If data is the lifeblood of the modern maritime shipping organization, metrics are the cells that carry life-supporting oxygen to every point of the enterprise. With more than 43.8 billion data points created by maritime shipping organizations every year, the maritime shipping ecosystem is marked by a glut of data. But data does not equal insight, and ultimately, insight is in the eye of the stakeholder. Making data both meaningful and actionable requires maritime shipping businesses on both sides of the contract to examine each of their primary stakeholders’ needs and realities.

Let’s take a closer look at the metrics that mean the most to four primary maritime shipping stakeholders among shipowners and operators: Charterers, Operators, Voyage Accounting Professionals, and Freight Traders.

Charterers

As one of the most commercially-essential roles among shipowners and operators, Charterers strive to maximize profitability by securing the best possible opportunities, scheduling vessels and cargo, and communicating critical details to operations. There are several analyses and reports that empower them to assess and improve the effectiveness of their function. Some of them include:

  • Sensitivity Analyses: Sensitivity analyses are key to evaluating the impact of vessel speed, bunker consumption, and freight on the profitability of the voyage. These analyses enable charterers to assess key drivers of voyage profitability and make more effective decisions.
  • Voyage Fixtures Report: This report provides a snapshot of all of the business’ voyage fixture activity over a given time period, listed by cargo type, ship name, size, freight rate, and more. It is commonly referenced by chartering teams to gauge activity.
  • Chartering Performance Report: This report assesses the overall effectiveness of the chartering function, including the profitability of each voyage. It is also key to assessing which decisions drive optimal results and which have resulted in less-than-optimal commercial outcomes.

Operators  

The sheer volume and pace of information confronting voyage operators makes it imperative for them to have access to relevant and actionable insights. Operators must manage multiple voyages at once, track voyage P&L performance, and maintain continuity across a diverse range of counterparties. Some analyses and reports that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their daily work include:

  • Voyage P&L Report: The voyage P&L report is reflective of ongoing voyage events and activities. This up-to-date view of voyage profitability is key to operators making the best possible decisions and keeping other stakeholders informed.
  • Bunker Liftings & Details Report: The bunker lifting report provides a snapshot of all of a voyage’s planned and completed bunker liftings, including quantity, rate, payer, and account. It is key to understanding and optimizing one of the voyage’s single largest expenses.
  • Demurrage Expenses & Port Delays Report: The demurrage expenses and port delays report surfaces voyages that have incurred demurrage, as well as port delays that are caused by a variety of events. Operators utilize it to mitigate avoidable expenses.

Voyage Accounting Professionals

Tasked with time-sensitive workflows that are critical to profitability, Voyage Accounting Professionals must strike a delicate balance between speed and accuracy as they raise invoices, move through approvals, and complete the period close process. There are several analyses that empower them to perform their work both efficiently and precisely. These include:

  • Account Analysis: This report provides a detailed summary of the profitability of a specific account or counterparty. It enables Voyage Accounting Professionals to quickly and decisively assess the commercial performance of each account.
  • P&L Variance Analysis: A powerful analysis that compares the difference between planned and actual profit and loss across all voyages in a selected period, this report surfaces the gaps that produce an unanticipated P&L effect across the business.
  • Expense Reports: These reports provide a complete rundown of hire or bunker expenses, two of a voyage’s most significant expenditures. Voyage accounting professionals utilize them to closely monitor, manage, and reconcile costs.

Freight Traders

In the midst of increasingly volatile markets, the freight trader’s function has never been more critical. Focused on mitigating freight and fuel exposure, freight traders require continuous insight into the risk position of the business, informed by operational and market insight. Some of the analyses and reports they find most valuable include:

  • Exposure Analysis: Freight and fuel exposure analyses empower freight traders to discern the risk of the business at any given point in time, informed by accurate operational and market data. This analysis is key to understanding the risk profile of the business over time.
  • Risk Reports by Voyage & Vessel: This report assesses freight and fuel exposure by a single voyage or by the vessel, enabling freight traders to pinpoint trends that result in an outsized risk to the business and more proactively hedge exposure.
  • Mark-to-Market Performance Report: The mark-to-market performance report combines actual voyage results with external price feeds to assess the financial performance of each voyage against the market at large.

Many Stakeholders, One Commercial Platform

While this blog post discussed key metrics for stakeholders among shipowners and operators, these stakeholders are just the beginning. Commodities traders and tonnage charterers have unique stakeholders of their own—each of whom must be equipped with the insights they need to work more efficiently and effectively.

As a dynamic platform for the commercial management of marine cargo and fleets, the Veson IMOS Platform (VIP) provides a suite of flexible tools that key stakeholders on both sides of the marine contract can utilize to make informed and proactive decisions. VIP pairs proven business logic with an agile, cloud-based architecture that supports the secure access, advanced data sharing, and seamless integration required by today’s maritime shipping ecosystem. To discover how VIP can empower the many users in your business, join us on October 21st for our Many Users, One Platform webinar by registering at the link below.