BunkerPlanner, a bunker procurement optimisation tool that enhances productivity and makes it possible to reduce total bunker expenditure, has integrated with Dataloy’s application programming interface (API) to further optimise the bunker procurement process for customers.

Fuel costs make up nearly 60 per cent of a vessel’s operating costs and there is immense pressure to reduce the cost of bunkering. Because profit margins in the shipping business are often in the single digits, even a modest reduction in overall bunker costs would have a marked impact on the bottom line. According to BunkerMetric, the company that created BunkerPlanner, reducing bunker costs can be a critical step in creating and sustaining competitive advantage.

Bunker procurement is complex and professionals are under intense time pressure daily. They rely on rules of thumb – such as purchasing only at a handful of traditional bunkering ports – to mitigate this complexity.

However, with increasing environmental regulations, price volatility, and new fuel grades, these rules of thumb may lead to uneconomical decisions. A proper evaluation of all the relevant bunkering alternatives might save tens of thousands of dollars on a single voyage, yet in most cases, these alternatives will go unexplored.

BunkerPlanner’s advanced algorithms collect all necessary data and crunch through hundreds of alternative procurement plans. The top alternatives are then presented to the planners, who have the discretion to refine the plan using an intuitive web-based user interface. The result is the best of both worlds – enabling planners to make better decisions based on their considerable expertise, while BunkerPlanner’s algorithms ensure an unbiased and consistent assessment of all attractive fueling alternatives.

Fernando Alvarez, co-founder and CTO of BunkerMetric, said: “Integrating BunkerPlanner with the Dataloy API was very straightforward. After going through a few examples with the Dataloy team, we were able to begin extracting voyage and vessel properties from Dataloy into our own application back-end. The Dataloy API opens up a plethora of opportunities for third-party applications to leverage the VMS and create additional value to vessel operators.”

BunkerMetric intends that the integration with Dataloy will further facilitate the process by expediting the use of the latest vessel and voyage information stored in the client’s VMS. BunkerPlanner automatically exports the chosen bunkering plans for further processing in Dataloy VMS. This integration will help the customers to unlock the value of an optimised procurement process through strategic sourcing, helping in cost optimisation, bunker procurement savings, and reducing business risk and volatility.

“The fragmented nature of today’s shipping industry creates a complex landscape and presents unique challenges that the industry must overcome to maximise revenue,” said Hege Jacobsen, CEO Dataloy Systems. “Bunker procurement is an area of huge cost for a shipping company with decisions based on heuristics. Bunker Planner is a great addition to our list of integrations of bunker procurement and other applications.

We hope our customers can benefit from these integrations and meet their business needs. Dataloy would like to wish BunkerMetric luck and look forward to continued co-operation.”