The New Backbone of Shipping – Daily Business

For decades, the shipping industry was lagging in terms of bandwidth because of the costly solutions for Internet coverage at sea and the impracticality of available options. Nowadays, we have convenient and efficient Maritime Software Solutions on the table that allow the shipping industry to change the way it works. There is an obvious trend towards digitalization. It actually becomes the backbone of the shipping industry.

Why This Change Is Inevitable

The era of spreadsheets and emails is certainly over in many businesses, and continuing to use crew management in the old way when there are advanced and automated solutions means hindering the industry’s development. With those old-fashioned ways of working, scalability for a shipping company is a real challenge, while the possibility of errors is high.

What Do Modern Maritime Software Solutions Offer?

In short, it offers a unified and smart approach to managing the crew of the entire company’s fleet. Anything from hiring, shifts, payments, and the end of working for a company is covered by the modern maritime software from such experts as Sealogic. 

With such software in place, fragmented spreadsheets, emails, and manual processes are no longer the case. Tracking crew profiles, ranks, sea time, and medicals are all managed in a single, consistent flow on one platform. 

Using E-CMS from Sealogic or similar systems enables rule-based planning that can be fully customized to the business needs. Contracts and payroll are handled in a more automated way, while travel logistics (e.g., flights, immigration formalities) are synced with individual schedules of crew members.

With this solution in place, it is possible to replace repetitive admin work with scalable, compliant, and data-driven processes. E-CMS reduces risk and accelerates decision-making across the fleet.

How to Transit?

While the transition from spreadsheets and databases might seem overwhelming. But it is actually a seamless process completed in several steps:

1. Document audit that includes revision and standardization to ensure consistency.
2. Assigning clear responsibilities and providing access to HR and accounts. No more manual re-keying and frequent errors.
3. The launch of the e-CMS on a small group of vessels to test workflows and gather feedback.
4. If all is good, the platform rollout will be across the fleet. Some adjustments are possible at this stage.
5. Training for the team is provided.
6. Regular audit of the work to ensure the processes are optimized and up-to-date.

Once this step-by-step guide is followed up, the shift towards the digitized crew management will be painless and simple. 

Conclusion

While still fresh and new, digitalization and automation of crew management are no longer optional. They are essential for successful operation and seamless scaling up. With the efficiency of optimization of the processes, the crew members are more satisfied with how their shifts and payments are managed, while the company can reduce the cost of manual admin work and avoid unnecessary mistakes. 

Thus, transitioning to modern maritime software solutions nowadays means still being early, getting an advantage over competitors, and having a well-optimized crew management system.