Hello SM People again!
Why not to Taal Volcano?
It could be exciting.
Just do not forget your bottled water.
It will be more exciting without this.
Happy trip.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Hellooo SM Guys and Dolls!
From an old sea dog passing by your port.
Wish you are all okay.
Your prof is a blog nut (ours lang).
Happy blogging.
Its Ber so... Merry Christmas and Happy New Ber (sorry, Year!!).
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Business Development
Business development means different things to different people. That's why it is appropriate to define the term beforehand. For some it simply means prospection, to others it can mean developing a new product or technology, while to others it can mean investing or divesting corporate assets. All have their own right to claim that their activity is business development, that's why it is necessary to dissect the term.
Business development is about bringing discontinuity into the normal operations of an organization. It's about bringing, doing or developing new things the organization didn't do before.
Levels of Business Development
Product level
At the product level business development means developing a new product or technology. Although the level of development can differ from firm to firm. The level of development can be divided into two categories: disruptive and incremental.
Incremental developments are a development which increases the functionality of an existing platform or technology, while disruptive or discontinuous developments are completely new things developed from scratch.
E.g. of an incremental continuous development are extension to already existing products like a new odour for shampoo, a digital camera with 5MIO pixels for your mobile phone, ... In both cases the platform, shampoo and mobile phone remains the same. Discontinue developments are e.g. public key infrastructure (PKI). PKI is discontinuing because it will change the way people do business and authenticate themselves in the future. The technology doesn't have a form yet, nor does it have mature value chains. PKI currently is still at the beginning of the TALC curve. It will take years before it will have a fixed recognizable form. Today PKI is mainly used in ID cards (e.g. Belgium, Malaysia), although its application is certainly not limited to it.
Commercial level
In its simplest form business development at the commercial level means prospection pure et dûr. It means hunting new customers in new segments or markets by, mostly, cold contact. The work requires a highly driven psychologically strong individual capable of handling lots of turn downs. It's certainly not suited for the faint of heart.
The next level of commercial business development is channel or sales organization setup. The channel or sales organization can consist of partners, like agents, distributors, licensees, franchisees, or your own national or international branches. Agent is the legal term used in Belgium law to denote somebody who is representing a principal in exchange for a commission on forwarded customers. In most cases these agents are called resellers, value added resellers, dealers, the latter being the functional position in your channel network.
And last we have commercial business development at the value chain level. At the value chain level business development is about developing the whole product offering. You'll find this type of business development in technology firms that have developed a platform that has to be integrated or combined with other technologies or platforms to form a whole product.
A whole product is generally composed of multiple technologies in order to make it come alive. Those technologies are generally not developed by one firm but sourced from others to save time a.o.
Corporate level
When organizations have to decide whether to make or to buy certain organizational competencies we enter the realm of corporate business development. The focus is not at the product nor the commercial level but the business, financial and legal level.
This level of business development is about mergers & acquisitions (M&A), joint ventures (JV), direct equity investment (DEI) and strategic alliances. It deals with business portfolio analysis, corporate finance, contract law, fiscal law, social law , anti- trust law, change management, culture management...
Organizations can have multiple motives to buy organizational competencies. Examples are: time to market market entry barriers, patent protection, legal constraints, business or proposal complementation, cash flow and profit diversification, ...
Conclusion
From the descriptions above it becomes very obvious that there is not one single meaning of business development. Each level has its own focus and requires different competencies, skills and backgrounds.
Ship Management
The ever-changing environment of ship management is becoming increasingly complex. Latest Ship Management report examines the principal components of the market and the implications of third party management.
The nature of ship ownership
The implications for ship management
The market for third party ship managers
Commercial management
Technical management
Administration Training
Product Description
Manpower availability and costs Management issues relating to crew matters The R&M regime Management issues relating to R&M or ship equipment matters Procurement regimes and management issues relating to the stores and supplies budget Management issues relating to insurance Regulatory issues Risks and proactive approaches.
Move towards third party ship management
The Ship Management report provides key insights into the industry and the future growth of the market. Its data and analysis include:
Ship owners and concepts of risk management
Commercial and technical management - the options for outsourcing
Third party ship management and questions of liability - including the ISM Code, ISPS and Marpol as well as growing levels of national or regional legislation. The market for third party ship managers - management quality and difficulties of product differentiation.
Main findings
Ship Management report provides an independent and detailed assessment of the ship management market, analyzing the main areas of management, how it aligns with the overall risk management evaluation and the options for outsourcing. Focusing on the implications of ship management and the market for third-party ship managers, the report assesses the nature of ship ownership, commercial management, technical management, administration and training.The nature of ship ownership.
Describing the various ship owner types and multiplicity of the shipping business, it identifies the areas of risk management. Providing an overview of both commercial and technical management, it reports the options for third party management and questions of liability.
Commercial management
This section examines the shipping market and its economic cycles, the impact on ship chartering and differences across industrial sectors. It also monitors and measures the fundamentals of the freight market and rates. The report also analyses key ship running costs and the influence of the forward market, the new building market and the demolition market.
Technical management
Focuses on the availability and costs of manpower and key management issues relating to the crew alongside an evaluation of the ship repair and maintenance regime - including classification requirements, equipment recommendations and policy choices and fuel-related issues. Technical management also has a remit covering areas such as procurement policy and the stores and supplies budget, insurance, regulatory requirements and response planning.
Administration
An analysis of the key activities associated with shipping companies covering the unavoidable and the optional as well as the core administrative needs within a ship management company.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Recession reports - No immediate recovery seen for shipping firms
Industry officials said that the prospects for shipping companies will remain bleak for another 12 to 18 months because the exim trade is not yet out of the woods and there is still a glut of vessels available.
According to a senior official of an Indian shipping firm, earnings from shipping will remain subdued as global economies have shown narrow improvement.
The global financial crisis saw freight rates plunging by as much as 94 per cent in a matter of 8 months in 2008, leaving shipping companies in the red and forcing some of them to cancel orders for newbuilds.
Exports have fallen for 12 straight months and any recovery in higher rates for transportation is still far away. Shipyards are expected to deliver nearly 37 per cent of the current capacity in the months ahead, thereby adding pressure to freight rates.
According to a senior official of an Indian shipping firm, earnings from shipping will remain subdued as global economies have shown narrow improvement.
The global financial crisis saw freight rates plunging by as much as 94 per cent in a matter of 8 months in 2008, leaving shipping companies in the red and forcing some of them to cancel orders for newbuilds.
Exports have fallen for 12 straight months and any recovery in higher rates for transportation is still far away. Shipyards are expected to deliver nearly 37 per cent of the current capacity in the months ahead, thereby adding pressure to freight rates.
Africa adopts harmonized maritime transport charter
NAIROBI: Africa is moving towards a harmonized maritime transport charter that will apart from building trade capacity see a united approach to industry threats such as piracy.
This follows the adoption of the African Maritime Transport Charter at the Second African Union Conference of Ministers Responsible for Maritime Transport, under the theme "Creation of a safe, secure and clean maritime transport industry", held in Durban, South Africa.
Director General of the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) Nancy Karigithu said in a statement issued in Nairobi on Sunday that the adoption of the charter would boost the maritime sector in Africa and propel the continent towards world class shipping and maritime trade standards.
"As a continent we must take the firm view that we cannot talk maritime transport outside of economic development and growth of the sector. The maritime transport sector in Africa is a giant that is waking up. African maritime transport has the capacity to grow our economies and create millions of jobs," said Karigithu.
Dubai Star Faces Lawsuit
Owners of Dubai Star, the oil tanker that caused an oil spill in the San Francisco bay area, are facing a lawsuit for $10 million (Dh36.7m) by US fishermen and the owner of a local food processing company. The suit filed by crab fisherman Mark Russo, herring fisherman Ron Alioti, and Next Seafood Company owner Russell Robinette, seeks compensation for alleged loss in business due to fall in fish prices as people refused to buy fearing contamination from the oil spill. The class action suit was filed in the San Francisco Federal Court.
Speaking to Emirates Business, Ram Moorthy, General Manager, Pioneer Ship Management Services Company, the technical manager of Dubai Star, said he is aware of the litigation and the company's attorneys in the US are looking at the lawsuit. Fishing in the area was suspended following the oil spill.
"We cannot give more information until the operations are over. We are aware of the $10m lawsuit filed by fishermen in San Francisco. We have our attorney there and our guys are on the work," Moorthy said.
Khamis Juma Bu Amin, CEO of Regional Clean Sea Organisation (Resco), said: "We don't have details of the oil spill case. If there is an environmental impact in US territorial waters, there are stringent rules there. That can add to the total claims. However, the insurance coverage will depend on whether the ship was carrying crude or bunker oil FOB or CIS. These things will be decided only after thorough investigation."
The defendants include Dubai Star, South Harmony Shipping, Pioneer Ship Management and Heidmar.
Source: Emirates Business
Speaking to Emirates Business, Ram Moorthy, General Manager, Pioneer Ship Management Services Company, the technical manager of Dubai Star, said he is aware of the litigation and the company's attorneys in the US are looking at the lawsuit. Fishing in the area was suspended following the oil spill.
"We cannot give more information until the operations are over. We are aware of the $10m lawsuit filed by fishermen in San Francisco. We have our attorney there and our guys are on the work," Moorthy said.
Khamis Juma Bu Amin, CEO of Regional Clean Sea Organisation (Resco), said: "We don't have details of the oil spill case. If there is an environmental impact in US territorial waters, there are stringent rules there. That can add to the total claims. However, the insurance coverage will depend on whether the ship was carrying crude or bunker oil FOB or CIS. These things will be decided only after thorough investigation."
The defendants include Dubai Star, South Harmony Shipping, Pioneer Ship Management and Heidmar.
Source: Emirates Business
K Line Invests in ZESCO
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” Line) is pleased to announce that a JVA in ship repair business has been signed with the joint venture company between Hanjin Shipping and Shunhe Shipping of Zhejiang Eastern Shipyard Co., Ltd. (ZESCO), a shipyard in Zhejiang Province by accepting ZESCO’s increase capital for third parties together with Shanghai Changjiang Shipping (Sinotrans group).
ZESCO is located in a northern part of Zhoushan islands, Zhejiang Province, occupying total area of 550,000m2 with 1,900m length of coastline. It has capacity of 150 vessels per year, equipped with two large graving docks (one of which can accommodate 300,000dwt class VLCC or VLOC and the other can accommodate CAPE-size), hull workshop (13,000m2), one repair berth, painting workshop and mechanical-electrical workshop. In addition, ZESCO plans to construct second repair berth and third graving dock. The graving dock facilities and one repair berth were completed and full operation started in early April 2009. 24 vessels have already docked in ZESCO and another 16 vessels are expected to dock in by the end of this year. “K” Line secures certain repair slots at ZESCO as a main shareholder and user. ZESCO is located very conveniently near Shanghai Yangshan, and can accommodate all kinds of vessels (not limited to containerships) without any narrow navigation restriction on the river.
ZESCO is located in a northern part of Zhoushan islands, Zhejiang Province, occupying total area of 550,000m2 with 1,900m length of coastline. It has capacity of 150 vessels per year, equipped with two large graving docks (one of which can accommodate 300,000dwt class VLCC or VLOC and the other can accommodate CAPE-size), hull workshop (13,000m2), one repair berth, painting workshop and mechanical-electrical workshop. In addition, ZESCO plans to construct second repair berth and third graving dock. The graving dock facilities and one repair berth were completed and full operation started in early April 2009. 24 vessels have already docked in ZESCO and another 16 vessels are expected to dock in by the end of this year. “K” Line secures certain repair slots at ZESCO as a main shareholder and user. ZESCO is located very conveniently near Shanghai Yangshan, and can accommodate all kinds of vessels (not limited to containerships) without any narrow navigation restriction on the river.
South Koreans Overtaken by Chinese Shipbuilders
South Korean shipbuilders were outpaced by their Chinese rivals in the number of new orders received this year and order backlogs, according to a London-based market researcher Friday. Korean shipbuilders such as Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. won a combined 1.64 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) in new orders in the first 10 months of the year, accounting for 31.8 per cent of all new global orders, said Clarkson Research Studies, a division of Clarkson PLC, the world's leading shipping services provider.
New orders at Chinese shipyards totalled 2.70 million CGTs during the cited period, accounting for 52.3 per cent of the total, Clarkson said.
In October alone, South Korean shipyards won 214,825 CGTs, while Chinese companies received 233,265 CGTs, according to the researcher.
Market watchers said Chinese shipbuilders have gobbled up new orders at cheap prices, while South Korean shipbuilders have continued to focus on high-priced vessels and offshore facilities.
South Korea, home to seven of the world's top 10 shipyards, has clinched record-high orders in the past few years on strong demand for crude carriers and offshore exploration equipment amid lofty oil prices.
But orders for new vessels have sunk since the third quarter of last year, as the credit crisis and the subsequent global recession have prodded companies to postpone delivery dates or cancel orders.
South Korea also yielded the top position to China in the global shipbuilding industry in terms of order backlogs, according to the researcher and industry sources.
South Korean shipbuilders' combined order backlogs totalled 53.62 million CGTs as of the end of October, compared with Chinese rivals' 54.96 million CGTs, they said.
Source: Yonhap
New orders at Chinese shipyards totalled 2.70 million CGTs during the cited period, accounting for 52.3 per cent of the total, Clarkson said.
In October alone, South Korean shipyards won 214,825 CGTs, while Chinese companies received 233,265 CGTs, according to the researcher.
Market watchers said Chinese shipbuilders have gobbled up new orders at cheap prices, while South Korean shipbuilders have continued to focus on high-priced vessels and offshore facilities.
South Korea, home to seven of the world's top 10 shipyards, has clinched record-high orders in the past few years on strong demand for crude carriers and offshore exploration equipment amid lofty oil prices.
But orders for new vessels have sunk since the third quarter of last year, as the credit crisis and the subsequent global recession have prodded companies to postpone delivery dates or cancel orders.
South Korea also yielded the top position to China in the global shipbuilding industry in terms of order backlogs, according to the researcher and industry sources.
South Korean shipbuilders' combined order backlogs totalled 53.62 million CGTs as of the end of October, compared with Chinese rivals' 54.96 million CGTs, they said.
Source: Yonhap
Russia's Foreign Trade Down
08 November 2009 
Russia's foreign trade decreased by 43.9% year-on-year to $321.4 billion in January-September 2009, the Federal Customs Service said in a statement on Friday. Foreign trade surplus dwindled to $91.7 billion year-on-year in the reporting period.
The customs service said Russia's trade with non-CIS countries amounted to $274.4 billion (down 43.7%), while trade with CIS states stood at $47 billion (down $45%) in January-September.
Russia exported $206.6 billion worth of products in the first nine months of 2009, down by 44.3% against the same period of last year.
The decrease in exports was caused by a plunge in prices for Russian commodity exports in late 2008.
Imports to Russia reached $114.8 billion in the reporting period, down 43.1% against the first nine months of 2008 due to a decrease in the amount of imported goods. This is clearly bad news for the shipping sector.
Source: Bloomberg
Russia's foreign trade decreased by 43.9% year-on-year to $321.4 billion in January-September 2009, the Federal Customs Service said in a statement on Friday. Foreign trade surplus dwindled to $91.7 billion year-on-year in the reporting period.The customs service said Russia's trade with non-CIS countries amounted to $274.4 billion (down 43.7%), while trade with CIS states stood at $47 billion (down $45%) in January-September.
Russia exported $206.6 billion worth of products in the first nine months of 2009, down by 44.3% against the same period of last year.
The decrease in exports was caused by a plunge in prices for Russian commodity exports in late 2008.
Imports to Russia reached $114.8 billion in the reporting period, down 43.1% against the first nine months of 2008 due to a decrease in the amount of imported goods. This is clearly bad news for the shipping sector.
Source: Bloomberg
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