Hello folks, I have a ship supplier contact that is currently in the process of picking a new ERP system. I need assistance with generating ideas.
They would like to pick a modern ERP, to which MagicPort RFQ Processor can be integrated into the initial step of uploading RFQ files to help scan them using the OCR technology of RFQ Processor.
Please share any ERP systems that are commonly used within the industry. Thank you for your assistance.
The largest companies may be using one of these below. But in my hundreds of conversations with ship suppliers - I have never seen any suppliers use one of these. The largest suppliers typically use in house ERP system - they have built through a third party agency or software developer or have 1-2 developers in house to develop something. Smaller suppliers typically use different off the shelf solutions for different work streams.
As you rightfully pointed - since most RFQ requests come in email or through links (out of ship managers ERP systems) - importing RFQ and processing in your own system and sending back (which can happen through multiple iterations) is real waste of time.
I think best solution is to have something end - to - end where ship supplier and ship managers can work on a single cloud based procurement platform.
| ERP System | Features for Ship Suppliers |
|---|---|
| SAP | Procurement, inventory, finance, industry-specific modules |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 | Customizable solutions, procurement, inventory, finance |
| Oracle NetSuite | Cloud-based, tailored solutions, procurement, inventory, finance |
| IFS Applications | Procurement, inventory management, asset management, maintenance |
| Marine Management Systems (MMS) | Maritime-specific, procurement, inventory, maintenance, logistics |
Hi everyone. I find this discussion quite insightful. It’s interesting to learn about the various ERP systems and their features.
I agree with @ali-gara’s suggestion of having an end-to-end cloud-based procurement platform. It seems like a more efficient way of handling RFQs and processing the information. This would save a lot of time for both ship suppliers and ship managers.
Regarding the list of ERP systems provided, I’ve heard that some of them offer industry-specific modules and customizable solutions. Is it possible for these ERP systems to be tailored to better suit the needs of the maritime industry?
Also, are there any other ERP systems specifically designed for the maritime industry that could be considered? I imagine there might be some niche solutions that could potentially integrate well with the MagicPort RFQ Processor.
There are many ERP systems for maritime - but typically these focus on large ship owners and not the supplier side. Unfortunately today, suppliers just need to accommodate whatever ship managers / customers demand. The challenge is there are so many ship managers, owners, suppliers… so many disparate systems that do not talk to each other. I do agree that an end-to-end solution would cut the Gordon’s knot - if you could convince and bring people together.