Oslo, Norway - November 2001 - Upon the instruction of MarineProvider ASA, US based Consultancy firm Fastwater has conducted a market survey on the existing and expected use of e-procurement systems. The survey polled more than 150 ship operating and owning companies and was conducted with personnel in senior and middle management positions.

"This study reflects a growing awareness by the industry that e-procurement has considerable value," says Collin Lewis, CEO of MarineProvider ASA.

A high level requirement from many of the respondents of the survey is full integration into specialist shipping software systems such as AMOS and ShipNet. MarineProvider is the only e-procurement vendor in the market to date offering a full integration solution into both AMOS and ShipNet, having software adaptors pre-installed in both of the latest versions of these products.

A main concern was financial stability of e-Procurement vendors. One of the respondents said his company will only adopt e-procurement when they can be sure that the e-procurement vendor will be there for the long term. Collin Lewis added to this: "I would even strongly urge any potential user to carry out thorough due diligence of the e-procurement vendor, to get audited accounts, and to talk to their backers. Users invest time and money in their e-Procurement solution, so they should be sure that the vendor has the financial wherewithal to support the product during the life cycle of the contract". "MarineProvider's investors have helped our users know that we have that stability", he added. To date, MarineProvider is the only public listed marine e-procurement company and is totally transparent with finances. MarineProvider produces quarterly financial reports and fully discloses an annual report.

One of the main question marks amongst respondents was whether e-Procurement will actually save money. According to the survey, professional buyers are clearly focused on the primary objective of finding the best products and services for the best prices. "With their eyes on the bottom line, they also want to find ways to reduce the process costs associated with purchasing", says Collin Lewis, CEO of MarineProvider ASA. "This is where e-procurement will be of the ultimate benefit -
e-procurement has the ability to streamline the entire process".

A copy of the survey can be obtained at the contact details below.

For further information contact:

Nathaly Schoenmaker
Marketing Manager
MarineProvider AS
Tel: +47 67 200 350
Fax: +47 67 200 351
E-mail: marketing@marineprovider.com