What has happened since the launch? MTS has shown commitment and has quietly put themselves at the front of the marine e-business market.
The number of vessels trading via MTS is constantly increasing and has over the last months increased by more than 100 vessels. Unitor’s VP Sales & Marketing, Bård Bjørløw, says: “Through MTS we are now trading electronically with 447 vessels. We receive enquiries and purchase orders directly into our back office system and can handle the transactions efficiently. Features of the MTS system ensure that our customers can easily obtain product and price information. This means that we receive more direct purchase orders from our customers, without a preceding enquiry and quote process. The orders we receive also contain the correct data for us to handle the order, which again means fewer errors. This makes both the customer and Unitor more efficient. ”
Bård Bjørløw says further that: “The fully integrated solution we have with MTS supports the “ship to cash” principle and we are now also sending electronic invoices to some of our customers.” Electronic invoicing has a major impact on both suppliers and ship operators invoicing routines, especially in terms of manual paper handling and the release for payment process. In addition the number of errors is reduced which results in a lower re-invoice rate.
MTS now has more knowledge of customers’ needs, costs and how to implement e-business successfully. MTS, which has a fully developed product offer in operation, has completed a number of integration projects and are able to respond to varying customers needs. Peter Davy, e-business manager with BP Marine says that: “MTS gives us the tools we require to respond to our customers requirements. In the current market where customers buy more cautiously, suppliers are dependant on maintaining a good relationship with their customers. Customer service, in all its forms, is an integrated part of BP Marine’s strategy.”
Alfa Laval’s General Manager for Parts & Service Equipment, Richard Kelly, says that: “We receive demands from our customers for e-business capabilities on an ongoing basis. It is obvious that ship operators evaluate and start including e-business as part of their strategy to drive tangible cost and process efficiencies.” The Scandinavian market, with a strong shipping industry and history of being early adapters of new technology, is on the way to becoming a mature e-business economy. This is also a growing trend in the worldwide, marine market as ship operators and suppliers are starting to take advantage of investments made in their IT systems and begin to implement efficient e-business solutions that impact the relation they have with one another.
Continuing to provide solid, secure and cost efficient solutions to the entire marine market is the main focus of MTS. Combining this with open service access between buyers and suppliers is key in ensuring that all players can realise benefits from integrated solutions.