E4marine News

Business-to-business e-commerce enabler e4marine has enhanced its management steam with the appointment of Kurt Karstensen as Project Manager. He will be responsible for integrating e4marine’s increasing number of projects of both new suppliers and buyers. The 41-year-old Mr. Karstensen brings to e4marine extensive experience in IT projects directly related to customers and systems integration, especially with regard to electronic transactions and electronic payment in the financial market. His appointment adds a major new dimension to e4marine’s services to the marine industry. Kurt Karstensen has a Masters Degree from BI (the Norwegian School of Management) with specialisation in IT, project management and international management.

Marine e-commerce enabler e4marine and leading marine computer software supplier Xantic have co-operated in the development of a technical interface linking Xantic?s popular AMOS M&P planned maintenance and purchase system with e4marine?s e-commerce services. The new agreement between both parties brings the relationship between e4marine and Xantic even closer, establishing Xantic as a partner to e4marine with regards to installation, implementation and support for customers that use AMOS software towards e4marine?s services. By using Xantic, e4marine?s customers are assured of the best possible implementation and support service. As part of the new agreement between e4marine and Xantic, the partners have jointly developed an ?installation and implementation?

e4marine is a web/EDI B2B solution that relies on the strengths of not only its technical merit but the key strengths of the founding partners Unitor ASA, Visma AS and Umoe ASA. The service is designed to ensure shipowners, managers and operators with a completely free means of procuring the essential goods and services required for use onboard. Unitor's experience in the world-wide provision of marine products and services, coupled with Visma's expertise in onboard maintenance and planning systems and Umoe's strengths in the marine and offshore business have combined to enable shipowners and operators to leverage cost savings throughout the marine supply chain.

The shipping industry has long been criticized for being slow to adapt to new technologies and taking a reactive approach to market trends. But after several years of stagnant growth, the shipping industry is waking up to the potential of the Internet, according to Thomas Falck, managing director, Visma Marine. Today, the scene is crowded with competing e-commerce initiatives and, some argue, more cash than sense. With the rapid development of new information technologies, the shipping industry has been scrambling to adjust to the new economy. For Visma Marine, the holding company for SpecTec Group, a supplier of fleet management software, the transition is a natural extension of their core business.

UK-based BP Marine and Unitor ASA of Norway will form a marketing alliance to offer their combined range of products to ship operators on a global basis and, as a next step, to add new partners that will make the alliance a "one-stop-shop" for marine supplies anywhere in the world. "New members will be actively encouraged to participate, in order to bring even greater benefits to our customers," said Unitor's President, Frode Berg. Called "The Marine Alliance," the initiative will be rolled out to the 18,000 vessels currently supplied by BP Marine and Unitor during the remainder of 2000. Deliveries will be coordinated through Unitor's existing global logistics system, which covers over 80 countries around the world.

Much as has transpired in mainstream consumer markets, the dot com craze has recently enveloped the maritime world with promises of cost savings and operational efficiencies. While an attrition and natural process of consolidation can eventually be expected, the world of e-commerce solutions for the maritime market is definitely in its infancy. While it is impossible to judge the full working models in this report, the following text contains synopsis reports on some of the more noteworthy market entrants. Recently launched by Boston-based WebPark Corp., Boat-Park.com is an on-line virtual trade show, which seeks to bring together worldwide participants into its virtual trade show, which is open 24/7.

Unitor's 4,500 international shipping customers now have a ready made solution for e-commerce procurement available. The solution makes it possible to electronically purchase Unitor products and services from vessels at sea or from the owner's office. Unitor and SpecTec's free and independent marine procurement portal, e4marine, has now opened the industry's first vessel-based e-commerce procurement solution following trials with the Baltic ferry operator Silja Line. After evaluating the e4marine solution, Silja Line went "live" by ordering marine chemicals and refrigerant gases for its flagship, the 59,912 grt passenger RoRo Silja Europa, running between Stockholm (Sweden) and Turku (Finland) from the vessel, via e4marine, to Unitor.