In short, our partnership first philosophy means that if there exists a qualified partner to fill a capability gap in our development and operations, we will close the gap through a partner, continuously expanding and improving the capabilities of our partner ecosystem.
From Left: Ray J Muscat, CCO ABT, George D. Mantas, Business Development Director ABT, Shane A. Hunter, CEO ABT and Stein Inge Larsen COB Viking Aqua AS.
Why partnership is so important for us
There are three main drivers behind our partnership philosophy, reflecting global macro trends and more local aquaculture industry strengths and challenges here in Norway;
Our ambition of an industrialised next-gen marine RAS salmon farm aligns with the more significant industry 4.0 development across multiple manufacturing and heavy industries. This backbone is data which is digitally covered in our strategic technology pillar. Still, a frequently overlooked component is the effect this technology can have on partnerships and the formation of a wider ecosystem. Research from several leading strategy firms (BCG, Deloitte, Accenture) has shown the importance of partnership, ecosystems and new business models to accelerate innovation and scale in a disruptive industry 4.0 environment.
The Salmon industry has enormous challenges related to efficiency, fish welfare and sustainability that we seek to address through our next-gen land-based RAS facility. The size and complexity of the required work to address these issues through land-based farming led us to believe that it is best solved through a strong partnership strategy. With respect to the disruptive potential of a successful next-gen RAS facility and the growing demand for sustainable proteins, we also see a market more than large enough to support a wide range of partners.
A consequence of the last decades' changes in a society driven by technology is a breakdown of existing entry barriers disrupting more and more industries. According to research done by Rita Gunther McGrath, one of the strongest new entry barriers is the new ecosystems themselves. This makes it even more critical for a company like Viking Aqua, with our next-gen RAS ambition, to play a key role in the future ecosystem of the salmon farming industry.
Photo of RAS by AquaBioTech Group
Our take on a partnership ecosystem
Business or Partnership Ecosystem means a lot of different things, but we view it as consisting of two main groups of actors working together to create value for the ecosystem.
An essential aspect of the ecosystem is that it covers a wide range of actors, from sub-vendors to consumers and authorities.
A partner that, to a large degree, share our thinking on the areas below:
We aim to realise our partnership and ecosystem ambition through the following mechanism: