SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION

“This is just the beginning, we now have a solid, scalable foundation for Stena RoRo’s digitization”, says Magnus Bergenlid, Commercial Operations Manager, Stena RoRo.

Stena RoRo is a transaction-intensive business with a great need for information to make timely and effective decisions. Previously, the information was spread across a number of different sources and gaining access to it often involved time-consuming phone calls, which usually only gave part of the picture and searches on various websites.

“The reason we started developing this system was that we knew there was automatically generated data that we wanted to be able to collate and look at without having to log into multiple portals, where we don’t own the data. In addition, there are occasions when, for various reasons, we do not want to ask the different parties, and now we don’t have to because we get the data automatically”, says Magnus Bergenlid.

The new system incorporates both the internal data from our vessels’ operation as well as travel reporting, fuel, positioning and financial information as well as various external data sources that provide relevant information to the business and make it possible to monitor vessels of interest to Stena RoRo.

“Overall, it provides a very good overview of both our own operations and of the market, which saves time and creates the potential for new business opportunities. One aspect of this is sustainability, namely the more effective utilization of tonnage and how it is used in terms of operating patterns. If we have a ship that is optimized for 20 knots and a customer who wants one that runs at 15 knots, we can easily see that now, and in many ways have a greater understanding of how we can offer our customers sustainable and flexible ship solutions”, says Magnus Bergenlid.

The system also provides a good basis for investment decisions, something that Stena RoRo has already benefited from. An example of this was when they were recently considering an investment in fuel-saving equipment on board one of the ships.

“For the equipment to really save fuel, certain conditions must be met, which among other things concerns the speed at which the ship is running. Now we can directly go in and see the ship’s operating profile”, says Magnus Bergenlid.

Development of the system began in the fall of 2017 and took about one year. The process has been iterative, with close collaboration between Stena RoRo and Stena IT, where there was constant check-ins about needs and benefits.  

“It’s been a huge advantage to be involved from the beginning, which is not so common. The close collaboration has meant that Stena RoRo has been involved with our technical challenges and we in their business challenges, which has made it very clear what is possible and what is not. Together we have created a very good product, and in a cost effective way, which has also generated valuable knowledge in-house”, says Carl Lejon, Technology Business Manager, Stena IT.

Today the system is used by dozens of users at Stena RoRo, but it can also easily be scaled up thanks to the use of a standarized cloud-based platform from Microsoft. Because the system is cloud-based, it can be accessed via a mobile app from wherever you are –  a big advantage when part of the team is constantly travelling. Stena Line is even looking at developing a similar product.  

“They will be able to borrow some parts of the logic from us, even if their system is built using different data. And it works vice versa in that they will share with us when they have developed smart new solutions. To be able to have such a knowledge exchange is incredibly valuable”, says Peter Veiszhaupt Stena IT, who has been the project’s system architect and developer.