New management for Wilhelmsen Ship Spares centre

The centre is said to represent the hub of Wilhelmsen’s recently-launched Ships Spares Logistics service. Bennfeldt, who has had many years experience of logistics and freight forwarding, will set up and manage the coordination of a ships spares provision service, claimed to be “a one of its kind” within the ship services industry.

The freight forwarding centre (FFC), based at Sittensen, near Hamburg in Germany, is the worldwide hub of the company’s whole ships spares operation. Bennfeldt explains: “Ships spares are moved efficiently from the depot around the world. Wilhelmsen Ships Service employees across the company’s 318 offices in 72 countries share a universal company culture which cuts across local cultural differences via over 30 customer service locations, so our staff deal with shipping customers in their own time zone and in their own language.”

“Wilhelmsen Ships Service also has the ability to transport spares directly on board vessels, the so called ‘last mile’ of delivery,” he adds. “Most other freight forwarding companies deliver to the nearest airport, or to a local warehouse, but they normally do not have permission to enter the port, and therefore they have to sub-contract this operation. Wilhelmsen Ships Service has ISPS agents in 2,200 ports around the world, all linked to a central database through our sophisticated IT systems. I can monitor progress of a spare part in the freight forwarding centre in Germany from the factory door right up to delivery to the chief engineer on board the vessel.”

In addition to maritime logistics, Wilhelmsen Ships Service also supplies Unitor marine products, technical services and ships agency services.