BP Marine, Unitor Form Marine Alliance

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. "In principle, all product and service transactions to a ship could ultimately be coordinated in a single operation, resulting in better service for customers and cost savings for everyone."

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. The IT systems of BP Marine and Unitor will be integrated to provide a technical platform for seamless transactions, from order to payment, and deliver synergies with e-business developments such as e4marine.com.