2BA, for the maritime industry as well
OMDS and 2BA:
Together en route to optimum efficiency in the maritime supply chain
In 2017, Royal Boskalis Westminster, Damen Shipyards Group, Royal IHC and Koninklijke van Oord set up an initiative to reach a uniform standard for maritime parts and items.
This initiative resulted in a data standard which is being increasingly further implemented in the maritime sector. We’re talking about the ‘One Maritime Data Standard, OMDS for short.
Lower costs and higher efficiency
OMDS is aimed at lowering the costs of supply chain management by means of a uniform establishment and exchange of product and trade data.
2BA as data exchange platform
The OMDS work group decided to use the 2BA data exchange platform. This platform offers the maritime sector a uniform and automated exchange of classified product and price information between suppliers and, for example, ship and yacht builders, systems integrators, installation companies and machine manufacturers. So since 18 January 2019, 2BA has been the official portal for the electronic exchange of product and associated trade data for the Dutch maritime sector.
Extra amenities in 2BA
Especially for the maritime line of business, the product information in the 2BA data pool has been expanded to include a number of specific categories which are hugely important to this sector. Examples of these are country of origin, safety data sheets, specific import and export data and other customs-related information.
The major advantages:
Applying uniform data through 2BA offers the maritime sector the following important advantages:
- Finding parts on board will be simpler thanks to the addition of the ETIM classification
- Ordering parts will be less error-prone thanks to the use of unique identification barcodes
- This will also reduce failure costs
- Dispatching items will go faster due to availability of logistics data (also international)
- The design and building process of new ships can be improved
- The sector will have a greater resilience to modification to legislation and regulations.
- Improving the international competitiveness of the Dutch maritime manufacturing industry as a whole
Royal IHC needs to detect and purchase parts and related product information in the most efficient way.
“As a shipbuilding company we often find ourselves between customer and supplier while working on our projects and providing our services. In this aspect it is extra important to fully meet the requirements of the customer. Participating in the One Maritime Data Standard mainly offers us added value in completeness in information and a higher level of efficiency”
Salam Albaz, Manager Procurement at Royal IHC
The 2BA Maritime Cluster: Strong together!
The complete list of 2BA participants consists of thousands of suppliers, material handlers and software partners. Thanks to the growing brand awareness of OMDS (One Maritime Data Standard) the 2BA datapool today welcomes an increasing number of participants out of the maritime making and maintenance industry.
This seems very legitimate, because thanks to the exchange of uniform productdata and related trade information also the efficiency within the maritime supply chain is strongly improved while on the other hand failure costs are being reduced.
So indirectly the use of the 2BA datapool contributes strongly to the improvement of the Dutch shipbuilding industry as a whole.
Would you like to know which maritime oriented companies already make use of the 2BA datapool? For this purpose you can download here the actual list of participating parties within the ‘2BA Maritime Cluster’.
2BA, the ultimate central product database for you and your line of business
2BA manages the central and neutral data pool for controlled and digital exchange of product information between supplier and buyer on the basis of international ETIM standards. The product information of the manufacturer, importer and/or agent are also incorporated in this, checked, and classified. And where applicable, any additional trade information provided by the supplying wholesaler(s) can be linked to a unique manufacturer’s product.
This means that in our data pool, manufacturers, agents, importers, and wholesalers personally maintain the product and trade data for the entire chain, keeping it complete and up to date. It’s no wonder that nowadays, more than 2,000 installation and assembly companies and more than 150 wholesalers already use product and price information from the 2BA data pool on a daily basis!
What kind of people use product data from 2BA?
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Data validation
In order to safeguard Data Label, there are a number of checks of product and trade data possible within 2BA, such as:
- validation on the basis of use of valid messages (exchange databases)
- validation on content fields such as GTIN and ETIM classification, for example
- validation on the basis of history (both automatic and manual)
- validation on the basis of 3D-defined objects (ETIM-MC/UOB)
- Reporting through the Data Label Label
How do producers and wholesalers reach their buyers through 2BA?
Product and accompanying trade data can be viewed from the 2BA database by shipbuilders, installation and assembly companies by way of periodic downloads in the software. In addition, a growing number of software parties supports the Unifeed search engine and web services developed by 2BA. This gives the user the opportunity of searching online in the 2BA data pool, from their own software, and receive the selected data directly. Here too, the filter option on ETIM product classes and/or features offers an important tool with which to find the right product fast.
The ETIM model: Proven basis for optimum efficiency
The ETIM classification model is theultimate way to classify products simply and provide them with technical features. In turn, wholesalers can make use of the classified product data of manufacturers. For example, for their websites or catalogues (also print) but of course also to publish their product-related trade information through 2BA. It’s also ideal for the wholesaler if they don’t have to approach all the manufacturers personally but are able to retrieve the data from a single central point: the 2BA data pool. This leaves the wholesaler free to concentrate on their own core activities.
2BA in numbers:
- Over 4 million product records
- Over22 million trade records
- Over 180 affiliated wholesalers
- Over 650 data providers from approximately 1,200 manufacturers
- Over 2,500 installation and assembly companies with a total of more than 95,000 employees
* Reference date July 2022
Are you also interested?
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