OCEANKING aims to total customer satisfaction as well as to continuously meet or exceed customer expectations. How difficult is to fulfil your quality goals during the pandemic?

Let me start by saying that for us in OCEANKING total customer satisfaction means to identify and provide suitable solutions to address our customers’ needs, requirements and pain points.
In 32 years of OCEANKING as marine equipment representatives, our work starts by following
market trends and researching the market, so that we are in a position to support our customers during Newbuilding projects with suitable technologies. We then follow the vessel after delivery with claims handling and After Sales Support providing spare parts, training, service.
In order to ensure quality services, we identified the need to be involved in additional stages during the lifetime of a vessel. In this respect, shortly before the pandemic we extended our services to include:
• Newbuilding contracting: formed dedicated team to provide consultancy services on NB opportunities, technical & commercial negotiations, evaluation, and implementation of new green technology
• Engineering Services: formed dedicated team of highly skilled mechanical and electrical/ electronic engineers providing services onboard, such as commissioning, service, maintenance, annual surveys, system upgrade, remote troubleshooting, training for specific marine equipment (BWTS, HVAC, EGCS, LSA)
In addition, with the objective to help our customers improve their operations in the upcoming digital era, we launched an initiative offering digitalization solutions for vessel, machinery and engine performance.
Developing the above services during the pandemic was certainly an additional challenge we had to cope with, which we overcame using technology. Overall, we adapted our operations very quickly, so that we could work, safely and effectively, in a virtual environment. At the same time, for OCEANKING it was also an opportunity to reflect on our company and how we work. Our people and our relationship with customers and principals are key to our success, so these were areas we focused during the pandemic. We enhanced our portfolio of representations, we strengthened our communication towards our customers and worked together with our principals on targeted strategies for our market. Furhermore, we launched internal initiatives to develop our people, become more efficient and enhance collaboration between different departments.
Despite the circumstances during this pandemic, using technology as a tool and building on human relationships, OCEANKING became a stronger and tighter team, ready to meet our customer expectations in the post-covid era.

* General Manager OCEANKING Technical & Trading S.A.

The answer was provided for NAFS magazine issue 143 in its special report “WOMEN in SHEPPING”