“MTS and SIS offer true B2B integration. MTS’s expertise in e-commerce for primary marine vendors was a major determining factor for SIS entering into this collaboration. The two companies have worked professionally together for the past two years” said Leif Tusvik, head of department SISCommerce.
Under the new cooperation agreement, MTS will integrate marine vendors existing ERP/back office systems with ship owners and operators currently utilising SISCommerce software. According to SIS, the partnership with MTS is an essential one and opens new business opportunities for both companies.
“Finding and teaming with other highly qualified suppliers of B2B technology with skills that complement our own, allows us to take on opportunities we may have otherwise passed by. We want to bring together some of the best technologies to address critical client business imperatives, “ said Tusvik.
SIS and MTS will concentrate on further developing their B2B operational solutions.
Several of the best-funded and highly profiled maritime B2B companies have flamed out and it seems that the most sophisticated technology and robust marketing can’t displace trust, maritime know-how and relationships. Market observers confirm that current maritime-based B2B solutions lack the true integration found in the SIS and MTS B2B package. SIS claims to be rectifying this problem with solid experience within ship management and software expertise.
“The most important factor to succeed in the E-commerce business is to integrate the e-procurement solution with the in-house administrative systems in both the shipping company and the supplier,” said Tusvik.
SIS’s e-procurement solution, SISCommerce has become one of the major players in the marine industry. An all time high was reached during the Nor-Shipping week when more than 2000 transactions using SISCommerce were registered. First launching SISCommerce in May 2001, SIS quickly won the attention of leading shipowners, including, Wallenius, Odfjell and Norgas Carriers. Today over 11 shipping companies use SISCommerce and several more are in the pipeline. “An additional 10 shipping companies, all of which use SIS’s central purchasing system, STAR CPS, have requested our solution,” said Tusvik.
“SIS with an increasing shipping company customer base and MTS with quality integration technology used by Unitor, Alfa Laval, and Wartsila, is clearly becoming the industry B2B standard. The fully integrated software package offered by SIS provides customers with access to a full range of fleet management applications, and with the addtion of MTS services, allows customers to integrate their management systems with a fully functional e-procurement B2B communications capability,” said Tusvik.
You can experience this streamlined e-procurement solution at the IMPA conference in London, 17 September, 2003.
“An increasing number of shipping companies wish to streamline their procurement process by introducing e-commerce, but they need technology they can count on. Using End-to-End technology, SISCommerce and MTS make it easier than ever before to collaborate with suppliers on a common B2B platform, further helping shipping companies and vendors streamline administrative routines,” said Tusvik.