Menno Barkmeijer works as an EAM consultant at Ultimate Maritime Logistics since January 2021. In this blog he talks about his work background, exactly what role he fulfills within the company and what he finds so interesting about his job
"I have about 25 years of experience in the asset management field. As a consultant, I know both sides of the table: I’ve worked as a consultant and as an end customer, working on both the business and the IT side of asset management. I was recruited by Ultimate Maritime Logistics because they wanted to strategically expand in the area of asset management. I was asked with the goal of setting up this 'new branch of business'. The interesting thing about asset management is that there is a lot to gain in this area for the customer. It's about how the assets perform; in terms of availability, costs and risk. It's not just IT; there is usually plenty to be gained in the areas of operations, asset information and improvement. When you manage this properly, you can really help the customer a lot. Lower costs and higher availability are directly reflected in the operating result."
"To be able to organize maritime logistics, you obviously need operating assets, such as cranes. It is therefore important that these critical assets are reliable and available. When maintenance has to be carried out on these cranes, it is important that the asset management department and the production planner have joint insight into the work schedule. My job is to translate the customer’s wishes into a working solution for asset management. This must connect seamlessly with the rest of the processes, so it must have an integration with operations, purchasing & inventory, projects, and finance. And that's quite a challenge. In the maritime logistics sector, it is important to be able to intervene quickly in the work schedule, because processes regularly run differently than planned. In terms of asset management, there is often room for improvement. My role is also to help the customer take their own process to the next level."
"I had no experience in the maritime industry, but that can be refreshing. In the meantime, I have built it up, as I have done a number of projects in the past year, such as in the port of Vlissingen for the company OVET. That was my first introduction to the maritime sector. Since I have experience in all kinds of other sectors, I can actually see earlier and better what apparently goes differently in maritime companies. I know what is usual in the field of asset management, so if things in the maritime logistics industry at a customer go differently than I’m used to, it stands out and I’m triggered to use my creativity."
"The nice thing about my job at Ultimate Maritime Logistics is that I have a broad role and that I can set up a new area of expertise within the company. The asset management part of the software that Ultimate Maritime Logistics uses is a new module that was acquired by Microsoft from a partner a few years ago. Until now, existing customers of Ultimate Maritime Logistics used a separate solution, where the asset management was not part of Microsoft D365. They can now replace this separate solution with something that is integrated into the product. The advantage for the customer is the avoidance of duplication of work, better connecting and more flexible processes and that all data can be found on one platform, for a better insight and audit trails".
"I expect that existing customers of Ultimate Maritime Logistics, who currently using a separate asset management solution, will start replacing it with an all-in-one solution in the near future. I see that Ultimate Maritime Logistics can also acquire new customers in the maritime logistics sector with their unique ERP solution."
"It's nice to work at a dynamic, relatively small club, such as Ultimate Maritime Logistics. I have worked at organizations of all sizes. What I’m experiencing now is that it’s challenging enough when you have to work with a small team to see a project through to completion. I can use my work experience with larger organizations to help Ultimate Maritime Logistics deal with projects with large customers."
Menno ends the interview: "Besides my work at Ultimate Maritime Logistics, I like to do sports. Tennis, mountain biking and surfing. I like to get outdoors. I’m coach of my son's tennis team. Together with my wife I live in Amersfoort and we have a son of 12, who is now in secondary school".
Want to know more about how Ultimate Maritime Logistics works? Then read on here.