As well as being the envy of your friends and family, you can also use the site to buy gifts for your own customers, suppliers or partners. Show the world you’re part of a vibrant trading community!

In addition to the usual logo’ed t-shirts and mugs, there’s also some slightly more fun items. Plus for every one of our “Vote Yes’ t-shirts sold, we’ll donate $1 to our corporate charity Plan International.

So don’t hesitate visit our store page today!

LONDON, UK, 4 June, 2009 – ShipServ, the leading maritime e-marketplace, today announced that it estimated that the European shipping industry is wasting up to €1.8bn each and every year due to inefficient sourcing and purchasing practices.

And in the week in which 375 million European citizens are poised to vote in the European Parliament elections, ShipServ is urging European ship managers to vote “YES” to saving money on their operational supplies.

ShipServ’s analysis was based on its experience working with thousands of ship management professionals around the world, helping them to reduce the cost of purchasing the services and supplies they need to keep their ships operational.

“Its frustrating to see such waste still going on especially as we know how quickly such waste can be eliminated”, commented Paul Ostergaard, Founder and CEO, ShipServ. “When the shipping market was growing at a rate of knots, watching your costs might not have been a priority. Now its almost criminal.”

A typical company using the ShipServ e-marketplace to assist in sourcing suppliers, issuing request for quotes and/or placing orders saves anywhere between 5% and 20% of its operational spend every year. Based on an estimate of annual operational supplies spend of €9.3bn by European managers, this equates to a maximum 20% potential savings (and therefore wastage) of €1.8bn.

These savings can come from many areas including reduced administrative overheads, better information to make smarter sourcing decisions, fewer off-hire days due to faster order cycle times, lower shipment costs and the ability to handle more ships without the need to hire more staff.

“Its time for change in the shipping industry. It’s the duty of every ship manager to vote “YES” to saving money and to join ShipServ”, continued Mr. Ostergaard. “I’d go as far to says it’s their democratic duty!”

For more detail on how ShipServ saves ship managers money click here or contact John Watton on +44 20 3051 0257, email jwatton@shipserv.com.

About ShipServ
ShipServ is the leading maritime e-marketplace, helping the buyers and sellers of ship supplies to reduce the costs associated with doing business together. In 2008 ShipServ helped its members save an estimated €250m and transformed the way they do business. Whether a Buyer needs to streamline its purchasing operations or a Supplier wants to reduce the cost of attracting or retaining customers, ShipServ is unique in helping businesses of all sizes to find each other easily, connect cost effectively and trade efficiently. Today the ShipServ community numbers over 130 buying organisations, 4,500 vessels and 27,000 suppliers. For more information visit the ShipServ website.

Copyright © 2009 ShipServ Limited.  All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.