Gold Magazine June - July 2013, Issue 27 | Page 76

CYPRUS SHIPPING DIRECTORY SUPERNOVA CONSULTING Kyriacos Stylianides Managing Director T he island’s shipping industry has been a major contributor to the local economy for several decades now. In your experience, have Cyprus-based shipping companies kept up with the latest technology and business solutions? Shipping companies have only started to implement the latest technology in recent years, especially business solutions such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), BI (Business Intelligence) and Mobility. Actually, this is something we have noticed in other regions and countries. They have relied mainly on in-house developed applications and localized solutions rather than international vendors’ solutions. However, during the last 4-5 years we have seen local shipping companies investing in the latest business solutions. This is a trend that we, within the SAP ecosystem, have experienced not only internationally but also in several other segments of the Logistics & Transport industry including Liners and Freight Forwarding companies. What kind of services do you provide to the shipping industry here? Supernova Consulting is a Gold SAP channel partner and probably the largest in Cyprus. The offering of our solutions and services is mainly SAP related including business applications consulting – services covering the full scope of a business software implementation, from business processes analysis & consulting to implementation and support. Our business applications and technology solutions offering for the Shipping industry includes: • Business applications including ERP covering mainly Financial & Cost Accounting, Procurement and Billing, Human Resource management & payroll and CRM • Analytics, including BI, Planning & Consolidation and Risk Management Are ship owning/ship management companies in any way different from the other firms to which you provide business and IT solutions? If so, how much of a challenge is it for you to give them what they need? For Supernova Consulting, the local ship owning and ship management industry is a strategic industry. We have been servicing this industry since 2009, counting a number major key players. High-profile companies are international by nature, they have high expectations and require nothing but the best services offering and support they can get. The level of professionalism that we have seen in the shipping companies, and the bonds of this business community, are something unique. We are glad to be part of this industry and, as an associated member of the CSC (Cyprus Shipping Chamber), we contribute in different ways in the local industry. Have you seen any negative effect of the recent economic/banking crises in Cyprus on your clients’ businesses and planning or is now the time when they should take advantage of a company such as yours in order to gain a competitive edge? We have not seen anything negative for the time being at least. On the contrary, we have been experiencing growth and our business solutions offering is becoming an integral part of our shipping clients’ success by improving operational efficiency, reducing costs, helping them identify new opportunities and providing 74 Gold THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS SUPERNOVA CONSULTING LTD Supernova Consulting Ltd is the first SAP channel partner that has achieved Gold SAP channel partner status in Cyprus and it offers SAP Business All-in-One, SAP Business Objects and SAP Business One solutions. This is the highest level of recognition attainable within the SAP PartnerEdge™ program. Supernova’s team of certified management consultants, ERP consultants, IT consultants and qualified accountants – with local and international project experience – offers affordable, personalized, professional services and IT solutions to accelerate business performance. real time information for accurate decision support making. Cash flow position & projection, budgeting, planning and risk management are now more critical than ever for shipping companies. Having worked with a number of Cyprus shipping companies, what is your overall assessment of the shipping industry’s future? In our opinion, Cyprus shipping companies have been a vital part of the local economy and society. We strongly believe that shipping is one of the key and strategic industries in Cyprus that can support and drive the economy out of the current economic environment. The international shipping industry has been facing difficulties in recent years. While there have been recent signs of improvement, it might need some more time to recover and when it does, it will be a major boost for the local economy as well. CONTACT DETAILS SUPERNOVA CONSULTING 34 Arch. Makarios III Ave., Off 301, CY-3065 Limassol, Cyprus Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.supernova-consulting.com