Terms of Reference

Introduction

The maritime supply industry operates on chains of transactions. Each component in the chain builds on the others. Customers and suppliers in the maritime industry have to leverage technical and digital opportunities to keep up with the rapid rate of change. For businesses, this entails taking charge of supply chain management by streamlining the purchasing process. This will generate efficiency and keep costs low.

eGenie Forum is a highly accessible platform for businesses in the maritime industry to connect to different industry bodies and upgrade themselves by being aware of digitisation standards in the maritime purchase and supply chain. We help consolidate supply chain functions while improving service delivery. We incorporate a strong understanding of digitalisation, which is vital for maritime businesses moving forward.

The Present Situation

There are challenges on ‘both sides of the supply chain’ .

For the ship owners and managers on the buying side – as well as for the suppliers side.

SHIP OWNER / SHIP MANAGER SHIP SUPPLIER / SERVICE PROVIDER
Current procurement systems are often modules of an overall ‘Planned Maintenance System’ (PMS). This makes the purchasing system inflexible as stores, provisions and spares cannot be purchased easily. There is no accurate way of comparing quotations on factors such as quality. The high number of Requests for Quotes (RFQs) incurs high processing costs for suppliers. Quotations are not only time consuming, but do not add value to suppliers. This adds unnecessary cost to the supply chain.
There is insufficient information regarding products received on board as crew are not updated about the process after messages are sent from the vessel. One of our Work Packages is an integrated ship supplier solution with a single database, which is designed to fix that.
Supplies ordered may be returned to suppliers and crew on board are ill-prepared to adequately handle delivery of supplies.

Purpose

The eGenie Forum will bring together relevant industry players to set standards for documentation and products. This includes defining product UOMs and descriptions. The Forum will also produce digital solutions to improve maritime processes, including those relating to supply chain management in the maritime industry.

The eGenie Forum will hold separate meetings for different initiatives with interested parties to chart the way forward. This augments the Forum’s position as a think-tank that bridges the gap between the different industry bodies, producing a win-win situation for all parties.

For now, eGenie Forum’s focus is on harmonising different standards between the industry bodies. Once this is done, eGenie can diversify into areas such as provisions, stores, spares and chemicals that would be of help to the various parties involved.

By embracing digitalisation, eGenie Forum hopes to reform the perception of the maritime industry to be seen as pliant and responsive.

Our mission is “Shaping the Future through Creative Innovation and by Embracing Digital Transformation as well as Encouraging Change”. This is based on real practical need in a competitive challenging changing business environment.

The Future

To achieve our goal of digitalisation, eGenie Forum aims to standardise document, process and product. This enables proper comparison of quotes and offers the option of e-catalogues and proper transactions between buyers and suppliers. By doing so, manpower is optimised and the RFQ process is shortened.

The case for Procurement 4.0  has always been about higher profit margins. Making processes more efficient produces incremental savings for businesses and frees up room for greater improvements. Some solutions offered by eGenie include digitalisation, automation, integration, customised e-catalogues and the harnessing of AI and machine learning.

Founding Members

  1. Amos International, Singapore
  2. DMS Corridor, Tanzania.
  3. East Wind, Germany
  4. Kloska, Germany
  5. Lighthouse e-Solutions, Singapore
  6. Oldendorff Carriers, Germany
  7. PM3, UAE
  8. RMS, China
  9. Rudolf Seldis, Germany
  10. Seven Seas, UAE
  11. Sinwa, Singapore
  12. Wilhelmsen Ship Management, Malaysia
  13. Wilhelmsen Ships Service, Norway
  14. Wrist Ship Supply, Denmark

Individuals: Bruce Margolin, Michael Klint and Erik Graumann

Membership benefits and scope

The eGenie Forum will work on a membership basis, with members to come from owners/managers as well as the supplier and integrator side.

The benefits experienced on both sides will be similar to those experienced in more advanced B2B industries – as well as generally experienced in B2C: namely that convenience, transparency and TCO become stronger buying criteria than transactional and often in-transparent price comparisons.

Benefits of eGenie membership is a seat at the table as standards for products, processes and documentation are shaped, marketed and scaled up.

The membership fee is at a low USD 500/year for companies, plus a one-time USD 500 sign up fee.

Call to action

More than ever, buyers and suppliers must collaborate and work together to improve operational efficiency to reduce costs; reduce losses due to errors, reduce waste and build true partnerships.

Sign up now – get on the train to digitize the maritime supply industry.

Contact Captain Peter Machado, Marketing Director, eGenie Forum.

Email: peter@peterm3.com

Mobile: +971 56 1725 900.