@Connect10

Simsekler talks e-commerce and Connect10

Simsekler's ebullient Adem Simsek talked to me a little about his company, a little about e-commerce and a little about Connect10. His words...

Simsekler is a Connect10 silver sponsor, and Adem Simsek, Chairman of the Executive Board, looks forward to the show in Copenhagen next month.

For those who don't know already, Simsekler is a leading ship supplier in the Turkish market. From there, I leave it to Adem Simsek himself to do the talking. He's a very positive guy, with a contagious sense of opportunity. It's no wonder Simsekler is evolving so quickly.

Here's Adem Simsek himself on Simsekler's origins, and its work on e-commerce.

Simsekler

 

Question #2 in the Connect10 e-business poll

Go to Connect10's site to take part in this week's e-business poll question (right margin).

This week's question:

"What percentage of your business purchases start with the Internet? What percentage are also completed over the Internet?"

Attending Connect10: Allweiler!

 Allweiler has a long-standing tradition as a German manufacturer of pumps. Today Allweiler is a market and technology leader in the industry sectors of shipbuilding, power generation and special industrial applications. Allweiler's product portfolio includes centrifugal pumps, propellor pumps, screw pumps and progressive cavity pumps, as well as complete pump systems. Allweiler is a company in the Colfax Corporation.

Allweiler has been an active user of the ShipServ e-marketplace for over five years.

Take part in the Connect10 e-business poll!

The official Connect10 site is hosting a poll on e-business; go here to take part (look in the right column). The poll is also backed by this blog, and the results will be made public at Connect10 and here.

What's it all about? We're looking to find out how the shipping community uses Internet tools and e-commerce in its day-to-day activities.

Responses will be anonymous; one question will be asked per week, with a total of six questions over six weeks. This week's question: "How much time do you spend on the Internet daily doing business-related tasks?"

Meet the man from MAN (Diesel)

Henrik Gram Madsen (pictured right), a senior manager at MAN Diesel PrimeServ Copenhagen, will be speaking at Connect10. Madsen is responsible for the sales of spare parts to MAN B&W two-stroke engines worldwide and responsible for the MAN Diesel PrimeServ integration to ShipServ's TradeNet.

What do you plan to discuss at Connect10?

"I would like to show how MAN Diesel is trying to improve our internal processes by using the integration to ShipServ's TradeNet as leverage. To MAN Diesel, e-commerce is not a question of cost. It's a question of how much we can save internally and still improve our handling of our customers' requests for quotes and orders."

What are your goals for Connect10 participation?

"Networking with customers, colleagues and competitors and get a chance to discuss e-commerce in general without the interference of day-to-day business. After all, e-commerce is our common tool."

If Connect10 were the Oscars, which famous actor/producer/director would you be?

"Dennis Hopper? No. Even if Easy Rider is one of my favorite movies. Stanley Kubrick? No. The winner is...Sergio Leone. I like the rhythm and intensity in his movies, with Once Upon a Time in America as the clear leader." 

Meet ecademy's Thomas Power here, and at Connect10!

Thomas Power of ecademy will hold a presentation at next month's Connect10. He will be covering social media and its future for business.

Asked, if Connect10 were the Oscars, which actor/director/producer he would be, Power answers "Sean Penn".

Watch Power's presentation, and you be the judge!

3 questions of Connect10 presenter Fernando Lehrer

Fermando Lehrer of ABS Nautical Systems will hold a presentation at the Connect10 conference.

1. What do you plan to discuss at Connect10?

"I'm hoping to discuss the interaction between ShipServ and enterprise online maintenance solutions. More specifically, I want to answer the question: How do you effectively streamline your purchasing cycle by linking ShipServ to your own software systems?"

2. What are your goals for Connect10 participation?

"I want to explain to the audience that there are ways to make your work more efficient by exploiting IT solutions. I guess my main goal is just to increase awareness.

3. If Connect10 were the Oscars, which famous actor/producer/director would you be?

"Quentin Tarantino, I guess. He has a unique view of things - reality and the world. He's definitely not mainstream, but he makes great movies."

And here's Fernando Lehrer and ABS Nautical Systems in his own words:

Fernando Lehrer

Wärtsilä on e-commerce: Business as usual in a new way

Finns are famously laconic, but there are some things that get them (relatively) excited

Even if he was battling the winter flu when we talked, Wartsila's Tuomo Iivonen kept his cool: "We don't see e-commerce as the next big thing. It's the logical evolution of both the sales and procurement process for spare parts.

"Cutting costs is the easy answer, but it's more than that for us. The biggest benefit is quality: data management quality, document handling. Instead of a big pile of faxes on a desk, we get all of our orders lined up online. It's faster and more reliable."

Wartsila is a silver sponsor of the upcoming Connect10 event in Copenhagen. Iivonen prioritises this event because "you don't have events like this elsewhere, with such a unique focus on e-commerce and procurement."

Few suppliers using ShipServ are bigger than Wartsila. While many in Iivonen's position focus on implementing e-commerce, he has to help the company's global service network to use and implement online services.

 "In Northern Europe and Asia, the processes in e-commerce are well-established. But in Southern Europe and Africa we are working to get quality up and use this tool well," says Iivonen.

What are his hopes for Connect10? "I look forward to meet some old friends and make some new ones. It will be interesting to hear what people plan for the future. The presentations will be interesting, but I always get the best information between sessions during discussions."

4 Questions of DESMI - Connect10 Silver Sponsor

At T minus 2 months to Connect10, DESMI starts getting pumped up

I caught up with DESMI's Henrik Mørkholt Sørensen to ask about their hopes for Connect10 in two months, their reasons for sponsorship and thoughts on e-commerce in shipping. Here's a mini Q&A from that session.

1. Why is DESMI sponsoring Connect10?

"When we participated previously, we found it the perfect opportunity to meet up with clients whom we had met daily through transactions in ShipServ's e-commerce trading portal. Here we'll meet all of our clients in one spot. Sponsorship was seen as a better way to get attention than just participation.

2. How much does DESMI use e-commerce?

"As far as a percentage of our total turnover, it's still only a fraction, but we see that it's increasing year-on-year. We started with ShipServ after meeting with them eight years ago, when ShipServ was one of many portals. Then, we were sceptics. There was a lot of exuberance in the field. Now it's all business."

3. What are the advantages of e-commerce, as you and DESMI see them?

"We can do more business with less resources. Customers can quickly and easily find data about us. Requests for Quote are very easy for salespeople to handle. All of our information is readily accessible. It's a competitive advantage."

4. What are your hopes for Connect10?

"Five new visiting cards. I'll just be happy to make some new contacts. I know that there are companies there who are not customers. This may be a chance for us to present ourselves. That makes it a good investment for us."

DB Schenker: E-commerce-driven delivery

Connect10 gold sponsor DB Schenker integrates its business with buyers in ShipServ

"We're going for e-commerce. We find e-commerce very important, and this, in our point of view, is the future. The more information you can exchange electronically, the better for every part."

That's Helge Jensen of DB Schenker - the first company profiled here @Connect10. DB Schenker is the event's gold sponsor for the second time. Jensen explained the company's rationale for backing Connect10:

Connect10 is a window for us to show who we are and what we are able to do, and it is a great opportunity to meet the decision-makers in e-commerce.

Part of Deutsche Bahn, DB Schenkermarineparts provides streamlined logistics services to buyers of ship supplies, from door to vessel. Its business with ShipServ started in 2006 when it decided to focus on e-commerce and logistics services to the maritime industry. Jensen explains:

At that time, we invested in new tools, because we saw that the only way forward was making use of e-commerce. The first thing we did was to create an online inventory management tool. And then we looked for an e-commerce partner active in the marine industry. We chose ShipServ, and I can only say that we know that it was the right decision.

Today, when DB Schenker clients order parts on ShipServ's TradeNet, the data are automatically entered in DB Schenker's system, MyMPS. It then arranges for delivery of the part from the supplier to a warehouse near the final destination, and completes the last mile of delivery just in time. The whole process is automated, which Jensen describes as one of the most profound values of the system for DB Schenker and its clients.

I asked Jensen: What is the greatest value of e-commerce integration for businesses in general?

One of the greatest values is the data security, the automatic data flow. We get the data automatically, electronically. We don't need to key in any data manually, with the risk of type error. This means we can increase our productivity significantly. It is tremendously time-saving.

And what is the effect on shipping as a whole?

It can change it in such a way that shipowners and management companies can optimize their procurement. E-commerce has widened the search for spares they need to purchase, so that it is easier for the purchaser to find specific articles all over the globe - and not just make use of the suppliers they normally contact.