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ILSMart
http://www.ilsmart.com

Longest-running online purchasing system for ship supplies

Inventory Locator Service (ILS) is almost certainly the longest running aviation and maritime procurement site on the Internet. It was founded in 1979 offering an electronic marketplace for the aviation industry. A marketplace for the maritime industry was added in 1989. ILSMart continues to prove it is possible for online businesses to make profits, making $12m profits on revenues of $28m in the year 2000.

The ILSmart model is a very straightforward one. Maritime suppliers, in a range of different categories (e.g. maintenance, engine parts, geographical location) can publish directories of what they have in stock, including inventory levels, on the ILSmart site. They take responsibility for maintaining and updating their directories. Suppliers can go into the site and look for what they need. Over 600 companies are currently signed up to use the system, both on the buying and selling side.

If the buyers can find what they need in the location where they need it, they can send e-mail to the supplier (or various suppliers) and negotiate the deal privately from there, by telephone or e-mail. If they cannot find what they need, they can write "flash" messages, known as message broadcasts, which then flash up on all of the supplier's screens next time they log onto the system.

One of the major applications for the system is shipping companies looking for a supplier in a certain port, possibly somewhere where the vessel has not called before and the shipping company does not have any existing contacts. Another major application is for purchasers to find special parts which are proving difficult to get hold of.

ILS is continuing to develop its online “Contact to Contract” initiative that enables users to complete their transactions on-line. The latest development means that communication can be via the ILS Exchange, eliminating the need for excess phone calls. Customers will eventually be able to conduct negotiations and fulfill their purchases online, with all the information readily available, reducing paper and data copying wastage.