Hayley van Leeuwen, GNS’s Director Marketing and Product wants you to stop buying so many navigational products – yes really!

GNS has recently launched Voyager FLEET INSIGHT Navigation Management service to help shipping companies buy fewer ENCs. Here, GNS’s Director of Marketing and Product, Hayley van Leeuwen, answers questions and makes the case for changing the way you buy navigational products forever.

What makes the GNS approach different from other navigation providers?
“To put it really simply, the magic here is all in the data. What people often don’t realise is that most vessels are still buying digital charts and publications in the same way that they used to buy paper ones. It’s still mostly just in case not just in time. Being able to see exactly what products a vessel purchased and what expired without a vessel ever having used it and, perhaps most importantly, the cost of those unused products really helps to focus the mind.
Most people don’t believe the level of waste in their fleet until they see it with their own eyes. People are often shocked to find that they could be saving 30% (and sometimes even more) on their current navigation spending.”

You talk about creating transparency and giving shipping companies more control. Can you talk specifically about how you do this?
“If you think about it, it’s not really in the interests of traditional navigation suppliers to encourage shipping companies to buy fewer navigation products. The GNS model is different because we are not interested in selling high volumes of products that vessels don’t need and won’t ever use. We don’t believe that is the way to build long lasting relationships or to provide value. We believe in using data to provide very tailored services that give customers just what they need, when they need it – nothing more, nothing less.
Over the last couple of years, first using the data to create really tailored pricing for fleets and then running workshops with customers to raise awareness of how they can operate more efficiently, we have built huge amounts of data and knowledge. With Voyager FLEET INSIGHT we are now setting that data free so all shipping partners can benefit from it. It’s totally transparent and its really putting the power in the hands of the shipping company.”

How does the GNS approach help with compliance?
“We have painstakingly built a database of the technical library requirements for each Flag and vessel Class worldwide. Our system compares those regulatory requirements with the publications carried by each vessel and clearly shows where a vessel may be exposed at its next Port State Control or SIRE inspection so that gaps and risks can be quickly addressed.
Our Voyager FLEET INSIGHT system also tracks Port State Control inspections. HSEQ managers can view inspection data by vessel. Importantly they can also view the same data by port. If you think about it, what do you want to know if you are responsible for a vessel’s compliance record? You want to know the ports at which you are most likely to be inspected and what they are likely to be looking for so you can make sure that your vessels are fully prepared ahead of arrival. With GNS you can do that.”

How does it work if a shipping company doesn’t buy their navigation supplies from you?
“One of the amazing things about Voyager FLEET INSIGHT is that it works equally well for any shipping company: owner or manager, liner or spot trade and every Class and Flag. You don’t have to buy your navigation supplies from GNS to use Voyager FLEET INSIGHT. We haven’t found a shipping company yet that hasn’t benefitted from the information we are able to provide.
We believe this level of transparency on what you are spending and where you may have compliance issues should be available to as many shipping companies as possible.
For those people that buy their navigation supplies from elsewhere, we can take a data upload, for example a vessel’s ENC permit file, into the system to show you how much data you have used and how much has been wasted. If you provide your full vessel index (nautical publication library) we can also show you both where you may be overspending as well as help you to identify where there may be some compliance issues that you need to address.”

Why do you spend less when using Voyager FLEET INSIGHT?
“Generally navigation products today are bought based on historic purchasing and often that is unchanged from the days when vessels used to navigate with and had dedicated chart rooms filed with paper charts. These days ENC and digital publication can be delivered on board within 10 minutes. There is no need to carry navigational products just in case you need them. You can get them just in time when you do. People are often shocked to find that as much as 70% or more of the products they are paying for haven’t been used and, therefore, was precious budget wasted.”

What other uses are there for the data in Voyager FLEET INSIGHT?
“The vessel data we share in Voyager FLEET INSIGHT can also be leveraged to provide tracking and monitoring to report sailing times and calculate operating costs more accurately, as well as tracking progress against charter party terms.
We can use the same data to calculate sea hours and port call statistics that can be used to calculate more accurate yearly operating costs including port fees and major consumables. Being able to easily see how much time a vessel has spent steaming and at anchor helps superintendents to identify and plan maintenance in a timely way.”

Get your 28-day free trial to Voyager FLEET INSIGHT and find out how much it can save you? Simply click here and request your free login.