ShipSupport is the one-stop-shop for ship parts

IN THE CONSUMER MARKET IT IS CUSTOMARY TO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT PRICES, DELIVERY TIMES, AND SHIPPING COSTS. THIS HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN THE CASE IN THE SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY, WHERE companies can be less forthcoming with this information. But no more. ShipSupport provides a platform for shipowners to order their spare parts directly at the source.

Until recently, shipbuilders and owners in need of parts for their vessels usually had to approach different suppliers. There is now an easier and less time-consuming option, thanks to ShipSupport. Customers can order all desired parts via this platform, upon which the relevant suppliers send them to a central distribution centre, which in turn delivers the complete order to the requested location in the world. ShipSupport is an initiative of Maaike de Rover. While working for shipbuilding company Royal IHC, she realised there could be an easier way to source ship parts. “I was working in the service division for ship maintenance. I noticed that building ships is a different discipline than providing service”, she recalls. “Shipyards are a closed and conservative market. You can spend ages looking for the right part. At the same time, it is a gigantic market. Worldwide, it costs about EUR 30 billion in parts to keep all vessels of approximately 30,000 owners in operation. Because this mega-market is so fragmented, I decided to set up a digital platform to make ordering parts easier and more transparent. IHC gave me the green light for this, which ultimately led to ShipSupport.”

Growing confidence Ms De Rover is now Managing Director of the platform, which took almost two years to build. It was launched in November 2018 and according to the founder, it was an exciting time as the phenomenon of digitisation in the maritime world is still in its infancy. “However, the interest in the platform is steadily increasing”, states Ms De Rover. “There are currently 65 suppliers affiliated with the platform, with a combined portfolio of more than one million parts. In addition, more than 250 customers from 62 countries are placing an increasing number of orders for parts via ShipSupport.” Just over a year and a half since the launch, confidence is growing, says Ms De Rover. “This growth was only possible because of our very dedicated team that is fully committed to making this platform a success. We employ seventeen staff members, including seasoned maritime professionals, but also people with experience in E-commerce or from other industries ranging from education to telecom. This interesting mix is what makes us so successful.”

Top tier brands According to Ms De Rover, ShipSupport is unique in its kind. While technically seen the digital platform could be replicated by others, what sets ShipSupport apart is transparency in prices and the supply of product numbers and corresponding information. “Books can be traced on the basis of their unique ISBN number. We have adopted a similar practice for the parts on our platform”, comments Ms De Rover. “Rather than put our own ShipSupport number on a part, we use only the numbers of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and provide all information about the product. The products vary from nuts and bolts costing just a few euros to, for example, cutter heads that cost EUR 70,000 each. With us, it is all about top tier brands and we show all OEM information. Everything is as transparent as possible.”

Photos courtesy of ShipSupport.

Photo courtesy of Bianca de Bie.

Digital twins ShipSupport presently offers customers three digital services: MyShop, MyFleet, and MyConnection. Customers can use MyShop to simply order their required parts. However, ShipSupport wants to offer customers additional services. With MyFleet, a customer can log in and see their entire fleet as digital twins of the real vessels. By clicking on a vessel, it is possible to navigate through it and see the parts, including drawings and manuals. This allows the customer to order exactly the right part, putting an end to incorrect orders. It also provides accurate insight into the expenditure per vessel. “Finally, we offer the product MyConnection; the latest addition to the service package”, voices Ms De Rover. “With this, we automate the complete integral supply chain. We establish a connection between our product database and the customer’s ship management system. As a result, the customer always has up-to-date price data of all products at hand and can order them directly via our own system, without first requesting quotes. This saves a lot of time and costs.”

Expansion plans ShipSupport continues to go from strength to strength. In the first two months of 2020, turnover exceeded that of all of 2019. And Ms De Rover is already making new plans. “We are looking into the option of using ShipSupport for second-hand parts. We are also thinking about computer models that can predict when parts need to be replaced based on the data in MyFleet. Owners can then carry out preventive maintenance.” Other expansion plans include the opening of new hubs around the world. All (consolidated) shipments are now sent from a central hub in the Netherlands, but Ms De Rover would like to open hubs in several continents. “It would be good to be close to the customer at all times, wherever they are. ShipSupport has a number of competitors worldwide, although we currently still work in different markets with our own customer base. This will change in future and we want to do everything we can to keep our front-runner position.”