational player in the seafood and fishing industry, embarked on a mission to modernize and streamline its logistics operations. With a dispersed fleet operating between Casablanca, Agadir, and Marrakech, their logistics team faced growing challenges managing vehicles, drivers, and maintenance processes spread across regions.
To tackle these challenges, Somafish joined Ostol’s pilot program for its Fleet Management System (FMS) — a digital platform designed to centralize fleet data, automate paperwork, and bring real-time visibility to logistics operations.
The Challenge: Paper, Excel, and Endless Calls
Before adopting Ostol, Somafish’s fleet operations relied heavily on paper forms, handwritten notes, and Excel sheets. Tracking mileage, expenses, or document renewals often meant hours of manual work, phone calls, and chasing down drivers for updates.
The logistics manager in Agadir described it best:
“Every time a delivery was scheduled, we had to ask — which vehicles are available? Who’s driving? Are their papers valid? We couldn’t see the full picture. We were reactive, not proactive.”
This lack of visibility led to overuse of certain vehicles, delayed renewals, and missed maintenance schedules. The same two or three vehicles were often overloaded with missions, resulting in uneven usage, higher repair costs, and shorter lifespans.
The Solution: Centralized, Real-Time Fleet Management
Somafish deployed Ostol Fleet Management System in February 2025, starting with its Agadir operations before scaling to Casablanca and Marrakech. The goal was simple: digitalize, centralize, and control.
Ostol provided Somafish with a tailored setup to fit the seafood logistics context — including a custom module for frigorific vehicles, essential for maintaining temperature-sensitive cargo. The Ostol team worked closely with Somafish’s logistics department to design specialized workflows for mission logging, maintenance, and expense management.
From Paperwork to Real-Time Data
With Ostol, the company fully eliminated paperwork. Drivers now log fuel entries, expenses, and odometer readings directly from their phones, attaching invoices and receipts for accounting purposes. Regional managers no longer spend hours gathering documents — every entry syncs instantly with HQ.
When a vehicle requires maintenance or inspection, drivers can request repairs with photos in seconds. Workshops and repair shops connected to Somafish’s Ostol workspace receive notifications instantly, and can view only the relevant maintenance module — keeping data secure and access limited.
Never Missing a Renewal Again
Before Ostol, renewals for insurance, technical inspections, and road taxes were a major pain point. Missing one could lead to costly fines or unexpected downtime.
Now, Ostol automatically tracks document expirations and notifies managers ahead of time.
“We haven’t missed a single renewal since Ostol,” said the logistics coordinator. “The system keeps us one step ahead.”
Data-Driven Decisions and Cost Optimization
Thanks to Ostol’s engineering and logistics expertise, the platform came with consulting support to set up a preventive maintenance plan and performance dashboard.
The KPI dashboard — customized for Somafish — became a game changer. Key metrics such as:
- Cost per Kilometer (CPK)
- Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
- Maintenance Cost
- Expenses by Vehicle and Category (Fuel, Maintenance, Tickets, etc.)
helped management identify inefficiencies, control spending, and negotiate better pricing.
“With Ostol, we finally see where the money goes — instantly. What used to take us days on Excel now takes seconds,” said Somafish’s logistics manager.
These insights empowered decision-makers to rebalance fleet usage, plan budgets more accurately, and detect anomalies in real time. For instance, identifying vehicles with unusually high maintenance costs led to targeted preventive actions — saving both time and money.
Tangible Results in 5 Months
Between February and July 2025, Somafish reported measurable improvements:
- 40+ minutes saved per day in operational coordination
- Zero missed document renewals
- 100% elimination of paper and Excel reporting
- Faster expense validation and accounting synchronization
- Real-time visibility on all vehicles and drivers across 3 cities
- Reduction in vehicle overuse and maintenance anomalies
What once required three days of manual consolidation for monthly reports now happens in real time, directly within Ostol’s dashboard.
A True Partnership, Not Just a Software
Beyond the platform itself, Somafish praised Ostol’s client-centric approach. Unlike traditional software vendors, Ostol’s team — with backgrounds in logistics and industrial engineering — actively understood operational pain points and proposed practical solutions.
“They didn’t just build a tool — they helped us rethink our process,” said the operations director. “They spoke our language — logistics, not just code.”
The Road Ahead
Encouraged by the success of this pilot, Somafish plans to expand Ostol’s usage across additional regional warehouses and integrate fleet data with its ERP system for full operational visibility.
The partnership with Ostol proved that when technology meets operational insight, even traditional industries like fishing logistics can become data-driven, agile, and efficient.
About Somafish Somafish is a multinational seafood company based in Agadir, Morocco, operating across the MENA region with facilities in Casablanca, Agadir, and Marrakech. The company specializes in the processing and distribution of fresh and frozen seafood products.
About Ostol Ostol is a modern fleet management platform designed for distributed and multi-site operations. Built by engineers with logistics expertise, Ostol helps companies centralize fleet data, automate workflows, and make better operational decisions through data and KPIs.
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