HANSA 02-2019

Equipment & Suppliers
Schiffstechnik | Ship Technology
SHIPSERV
Researching e-procurement
The maritime e-procurement platform
Shipserv has published a research
whitepaper »e-procurement in Maritime;
2021 and Beyondq, which analyses
the current and future state of e-procurement
within the maritime industry
based on insights from leading Chief
Purchasing Officers and Managers
(CPOs/CPMs). According the company,
the research showed that while maritime
e-procurement is currently at an embryonic
level in terms of its evolution – scoring
»two out of ten« – over one third of
those surveyed believe the market will
change beyond all recognition in the next
five years, driven by developments in
advanced technology and applications.
50% of CPOs and CPMs surveyed stated
that they still use their e-procurement
systems for purely transactional – and
not strategic – purposes.
This is based on a number of key issues
within the current market. There
is significant fragmentation with suppliers
and buyers using different systems,
many of which are archaic and
not integrated nor have the functionality
to interact or ‘talk’ with each other.
They are also labour intensive to operate.
Despite this, 70% of those surveyed
stated that they realised more than 20%
in time savings, as well as other OPEX
benefits from their e-procurement system.
They also reported the benefits of
transparency, as well as the ability to
track historical data. This demonstrates
an understanding of, and appetite for,
what a more sophisticated, digitalised
e-procurement strategy can deliver.
The whitepaper highlights a number
of critical areas where maritime e-procurement
will rapidly evolve, creating a
more strategic approach to purchasing.
It also highlights a number of core areas
of technology development that have
evolved in other more advanced markets
outside of maritime, which will drive the
necessary change in e-procurement in
maritime over the next few years. »This
includes a move from ERP-based systems
to cloud computing systems that
enable safe and secure application-based
interfaces and central analytics that
make automation easier and more cost
effective.
They also allow purchasing departments
to share data directly with their
supply chain, eradicating the problem
of sharing data with suppliers
who use different systems«, it is stated.
Blockchain is said to also be embedded
into future systems, »which will solve the
challenge of siloed data, distributing data
to known and identified members within
an agreed network, and increasing efficiencies,
because it uses a central, shared,
secure record for storing data. In conjunction
with this, Artificial Intelligence
and Machine Learning«. These tools will
also »solve the problem of the current
lack of standardisation« where product
descriptors are different from one buyer
to another, by analysing and intuitively
recognising specific products. n
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www.lukoilmarine.com
HANSA International Maritime Journal – 156. Jahrgang – 2019 – Nr. 2 63