Page 55: of Maritime Logistics Professional Magazine (Q3 2011)

www.maritimeprofessional.com Maritime Professional 55 Table 1 Source: ShipDecisionApplicationFunctionality / Advantages OperatorsKnow exactly what is happening to your vessel and its cargo:  drill down on detailed voyage status information and address flagged items.  capture all voyage-related data in a secure, central location. coordinate tasks and share information with business partners around the globe.  quickly pull up relevant contacts, documents, messages and information.  capture a complete trace of all actions related to the voyage.Chartering Pull together cargo, vessel, voyage and contract information into any easy-to-use view:  all electronic C/P Documents and Messages can be viewed with the click of a mouse. charterers can see all the particulars related to C/P or CoA.  auto-relate feature makes it easy to track the progression of contracts as updates are receivedBrokersMakes it easier to react to opportunities & make decisions:  message Center flags priority customers and contracts and receives alerts.  alerts can be forwarded to PDAs.  vessel Position feature examines every incoming message and extracts critical information.  cargo Order feature enables searches by lay-can date range; cargo type and quantity; zone and port; and by latest date.  24-hour secure access through any web browser allows control no matter where you are.AgentsGives rapid access to the information they need:  the Message Center makes it easier to communicate with Ships? Masters and Operators. automatically generate & submit Statement of Facts. electronic forms allow quick generation of accurate cargo and port documents. Surveyors Allows rapid creation & submittal of surveys electronically:  dynamic templates allow generation of report as soon as survey is complete.  automatic summary highlights critical areas that indicated need to be addressed  easier access for clients to assess damage or deficiencies. easily attach digital images to support observations. RegistriesImproves capacity to maintain accurate profiles of vessels & ensure compliance with standards: mandate the use of dynamic on-line survey templates so condition reports are generated immediately after survey completed.  valuable data is compiled over time, allows monitoring of changes to vessel profiles ``& trackregistry requests for corrective actions.  Secure, rapid exchange of electronic documents between Registries & Class Societies.InsurersHelps Insurers accurately trace accountability for damage. the system automatically analyzes the survey data and flags any damage incidents in a Cargo Damage Matrix. click on a damage notice and immediately see specific information and notes.  pin-point when and where damage occurred. valuable information archived to support dispute resolution and claims settlement. redundancies of message streams andensures business continuity; no matter what. Legacy data is archived with unlimited capacity. Applicable to any company that manages data flow, in a maritime environment, the software recognizes unique pieces of informa-tion such as Noon report formats,COA?s and Event logs, just to name a few. And, in an industry where the party with the best documentationusually wins the battle when it comesto claims management, ShipDecisionensures that nothing can be erasedand initial entries are unalterable.Carbone envisions a day when ShipDecision becomes the stan-dardized maritime link (and hub)for feeds from other maritime soft- ware packages such as Q88, Veson Nautical, Navarik and other similar data managers. In other words, stovepiped information will come into the ShipDecision central baseand then be organized and tied to a particular event, voyage or claim situ- ation. Nevertheless, Carbone admits, ?We know full well that in the world of business, people use computers because they have to, not because they want to. ShipDecision is designed for ease of use; it lets usersconcentrate on doing their job ? notstruggling with a computer.? The soft- ware also can be configured for spe- cific uses through the use of individ- ual modules, as depicted in Table 1 to the right.A one hour interview with Albert Carbone is time well spent in under-standing not only the power of his software, but also its flexibility and robust security protocols. Carbone understands the unique nomenclatureof the maritime business and the myr- iad of nuances that make working on the waterfront an interesting proposi- tion, but also a difficult matrix to nav- igate. But, that?s what ShipDecision is for, right? MP #3 (50-64):MP Layouts 8/17/2011 4:43 PM Page 55