The Challenge
Our client was facing issues with the complexity of managing and supporting the IT technology throughout his fleet and dealing with the different billing formats from various providers. The problem was compounded because the customer had been working with a number of satellite operators over the years, who provided a multitude of non-compatible email and antivirus applications as well as different billing formats.
Our solution
For this customer, we provided the complete set of our value-added software and services, including ShipMail, ShipAV, ShipSat service, billing, and ongoing technical support. Of particular interest to the customer was cost allocation, where the cost of communications had to be distributed between a vessel owner, the charterers, managers, and crew. At the time, the client’s accounting department had to go through the difficult task of manually splitting and allocating the cost of each and every telex, Fax, and phone call. We distributed our software to all his vessels with clear instructions on how to install and use. Furthermore, we built a series of databases that distinguished the different parties’ contact details and delivered onboard systems that used billing codes. This meant we ended up with a single format across the fleet with communication costs allocated to the different parties. With the same set of software applications used across the fleet, any crew members moving between vessels had no new software processes to learn. The project with the customer started with one office and 30 vessels, but 20 years on, we provide the latest in VSAT connectivity technology, bandwidth optimisation solutions, and crew welfare services for some 250+ vessels for this customer.