January 2010 N o 05 > INFORMATION > IN BRIEF > DATES > EVENTS CURRENT STATUS OF THE MEYER NEPTUN PORTAL As we reported in the last issue of Im Dialog, the MEYER NEPTUN PORTAL opened in mid-may 2009. Much has happened since then. By mid-january 2010, approx. 1,600 companies had registered as members. This number is made up of companies who already work with and for the shipyard, companies who have applied to become suppliers, and others who are simply members in our regional network. In mid-october, the third function in the area of materials management/purchasing became available, the Marketplace. Here, all companies who are members of the MEYER NEPTUN PORTAL can post special offers, events or initiatives or search facilities (e.g. inhouse exhibitions, expositions, new products, special transport etc.). This application is intended to prompt companies to make regular use of the portal. The fact that more than 70 entries were published within the first week following the start of the application indicates that this is working. We hope that this bulletin board will come to be used by more and more companies over the course of time. > page 2
January 2010 N o 05 MEYER NEPTUN PORTAL Particularly for companies who have applied to us to become suppliers, and with which we do not yet have any active business relationship, it is important they provide full and complete information on themselves. Behind this user interface, the shipyard maintains a database, in which our purchasing and technical departments can look for new suppliers when necessary. The more accurate and comprehensive this information is, particularly with regard to the products and services offered, the greater is the chance of being identified by MEYER WERFT as a potential new supplier. The other data requested also serves to give our purchasers and their colleagues from the technical departments indications of whether it will be helpful to contact a new company for forthcoming requirements. The business partners with whom we are already working are of course also responsible for keeping their own company data up-to-date, as soon as they have received their login data. Who is the right contact partner for the shipyard in the company, and in what area? Are contact partners leaving the company and being replaced by new ones? Whoever keeps this information up-to-date in the Contacts area of the portal will ensure that the shipyard always has the contact data of the right contact partners in the different areas of their company. And good communication between the shipyard and partner companies is important for both sides. Further applications will be added in future in the area of materials management/purchasing. One very important function will be the procurement process via the MEYER NEPTUN PORTAL. In order to provide this application in a profitable way for both sides, a great deal of planning and concept effort is still required, which will take some time yet until the point of implementation. Until that time, we hope that the MEYER NEPTUN PORTAL has already established itself amongst our partners as an important interface in the cooperation with MEYER WERFT. eauction A NEW INSTRUMENT IN PURCHASING Since the end of the year 2009, MEYER WERFT has been using Internet auctions (eauctions) as a new instrument for preparing decisions in procurement. The essential requirement for a successful auction is that all technical and commercial details have already been negotiated, and the only variable remains the price. This new instrument enables open competition between suppliers, making the procurement processes more transparent. Auctions promote fair competition driven by the dynamics of the market. The same conditions apply for all, since all suppliers are bound by the same participation rules. A further advantage lies in the efficiency of this method of procurement as the overall procurement process becomes more timesaving. When the negotiations of the technical and commercial conditions have been closed and merely the price needs to be fixed, this important aspect does no longer involve lengthy negotiations along with travelling and meetings. The participating parties submit their quotations in the auctions from their workplaces and follow the development until a decision is taken. Leading companies from other sectors such as the automotive and energy industry have also been using eauctions successfully for a long time, particularly for the award of major projects. One more reason therefore to make use of this method in our sector. 2 IM DIALOG
INVESTMENTS FOR NEW PANEL LINE COMPLETED WORLD S LARGEST LASER WELDING SYSTEM COMMISSIONED A further important step in the investments in our shipyard systems was completed at the end of December 2009 with the completion of the new panel line Hall 10. The first orders for the new hall, such as the milling system supplied by the firm of Graebener from Netphen, were negotiated at the beginning of 2008. This is a highly complex system, with the result that the corresponding negotiations proved to be very demanding with regard to technology, and therefore had to be instituted at an early stage. The investments totalling 80 million are further divided between the profile cutting system from MZ Robolap, the stiffener installation from Held Systems and the laser systems from Trumpf. The transport system was supplied by the firm of Grimbergen from the Netherlands. ESAB was selected as the supplier for the cutting machine portal, while Neuenhauser supplied the profile conveyor line. The consortium of Bunte Kassens and Franki Grundbau installed the necessary foundations and other concrete constructions. The firm of Wendeler, which also worked on the extension of Hall 6, installed about 3,150 tonnes of steel supports for the Hall. The roof and wall panelling was installed by the firm of Atmos. Assembly area for sections To ensure that the systems work in harmony and the programmes run, the firm of Unitechnik was commissioned to supply the sub-control system. Panel line 2 is designed for a plate width of 30 m. This means that we have fewer ring-joints in onboard assembly in comparison to the 20 m version in Hall 8. The welding of thin plates enables light construction. The use of disc lasers also achieves greater effectiveness and improved energy efficiency. Production of sections complete with walls This new system will achieve a significant productivity improvement from 2.8 ships in 2009 to 4 ships in 2010 and the following years. This also means an increase in throughput from 48,000 t to 75,000 t of plate per year. The laser performance has also been upgraded from 72 kw to 104 kw. As a result of the construction of this flow line for manual section construction, the sections will now be prefabricated under one roof. The accuratelycycled series production now makes a major contribution towards increasing the efficiency of steel production a new first in worldwide shipbuilding. New panel line 2 IM DIALOG 3
January 2010 N o 05 WE TRY HARDER WHY BEING GOOD IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH Larger, faster, further it seems to be an inherent characteristic of Man to develop himself and his works ever further. In all areas of commerce, and also in other fields, such as sport or science, the urge towards optimisation continues unabated. Since 1963, a large internationally active vehicle rental firm has committed itself to a course of optimisation with the above advertising slogan. And even if the sector and the customer structure are completely different from that here in the shipyard, the approach is the only correct path to dedicated further development. We are already living this permanent improvement process today at all levels of the shipyard. Whether through the Employee suggestion scheme or the optimisation of internal procedures with the aid of external consultants, we are always and everywhere trying to improve ourselves. But we cannot succeed in achieving the optimum alone. This is why we need you, our suppliers! We already have systems in place with whose aid we aim together to raise the optimisation potentials. As instruments to this end, you have perhaps already heard about the so-called Lessons learned meetings following the delivery of a ship. The mirror which you hold up to us in these discussions enables us to identify previously unknown and new opportunities. A further instrument is the supplier rating, by which friction losses in our dealings with each other can also be pointed out and eliminated. These are only a few examples of the many possibilities available for improving ourselves by cooperation. Because this must be our objective: always to get better. Better in terms of procedures, better in meeting schedules, better in terms of value for money - better for an ever-better product Made in Papenburg. NEWS IN BRIEF Deliveries in 2010 2010 is the first year ever that MEYER WERFT is going to deliver three cruise ships to the owners. The AIDAblu was floated out of the building dock on 5 January 2010, and is scheduled for delivery in February. The AIDAblu is the fourth vessel MEYER WERFT is building for AIDA Cruises, however, she is the first ship of a new generation. While she is also 252 m long and 23,2 m wide, like her predecessors AIDAdiva, AIDAbella and AIDAluna, she has a tonnage of 71,100 gt which is due to the extension by a half deck. The Spa area, for instance, was increased by 450 sqm, which makes it one of the largest areas of this kind on a cruise ship world-wide. 4 IM DIALOG
NEWS IN BRIEF The next delivery will be that of the Celebrity Eclipse in April 2010. Having a length overall of 317 m and a breadth of 36.80 m, she will be able to reach a speed of more than 24 knots. 2,482 passenger can be accommodated in 1,426 cabins. The Celebrity Eclipse is the third ship in a series of five luxury liners for Celebrity Cruises. The Celebrity Solstice and the Celebrity Equinox were delivered to the owners in 2008 and 2009. By the end of 2010 the Disney Dream will leave MEYER WERFT to set sail in early 2011. MEYER WERFT is building two state-of-the-art ships whose design follows the true Disney style. Upon completion the 128,000-gt Disney Dream will be the biggest passenger vessel ever built in Germany. Each ship will have a length overall of 340 m, a breadth of 37 m, and will have 1,250 spacious, luxury cabins catering first and foremost to the preferences of families. IM DIALOG 5
6 IM DIALOG
IM DIALOG 7
January 2010 N o 05 NETWORKING MADE EASY MEYER WERFT PROMOTES B2B RELATIONSHIPS The term networking is encountered today in many different contexts. Private persons and companies become members of usually Internet-based groups so-called Communities in order to make and maintain contacts with others which can bring private or commercial benefits. But what has all this got to do with MEYER WERFT? Quite simple: Since the beginning of 2008, we have been putting together a supplier database, in which we record the data on our shipyard suppliers, together with potential new suppliers. The front end of this database, the interface with these companies, takes the form of information provided by the companies themselves on the MEYER NEPTUN PORTAL. Another component of this portal is the Regional network, in which suppliers from a defined regional area can present themselves, their products and services. The new database already contains over 1,600 companies from 35 countries, of which more than 600 companies are regional networkers. The objective is to build up a strong network of regional and international companies for the market sector of the cruise industry, which will be of benefit to all. > Imprint Editor: MEYER WERFT GmbH Industriegebiet Süd D - 26871 Papenburg Materials Management/Purchasing Industriegebiet Süd D - 26871 Papenburg Tel. +49 (0)4961 / 81-0 Fax +49 (0)4961 / 81-94 02 99 Layout: eskalade werbeagentur GmbH info@eskalade.de www.eskalade.de Photos: MEYER WERFT, Ingrid Fiebak Fotografie, Hero Lang Further information How does it work? A supplier database is nothing new in itself every company has a similar procurement tool these days. The new feature of this database is the indexing of regional companies as networkers and the opening of this area to all participants. The aim of this function is to enable all members of the portal to search the network for regional suppliers with the aid of corresponding filters. This is particularly interesting for suppliers who are looking for assistance and support in the completion of their tasks at the shipyard. In this way, a long-standing supplier to the shipyard recently carried out a successful search in our Regional network for a company from the region which produces powder-coatings. Whether you are looking for coatings, electrical fitters or accommodation facilities for employees the network has already made many such contacts possible. We have already explained elsewhere how interested companies can register themselves for the MEYER NEPTUN PORTAL via our online supplier registration on, as well as which other functions can be found in the materials management/purchasing area of the portal. Companies who are already suppliers to the shipyard can also talk to their contact partner in Purchasing in order to be included in the portal. In this respect, it is particularly important for the shipyard suppliers from the region who also want to network regionally that they specify the products and services they offer in the self-disclosure of the portal, and keep this information up-to-date. Only in this way can they also be found in the regional network, and make contact with other companies without the intervention of MEYER WERFT. And best of all: membership in the MEYER NEPTUN PORTAL, and the consequent possibility of networking, is free although certainly not in vain!