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Software Solutions IT Conference Set For London Shipping has been understandably wary in its embracing of IT. The attraction of reduced costs, increased efficiency and improved com- munications has been weighed up against ensuring security and reliability in an industry where a technical problem can leave ships stranded and delayed - costing thousands. Addressing the industry's frequently asked technology questions are the aim of the Com- munications and IT in Shipping (CITIS) confer- ence. Scheduled for March 29-31 at the Lon- don headquarters of Inmarsat, CITIS offers three days of informative and most important- ly, interactive, discussions on all areas of infor- mation technology in shipping. For more infor- mation call +44 (0)171 453 5492. Navtronics Enters Into Agreement Announced per Navtronics partners Hans Schwab and Margaret Deveau, the compa- ny has entered into an agreement as the first to bring England's Chartwork Marine onboard electronic charting systems to the U.S. for dis- tribution. Chartwork Marine has created a unique chartwork plotting software for use in PCs and Windows CE Palm Top computers that use C-Map — one of the world's largest sup- pliers of vectored electronic charts. Currently offering products for both the recreational and commercial markets, Chartwork software pro- vides all the conventional functions present in a chart plotter, while instilling a touch screen movement, fast redraw and simple editing. Each software package in this series utilizes the C-Map charts in one of three formats: PCCharts, the commercial CM-93 Chart series or PCMCIA based C-Map NT for the Pocket WinChart. Circle 12 on Reader Service Card Greco Introduces Argosoft Technical consulting firm Greco Technologies has introduced it newest product — Argosoft — specifically developed for the moving and shipping industry. Based in Pasadena, Calif., the company's new product allows moving and shipping and companies to rapidly track jobs from an initial job estimate to the actual billing of the client. According to Greg Chun, Argo's president, "The program utilizes graphics to interface with the user rather than text as in older systems. This makes it easier to learn and use." Circle 9 on Reader Service Card Bolero.Net Aims To Streamline Trade Processes Providing a unique global technical and legal infrastructure that complements the functional- ity of many B-to-B e-commerce initiatives, Inter- net-based Bolero.net began transactions in the U.S. on February 9. Bolero.net will provide the infrastructure to facilitate and increase interna- tional transactions by offering a platform for importers, exporters, shipping organizations and financial institutions. This addresses the key challenge of international business-to-busi- ness e-commerce, ensuring that exporters receive their payment and that importers are granted the goods for which they have paid. Circle 89 on Reader Service Card Bollinger opts for Oracle In tying its eight diverse facilities together with a state-of-the-art information system, Bollinger Ship- yards plans to recoup monetary and efficiency rewards far exceeding the $2.5 million investment. Bollinger Shipyards has aggressively pursued a course of expansion of phys- ical facilities over the past few years, though not to the point of over-exten- sion whereby down markets would cause a serious financial crisis. But while the shipyard has steadily added to its capabilities, it realized that expansion of facilities without a thor- ough revamp of its own internal com- munications and processes would be foolhardy, as well as very costly. Enter Arthur Andersen and Oracle. To facilitate its strategy to align its management and resources along lines of business as opposed to geography, the company employed the services of one of the country's premier manage- ment consultancies and the products Donald "Boysie" Bollinger has steadily shaped his company as a dominant maritime force. The company, com- prised of eight shipyards, recently invested in an advanced internal com- munication and process system from Oracle. and services of one of the world's lead- ing software system manufacturers. With the idea of taking a more central- ized view of providing services, man- agement and support to all of the com- pany's businesses without jeopardizing the entrepreneurial spirit of local man- ager, the company set out to connect all of its locations via a T-l based Wide Area Netwok (WAN) and then imple- ment an Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP). An ERP is lingo for a system that uses one database and sev- eral software application modules to automate all of a company's key opera- tional and financial processes. Pruning the Bollinger tree Bollinger Shipyards has 1,800 employees and is comprised of eight shipyards spread throughout Southern Louisiana, with 120 miles being the furthest distance between two of its facilities. The company collectively processes about 35,000 tons of steel, churning out approximately 120 boats and barges in a given year. Until recently, the company's ship- yards were using several different soft- ware/systems to produce financial/operational information nec- essary to run the business. In addition, several manual processes and mecha- nisms were used in the estimating, scheduling, purchasing and accounting. In order to report of use information on a consolidated basis, countless manual hours had to be expended to pulling spreadsheets together from several dif- ferent softwares and databases. In essence, the company spent more time producing the information than it did analyzing it. Several attempts had been made in the past to select and implement an enter- prise wide software that would facili- tate the functionality required by not just the new construction of vessels, but also the repair and conversion of ves- sels. However, those attempts have not been successful due to software limita- tion and the inability for the company You require CAD/CAM software to take your project from concept to production quickly and efficiently. What you need is the fully integrated software suite from Autoship Systems. To find out why over 1700 naval architects and marine engineers around the world use our software, click on www.autoship.com. Autoship Systems Corporation: celebrating twenty years in 2000. autoship Systems Corporation 312-611 Alexander St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V6A 1E1. Tel: (+1) 604-254-4171, Fax: (+1) 604-254-5171, Email: info@autoship.com 52 Circle 207 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
