|
Maritime Purchasers See e-commerce as a Way Out of the Chaos
16 Jul 2008
ShipServ, the leading maritime e-marketplace, yesterday announced the results of an industry survey into purchasing best practice in the maritime industry. The report, "Managing Profitability in Shipping: The role of the new purchasing department" was undertaken by AEBCommunications, an independent research consultancy, and involved in-depth interviews with nearly 20 senior purchasing executives from the Americas, Europe and Asia. The e-commerce journey
The study looked at the goals of purchasing and the challenges facing buyers both internally and externally. Many respondents described the state of the typical purchasing department as "chaos". Processes are largely manual and paper-based, resulting in poor visibility, inefficient and inconsistent procedures, with little or no management of supplier performance.
But those that are able to lift themselves out of this chaos are putting in a strong foundation for the future. Today many leading shipping companies are taking advantage of e-commerce technologies to help them save time and money, generate valuable business data and free up buyers' time to enable them to build lasting value across the supply chain.
"Companies not already on this journey risk being left behind as they continue to struggle with the daily chaos of manual processes and the related lack of control and visibility," commented Beth Barling, Principal Analyst, AEB. "It is clear that those that have moved to e-commerce never look back as they realize the significant benefits on offer."
Beyond this, pioneers are already taking purchasing excellence to higher levels and are addressing the need to integrate the role of purchasing further into the physical and financial supply chain. By doing so they are operating more efficiently and flexibly, enabling them to respond more effectively to challenges in the global market and take advantage of revenue and profit maximization opportunities.
"The shipping industry as a whole has a long way to go to address the chaos in its purchasing function," said Paul Ostergaard, Founder & CEO, ShipServ. "But it's encouraging to see many so companies moving to e-commerce and doing more with less - and doing it better."
The study looked at the goals of purchasing and the challenges facing buyers both internally and externally. Many respondents described the state of the typical purchasing department as "chaos". Processes are largely manual and paper-based, resulting in poor visibility, inefficient and inconsistent procedures, with little or no management of supplier performance.
But those that are able to lift themselves out of this chaos are putting in a strong foundation for the future. Today many leading shipping companies are taking advantage of e-commerce technologies to help them save time and money, generate valuable business data and free up buyers' time to enable them to build lasting value across the supply chain.
"Companies not already on this journey risk being left behind as they continue to struggle with the daily chaos of manual processes and the related lack of control and visibility," commented Beth Barling, Principal Analyst, AEB. "It is clear that those that have moved to e-commerce never look back as they realize the significant benefits on offer."
Beyond this, pioneers are already taking purchasing excellence to higher levels and are addressing the need to integrate the role of purchasing further into the physical and financial supply chain. By doing so they are operating more efficiently and flexibly, enabling them to respond more effectively to challenges in the global market and take advantage of revenue and profit maximization opportunities.
"The shipping industry as a whole has a long way to go to address the chaos in its purchasing function," said Paul Ostergaard, Founder & CEO, ShipServ. "But it's encouraging to see many so companies moving to e-commerce and doing more with less - and doing it better."
ShipServ
Search on site | Privacy | Terms of service | F.A.Q. | Feedback | Contact | Site map | Links | |
