Maersk Container Division Cuts Operating Costs by $102 Million with New Software

Microsoft SQL Server Customer Solution Case Study

“We saved about $102 million in 2009 from fuel savings and other efficiencies through the transparency we had using the COMS application on the Microsoft platform.” Steffen Conradsen, Director, Situation Room, Maersk Line Executives at shipping giant Maersk Line wanted faster, more efficient access to vital operational information from eight operations centers around the world. Using in-house development expertise and Microsoft products, the company designed a powerful application called the Central Operational Management System. The software is helping Maersk Line save millions annually in operating expenses through data visualization, leading to important business insights that help boost its competitive position.

Business Needs 135 countries, operates 500 container The A.P. Møller–Maersk Group is one ships, and transports cargo on another of the largest transportation and 400 ships operated by its partners. In logistics companies in the world. Its the first half of 2010, the container- container division, Maersk Line, has related activities of the A.P. Møller- offices and subsidiaries in more than

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document published September 2010 Maersk Group reported more than U.S. Solution The faster, more effective delivery of $12.4 billion in revenue. The company’s regional operation in information from the company’s Spain had developed an application frontline operations centers is helping Coordinating the logistics of a global called the Central Operational reduce operating expenses. By using shipping operation is immensely Management System (COMS). It was Microsoft products, Maersk has complicated. In recent years, the job of based on Microsoft products including created a powerful, feature-rich Maersk Line managers has become Microsoft SQL Server data application at a fraction of the cost of even more complex, with the economic management software. At the urging buying an external solution. And the downturn and increased competitive of senior executives, company rich reporting and analysis give pressures. And, as the world’s second- developers expanded on this executives deeper insights into their largest consumer of “bunker fuel”—the application. It is now the core logistics operations so the company can be heavy fuel used to power large ship information solution used in the more competitive. engines—Maersk Line was also “Situation Room” in Copenhagen. It is concerned about the effects of rising also used in frontline operations Saved $100 Million in Operating fuel costs on its business. The situation centers and in various business Costs in First Year was particularly acute for personnel at departments. The COMS solution is helping provide the company’s headquarters in Maersk Line with far greater visibility Copenhagen, where they help monitor Conradsen, who was named Director into the costs of its operations. The and coordinate the activities of frontline of the Situation Room, says Maersk company has achieved significant cost operations working from eight different Line decided to use the Microsoft savings by identifying the most operations centers around the world. products to update and enhance the efficient routes for ships and other COMS solution because the factors that reduce fuel consumption. Steffen Conradsen, an operations application worked well in its original “We saved about $102 million in 2009 manager at Maersk Line headquarters, iteration. “Plus, we already had the from fuel savings and other efficiencies says senior executives wanted to Microsoft tools and expertise inside through the transparency we had implement a technology solution that the company, which would let us using the COMS application on the could help gather information from the quickly take initial concepts for richer Microsoft platform,” says Conradsen. regional centers faster and more features and expand them into user efficiently than the traditional, manually testing,” he says. intensive method of using email and Provides Cost-Effectiveness spreadsheets. The goal was to perform The solution is a visually rich, By choosing to build the enhanced business analysis on events and continually evolving application built COMS solution internally using operating costs such as the late arrival on Microsoft products that include Microsoft products, Maersk cut about of a ship into port or higher-than- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 90 percent of its estimated cost of an normal use of fuel. Enterprise, the Microsoft Visual Studio externally developed solution. This, 2008 Professional Edition development combined with other cost savings “We needed a team that could operate system, and the Microsoft .NET achieved by the solution, has helped as the ‘eye in the sky’ on all of our Framework 3.5. The solution runs on Maersk attain a fast return on its global operations to get a better sense the Windows Server 2008 R2 investment. “By using the Microsoft of how we were performing and to find Enterprise operating system. products and developing the solution ways of serving our customers more internally, the solution has only cost us effectively,” says Conradsen. “For Benefits about $2.5 million,” Conradsen says. example, it used to take up to two By building a comprehensive logistics weeks to gather reliability data on the management solution on Microsoft Supports Rich Reports, Business global fleet schedules. This was a real products, Maersk Line developed a Insights problem because of the time it took to mission-critical application that The COMS solution is giving Maersk analyze and fix the problem.” delivers a number of business benefits. Line employees comprehensive information faster than before.

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document published September 2010 “Instead of waiting two weeks or more making decisions that result in better analyst Drewry, which ranks Maersk like we did in the past to get performance.” He notes that in the Line as the Number 1 global carrier in information from our frontline past, the company’s average reliability schedule reliability. With fast access to operations centers, we now get daily rating—based on the number of ships data from all of our operations centers, updates and comprehensive weekly that arrived at port within 12 hours of we can provide better service to our reports that we put into Microsoft the scheduled time—was 74 percent. customers. That puts us significantly PowerPoint slides for distribution to “Today that number is 88 percent,” he ahead of our competitors.” executives and other managers,” says says. “This has been confirmed by the Conradsen. “As a result, we’re faster at internationally recognized shipping

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document published September 2010