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E-Commerce be used to select parts for a requisition or the purchase order. In addition, the information is then stored in the data- base for future use," reports Xantic in a company press release. Likewise, suppliers have automated their in-house buying, order fulfillment, accounting and inventory management, too, and can integrate with the portals and buyers using MTML to achieve sim- ilar efficiencies. Catalogs Go On-Line There are several catalogs that have become industry standards. The Inter- national Marine Purchasing Association publishes the IMPA Marine Stores Guide, complete with illustrations, spec- ifications, product information and com- parison tables for all major manufactur- ers. The Marine Stores Guide has 1,000 pages listing 3,777 commodities and 32,500 different codes. The International Ship Suppliers Asso- ciation also has its Ship Stores Cata- logue listing 55,000 line items of ship stores. Both IMPA and ISSA are based in the UK but have members worldwide. Several e-commerce companies, like ShipServ and iShipExchange have "pre- ferred partnership" arrangements with IMPA, ISSA, or both. Items can be ordered using either cata- log's numbers. Both catalogs are avail- able on CD, with a "shopping cart" fea- ture that enables a master or chief engi- neer to pick items from either catalogue and create a requisition that can be faxed, emailed or transmitted via ShipServ TradeNet to the owner's pur- chasing department, for example. One commercial supplier, Unitor, has a catalog with 10,000 products for ship- board use from maintenance and repair equipment to marine gases and refriger- ants. The Inventory Locator Service (ILS) serves as an auction site. Anyone with excess inventory can use ILS in much the same way that E-Bay works for collectibles. ILS not only supports the maritime industry, but the aviation industry and government purchasing as well. A search for a part can be conducted by a variety of ways, including by National Stock Number (NSN). Some e-commerce systems charged suppliers a percentage-based commis- sion based on the value of the goods pur- chased, but this proved to be unrealistic. A one-percent commission may seem small, but on a $100,000 winch it can become steep. Some companies charge a straight transaction fee. In the case of the supplier, a monthly fee may also be accompanied by a transaction fee - in the range of $2 -$5 — for each purchase order. Some e-commerce companies, however, make no charge to the supplier on the basis that the shipowner pays for the service. Most e-commerce business- es today charge subscription or monthly license fees. In the case of the ship owner this will be related to the number of ships (around $100 per month). Despite much promise, some maritime e-commerce companies have flamed out. Even with the most sophisticated tech- nology, at the end of the day it all comes down to trust and relationships. Fail Safe EARLY WARNING INSULATION FAULT DETECTOR Can you predict electrical motor failure two weeks in advance? We Can! • • •1 III gig u > . * 7 • "" THE PROVEN SOLUTION TO BURNOUTS CAUSED BY INSULATION FAILURES MARINE SAFE ELECTRONICS AM^rtfl of Canada Ltd. 261 Millway Avenue #12, Concord. Ontario, Canada L4K 4K9 e-mail: MSEOI@MSEGROUP.NET VISIT US ATWWW.MSEGROUP.NET Tel: (905) 738-3744 • Fax: (905) 738-5732 Toll Free: 1-888-275-3085 NEW !!! Insulation Fault Detector for Motors to 13.8 kV! 58 Circle 355 on Reader Service Card or visit www.maritimereporterinfo.com Maritime Reporter & Engineering News Commercial fishing. Petro operations. Salvage. Shipping. However you earn your living at sea, EPIRBs* by ACR give you the most for the money. That goes for the feature-loaded GlobalFix™ 406 with integral GPS data, the always-ready RapidFix™ 406 and the value-oriented SATELLUEj 406™. Add a fully- enclosed, high density bracket with hydrostatic release and you'll be stowing the most durable, automatically- deploying EPIRB available. For conven- ience, ACR has more than 140 Authorized Battery Replacement Centers worldwide. What's more, ACR has been building and improving the finest EPIRBs since 1956. So choose the one with the right features for your vessel's needs. After all, your crew's sur- vival could be at stake. YOUR ULTIMATE WAY OUT ACR Electronics, Inc., 5757 Ravenswood Road, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312, U.S.A. For information call (954) 981-3333 • e-mail: info9@acrelectronics.com -A Chelton Group Company- Circle 204 on Reader Service Card or visit www.maritimereporterinfo.com
