The Shipowner and Ship Manager Times, September 2018
shipserv.com | Edition 2
Find.Connect.Trade
“Our man in Europe”
Game changing
Peter Wee’s reflections on the northern European market
OSERV’s Peter Schellenberger on the growth of consortia
Go to page 2
Go to page 2
The Shipowner Times and Ship Manager
Braced for massive change AN in-depth new report and survey finds maritime procurement leaders braced for change. But what form will that change take? Fully 68% of maritime procurement professionals believe they will see major change in the next 5 years. The consensus is that there will be fewer roles in procurement but the average role will become more strategic. A small number fear they will turn into “transaction robots” but a more likely scenario is that technology will take the current routine and administrative transactional tasks away leaving the maritime procurement profession to focus more on value added activities. Tom Holmes, who also edits the IMPA magazine, has written a detailed report based on interviews with many leading CPOs and procurement managers in maritime. Despite the optimism on the shift to strategic procurement the experts are clear about the current obstacles. Most see maritime lagging significantly behind other industries. Tom Holmes sums up the prevailing view: “On a scale where
Inside Today
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perfection is a 10, currently the marine industry is a 2.” Reasons for this include the prevalence of old habits, deep rooted culture, wrong personnel, systems that don’t talk to each other, lack of standardisation and poor quality data. Despite these issues, there is optimism and the belief that radical change is not far away for maritime purchasing. The experts have high expectations for the procurement department of 2021 including: • That it will be far less transactional and far more strategic • Automation will be standard • Real and tangible data will not be an issue because data will be in a single system, not silos • Data will be real time and will give full visibility • Fewer operators • Vendors will develop into partners, acting as an extension of the company To read more go to page 3
Reasons to use a dedicated procurement platform
Data & Analytics
“I wish I had this report years ago” Developing advanced data and analytics tools for decision makers in ship operating companies is a key priority for ShipServ and in 2018 two new reports will be launched.
Interview: CEO Kim Skaarup and COO Mikael Weis pictured outside the Copenhagen office.
Spilling the beans by Ursula Rechnagel Taylor Of Søfart magazine
IN an anonymous office building behind Strandvejen in Hellerup, safety shoes, boots and chemicals are traded for billions of dollars. Or rather, from here, ShipServ’s platform, which allows the global maritime industry to buy and sell equipment for thousands of ships, is managed by just a few clicks on a computer. ShipServ is the world’s largest digital shopping platform for the maritime industry and is on the verge of having 10,000 ships on the platform.
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However, ShipServ’s CEO, Kim Skaarup, and his COO Mikael Weis, have said that this has taken a long time to achieve, in an interview with Søfart. “We have very patient investors,” says Kim Skaarup, a comment which is followed by a crooked smile from Mikael Weis: “And patient wives.” The two have been part of ShipServ soon after it was established by the Dane Paul Østergaard at the turn of the millennium. At that time, when e-commerce was still in its infancy, it was headquartered in Silicon Valley, USA. But today the Danish office is the real pivotal point for the company, which now looks at doubledigit growth rates ahead. Continued on page 2
It’s a direct response to ship operators’ issues with the structure and complexity of procurement transaction data. We are working closely with customers to develop the new tools. The newest is the Spend Analytics Report which has been developed for senior purchasers. It will clean and categorise the transactions and then present the data in a series of online reports. Buyers can see accurate spend splits by category and sub-category, by supplier, by vessel/port, and key metrics like % of spend using contracted suppliers. The cleaning and categorisation of spend is a challenging undertaking and the reporting will be developed on a category by category basis, starting with lubes. This first category will be available in Q4 2018. For more information, go to page 5. The second new report for shipowners and managers – the Supplier Performance Report - was launched earlier this year and is now available to all existing ShipServ customers. It gained a very favourable reaction from users, including the quote in the headline of this article. The Supplier Performance Report gives 24 procurement KPIs on every supplier that
a buyer trades with on ShipServ, enabling them to improve performance. This enables them to analyse trends and identify where improvements can be made, thereby enhancing and fully optimising relationships with suppliers. Having the data readily available in a clear and concise report gives purchasers the ability to identify potential opportunities for generating cost savings. By understanding exactly what it is they are purchasing and how much is being spent, purchasers can look into negotiating possible volume discounts, or if deemed necessary, seek alternative suppliers. Amongst the KPIs included are information on transaction totals, quote and win rates, response times, price and time sensitivity analysis, most commonly bought items and spend history, and analysis by vessel and by purchaser. Key facts: • Separate report for every supplier you trade with on ShipServ • Much of the key data and trends over time are shown graphically • Benchmarks: Unique to ShipServ, the tool shows procurement teams two benchmarks: an individual supplier’s KPIs against the average of all suppliers trading with them, and also against an average of all suppliers trading on ShipServ • Print: All KPIs can be printed at the click of a button. It can also be used by shipowners and managers to streamline their internal reporting as well as in external audits.
Report - The future of marine procurement 2021
IMPA codes to be added to platform
What procurement people are saying by Tom Holmes Editor of Marine Trader, The IMPA Magazine
MARITIME procurement is maturing. How do I know? One of the perks of my job is to listen to procurement people tell me about what they do, why they do it and why they think it’s right (which, invariably, it is). Over the last 18 months there’s been a definite change in tack and mind-set. Fewer CPOs and procurement execs talk in transactional terms. Cost and price are important, but strategy and sustainability are where it’s at. Of course, approaches and strategies vary widely – but they are united in their current themes and principles: Procurement is becoming pre-emptive: the profession is shifting from reactive to proactive; tomorrow’s procurement is pre-emptive, collaborative, flexible and adaptable. We’re seeing this more and more in the shipping industry. Data, for example, is being used to map and monitor vessel-trading routes and plan purchases accordingly, while PMS systems are being
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19th partnership deal sealed at Seatrade
used to predict when spare parts need to be ordered and delivered. Digitisation is a great enabler… so invest wisely. Whatever methods you choose and whatever platforms you use will need to work for you and for your organisation. Procurement has to make a case for digitisation that supports the company’s needs and vision, and that brings suppliers and stakeholders closer together.
Under the revised agreement, the IMPA code database will be added into results on both ShipServ Pages, the online marine search engine, and ShipServ Onboard, a comprehensive digital catalogue and ordering guide available on DVD and USB
Invest in people: Your people are your biggest asset. Equipping them with the skills and knowledge to thrive in a digitised and analytical profession is a sound investment. The investments need not all be hard skills either. Soft skills such as communication, leadership, problem solving and negotiation are invaluable to the employee and the organisation.
and used by vessels and crew at sea. With the MSG information added into ShipServ’s search engines, users will benefit from increased functionality, including the ability to conduct single code and description look ups, as well as being able to see the code hierarchy. Buyers will also benefit from being able to see which suppliers can provide products behind the codes being searched. Once the ShipServ search engines have been enhanced in this way, IMPA codes will be an integral part of every applicable search result. Continued on page 2
Upturn in sentiment as new buyers join WITH 200 shipping companies putting the vast majority of their procurement through the platform, ShipServ is a bellweather of marine trends. With a new all-time record set in trading volume and 6 new buyers joining the platform, sentiment is on the up.
Focus on value creation rather than cost reduction: Data offers insight into how procurement and supply create value, where opportunities are, and where change and disruption might occur. Yes, cost is important, but long-term, sustainable supply chains offer better value to the organisation than cost-reduction alone. Using data to order the exact quantities of a product required and investing the surplus in better quality/longer lasting alternatives is a simple and effective way to achieve this. Trust old school intelligence: Tech works and digitisation is here to stay, but they still have some way to go before they replace networking, supplier visits and attending exhibitions. A lot of information is gathered and passed on this way. Why? Because shipping is a sociable industry and because trust is built better in person.
SHIPSERV and IMPA have just announced an extension to their partnership which will see ShipServ using IMPA’s Marine Stores Guide codes throughout its platforms and search engines as well as becoming an authorised reseller of the newly created Publisher Licence.
IB’s InfoSHIP is a maritime software suite which seamlessly integrates into ShipServ’s e-Procurement platform, enabling purchasers to send transactions directly from their software. ShipServ now has 19 such software partnerships in place with providers including ABS, BASS, DANAOS, DNV GL, ShipNet and SpecTech. See the back page for the full story.
ShipServ is seeing record breaking trading volumes on its platform in 2018 adding to the evidence of recovery in the industry, or at least in most segments. In January 2018, for the first time, more than 100,000 POs in a single month were traded on the platform. The total value of orders issued through the platform in January was also a record at $298m. Kim Skaarup, CEO, commented: “We definitely witnessed a slowdown in spend in the last few years. Spend per vessel was
down as was average order value. Buyers were being careful and cautious in their spend, which is understandable. We are definitely seeing a re-bound now.” Mikael Weis, COO, confirms this. “For the last six months we have experienced an unusually high interest from shipowners – even from names where we thought it would be a longer process. The high levels of interest currently being seen comes as a nice surprise,” says Weis. He continues: “Based on 17 years of experience, I find it hard to believe in a ketchup effect [that we’ll see a turnaround in all segments soon]. Having said that, there are positive signals, and from the Asian markets too.” Several new buyers have signed up to ShipServ, joining the 200 ship operators already using the platform. Recent additions include Brunei Gas Carriers, Paradise Navigation, Norgas Carriers, TT-Line, BOA, STSM, Interlake Steamship, Seacor and TBS.