Royal Caribbean Cruises has implemented electronic purchasing technology to cut the $1bn it spends annually on resources for its ships. The cruise operator completed a switch to vendor Ariba’s software technology last month, and is using a web portal to purchase goods ranging from ship parts to food and drink. The firm also hopes to reduce purchasing costs and administration through a managed service contract with Ariba, which will process past invoices and accounts payable data. ‘We operate nearly 30 cruise ships, which have been built in different countries at different times, and there are hundreds of thousands of parts we need to buy to keep them running,’ said Michael McNamara, director of strategic sourcing planning and automation at Royal Caribbean.