Oldendorff Centenary Book - Flipbook - Page 107
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CRITICAL MASS MAKES
A DIFFERENCE
FIERCELY COMMERCIAL
CIRCLE OF COMPETENCE
As a volume carrier, we benefit from
critical mass (although sometimes
it may appear like “critical mess”).
Carrying more cargoes to more
destinations for more clients makes
us more competitive. If we send
an armada of ships into a specific
loading area, we can offer on most
cargoes that come to the market,
because we can be confident that we
will always have a ship in position.
This gives us more credibility with
industrial clients, while at the same
time we can optimise our scheduling
and can later nominate the most
suitable ships for each cargo.
We see ourselves as commercially
driven. We literally owe our
existence to our cargo clients.
In order to serve them and make
them happy, the chartering teams
need the supporting services of
our other departments. We have
lots of dedicated and passionate
people in our technical, operations,
financial and administrational
service departments, supporting
our commercial team to meet the
requirements of our customers.
Risk increases when you are not
knowing what you are doing. We
therefore like to stay within our
circle of competence, concentrating
on what we do best and care about
most. We don’t want to be distracted
by diversifying into businesses that
we don’t fully understand.
Carrying more than 320 million tons
of cargo across the oceans each year
means that we can offer our cargo
customers a lot more flexibility
than smaller operators can. If the
client needs to replace a shipment
with another one from another
port and in a different quantity, we
are likely going to be able to help
them, as we have enough ships of
all size categories available in the
various regions.
Some shipping companies focus
on the technical ship management
aspects, while others put the
emphasis on sourcing equity and
finance. We see ourselves as
fiercely commercial. A rising net
worth is our premier measure
of success. A strong financial
standing is very important for our
clients, service providers, vendors
and employees.
We try to see the big picture and
don’t strive for perfection.
As a specialist in spot business,
industrial contracts and offshore
transshipment solutions, we focus
solely on dry bulk logistics. We
strive to be “as close to the cargo”
as we can.
Our clients include raw materials
producers, agricultural traders,
importers, exporters, steel mills,
power companies and other
industrial end-users. They have
experienced and benefited from
our on-time performance and
flexibility. Our approach is to
develop a comprehensive
understanding of each client’s
business. That way, we can deliver
the best bespoke solutions.
If we stay within our circle of
competence, we can do a better
job for our clients.
Quality and speed is sometimes
more important than size! If we
cannot assure quality of service,
fast response time and the
corporate manoeuvrability that
enables us to change course on
short notice, we will have to slow
down or stop our growth. We will
not sacrifice a stable and well-oiled
organisation for the sake of growth.
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