ShipServ and IB sign partnership agreement to offer full integration

ShipServ, the world’s leading maritime e-procurement platform, and IB, a leading provider of technical fleet management software, formally announced their partnership agreement, which will see ShipServ’s e-procurement solution fully integrated with IB’s InfoSHIP maritime software suite.

The announcement was made at Seatrade Cruise Global in Fort Lauderdale.

The agreement will see both parties working together to enable all InfoSHIP customers to benefit from seamless integration to the ShipServ trading platform. Once integrated, all InfoSHIP customers will be able to automatically link to ShipServ’s TradeNet procurement platform and have access to the 68,000 suppliers currently on ShipServ’s network.

Having this level of access will allow users to transact using an all-electronic process, which increases efficiency, reduces errors, and typically improves procurement team productivity by 30%.

These integrations can be put in place for ship operators without the need for a major IT project or long technical implementation cycles. Over the last 18 years, ShipServ has leveraged partner integrations such as this to provide over 150 ship owners and managers with access to e-procurement on the world’s largest e-marketplace for the marine industry.

Overseeing the integration project is Don Staffin, executive vice president at ShipServ, who in addition to being responsible for the company’s business in the Americas and initiatives in the cruise industry, is also responsible for managing relationships with ShipServ’s maritime software partners.

Commenting on the latest partnership, Don said: “ShipServ has always valued its close working relationship with maritime software providers, who we consider key partners. Collaborations such as this deliver genuine mutual benefits, enabling us to provide the advantages of our solution to such a wide range of buyers. Equally, the customers of our software partners benefit from access to a marketplace of over 68,000 suppliers and $3.5 billion in annual trade.”

Daniele Bottazzi, managing director, marine & industrial division at IB, the InfoSHIP producer company, commented: “We welcome the collaboration with ShipServ and look forward to leveraging their years of expertise to ensure our mutual customers have access to the best fully integrated solution. We are confident that ShipServ’s team of knowledgeable integration specialists will successfully execute the implementation in a professional and seamless manner.”

As the market-leading e-procurement platform, ShipServ continues to offer ship owners and managers easy and more efficient ways to integrate and benefit from a wider supplier base, as well as accessing advanced monitoring and analytics tools to better analyse and benchmark procurement spend. Combined, these deliver valuable and actionable information and intelligence, enabling ship owners and managers to further reduce OPEX.

About ShipServ

ShipServ is the largest e-procurement platform for the marine, oil and gas industries, connecting purchasers (shipowners, managers, yards and oil rigs) with suppliers of spares, stores and anything else that is used on a ship. ShipServ’s current annual value of trade is US$3.5bn from over 200 buying companies, managing 9,000 vessels and trading with 68,000 suppliers in over 100 countries around the world.

For buyers, ShipServ works with existing ship management software and helps shipowners, managers and yards to reduce operating costs, reduce cycle times by 30% and gain access to business intelligence to make critical purchasing decisions.

For suppliers, ShipServ offers effective solutions to maximise brand exposure, manage and control brand and improve quoting efficiency to increase win rate with purchasers worldwide.

About IB and InfoSHIP

IB, today part of RINA, is a highly regarded Asset Management software-house, active since 1983 and producer of InfoSHIP. The marine industry is where IB took its first steps in the creation of software solutions for technical and operational management, with a special focus on technologies, methodologies and re-engineering of processes. Over time IB also branched out into many other sectors, where they continue to operate today, (Energy, Process & Manufacturing, Transportation, Healthcare and Real Estate). In the maritime market InfoSHIP boasts a large customer portfolio, including Carnival Cruise Lines, Carnival Maritime Group (Costa Crociere, Aida Cruises), Norwegian Cruise Line Holding, D’amico and MSC Cargo.

(ShipServ)