Ensuring supplier sustainability and reliability

As a full turnkey and life cycle service provider for the maritime industry, we manage large-scale newbuild and modernization projects as well as serve the ships and rigs throughout the whole life cycle. Instead of only having our own production, we have chosen to use a large pool of trusted long-term suppliers in order to stay scalable and be able to provide a large, innovative, and diverse portfolio all over the globe. This large pool provides us with the tools to ensure supplier sustainability and reliability no matter where the project is located.

Blog post by: Juha Pakomäki, Vice President Estimation & Purchasing Accommodation Systems & Stéphane Denis, Vice President Estimation & Purchasing Catering Systems at ALMACO Group

When we see that higher sustainability levels could be reached in a project, we are able to present alternative solutions to our customers as part of our “value-engineering” process. In the word value, quality, functionality, cost as well as sustainability can all be included. In the same process it is important to acknowledge that the sustainable alternatives that we present to our customers also must give them good value for their money in order to ensure all stakeholders are able to stay competitive.

When we look at suppliers with “sustainability glasses” on, we mainly focus on the following criteria; Are they using sustainable materials and low consumption solutions? Can they offer good quality products with a long lifetime that comply with maritime standards? How sustainable is the product from creation all the way to end-of-life? And, last but not least, how easy is it to serve the products? Is it possible to repair and exchange parts instead of having to replace the whole product completely?

The best way to ensure reliability in supplier pool management is to build deep, long-term connections and partnerships. At ALMACO we have preferred partnerships with suppliers that we have evaluated thoroughly and that have provided proper certification for the required industry standards and regulations.

ALMACO is committed to developing digital tools that help keep down consumption of energy, water, and steam in the catering areas. The tools also offer preventative maintenance functionalities that prolong product lifetime. We have preferred partnership agreements with suppliers that comply with high-quality USPHS standards for catering areas. Our preferred laundry suppliers have solutions that consume less energy and water, as well as use Ecolabel chemicals. In accommodation areas our focus is not only on choosing sustainable furniture and materials with high quality and long lifetime, we can also support our customers in the planning of operational aspects like maintenance and environmental-friendly cleaning.

We have learned that suppliers that are used to complying with high-quality standards and regulations, also have the potential to reach high sustainability goals and present proper certification throughout the process. Working with people that we know and trust makes it easier to monitor and audit all aspects of the projects. Sustainability has always been one of our core values, and we know that we share this value with many of our customers. A green future maritime industry is in all our interest and we hope to be part of making it happen.

For more information, contact

Stephane Denis

+33 671 586 750

[email protected]