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SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS AS NARROW AS YOU WANT – AS WIDE AS YOUR ENTERPRISE Beyond obvious market advantages, IMOS Trading (which can be purchased as an add-on module of IMOS) greatly enhances the end user’s functionality. Jamie Sheldon, IMOS Product Director adds, “Enterprise-wide, you can combine some or all of the dashboards so opera- tions and chartering and finance can see the big picture; contracts, bunkers, every- thing. When this data is isolated – we call them islands – that’s where the problem is. It happens frequently in manufactur- ing companies. These are the same prob- lems – different domain.” Sheldon goes on to explain how IMOS seamlessly integrates with other soft- ware, including financial packages such as Oracle and SAP. “We integrate with all of these systems, and more. It depends on how the client wants to manage their accounting and voyage P&L. We need to understand their financial model and then configure interfaces that facilitate their work processes. For example, invoices can be raised in IMOS and the synchro- nized with the appropriate system used by the client. We plug into financial sys- tems on the backend, as well as into trad- ing systems. The IMOS trading system is server-based and operates behind the firewall.” In March, Oslo-based Stenersen Chartering AS joined the fold of Veson clients and purchased IMOS6. The soft- ware will manage chartering, operations, and voyage accounting related functions for a fleet of 17 product tankers. “We selected Veson Nautical over the compe- tition because IMOS most effectively ful- filled our requirements for a config- urable, flexible commercial marine sys- tem. Further, IMOS6 is designed to con- nect seamlessly with our existing soft- ware systems, which will dramatically improve our organization’s ability to work effectively across departments,” remarked Lars Rinde, Managing Director for Stenersen Chartering. A GOOD OFFENSE: THE BEST DEFENSE? Evangelos Efstathiou says simply, “Some use our system to mitigate risk; others to identify new trading opportuni- ties. There are always companies with a strong degree of sophistication, but many hadn’t thought about trading and risk management as something that a ship- ping company ought to do.” He cites the example of one client who traded just one FFA and later had to pay out $1 million to cover the deal. He continues, “The key thing for these companies to understand is that it is perfectly fine NOT to trade in FFA’s, and in not doing so, you are choosing a market view. You have to understand the risks you’re choosing to take.” WHAT’S NEXT? At Veson, the journey continues. More than 30 years after rolling out their first piece of maritime software, they continue to look towards the next step. Evangelos Efstathiou elaborates, “We’ve talked about interfacing our trade data with the exchanges, but that’s the next step. Right now, we are focusing on P&L manage- ment, trading and risk management, and the next dimension is really a trading platform.” Another item on the agenda is helping companies better manage exposure to counterparty risk. IMOS allows the user to track who the counter parties are, how much exposure you have to each in dol- lars, days and tons and contract type. Efstathiou adds, “One of the things we hope to roll out this year – and we’ve just designed it – is a counterparty risk rating. You’ll be able to run a risk report: How do we rate our counterparties, how did we rate them a year ago, have any been notched down since?” FFAs, unlike the old bubble gum rock- and-roll song, might not be as simple as “do-re-mi, ABC and 123.” At least, not yet. If anyone can get you there, it is probably Veson. And, you can bet on that. — MarPro “Enterprise-wide, you can combine some or all of the dashboards so operations and chartering and finance can see the big picture; contracts, bunkers, everything. When this data is isolated – we call them islands – that’s where the problem is.” Jamie Sheldon IMOS Product Director 48 Maritime Professional 2Q 2011
