Support for the Marine Trading Process

Click here to browse a model describing the overall marine trading process supported by MTML. The headings at the top of the columns describe key business roles played by participants in the process. Each column identifies process steps and decision points that are the responsibility of a specific business role. Roles may be filled by employees of the ship owner or delegated to partner companies.

For example, the buyer may be a shore-based person working for a large shipping company, or an agent working on behalf of several smaller shipping firms. A vendor may be a ship chandler for a specific port, or a manufacturer that handles certain technical components. The receiving agent may be on-board ship, or a port agent delegated financial authority by the shipping company. Regardless of the role distribution, the fundamental business process remains the same.

Version 1 of MTML supports all steps in this process up to when an order has been received and accepted by a vendor. All information flows are also supported, including communication of positive and negative acknowledgements at the key decision points. Delivery notification, invoicing and payments are being incorporated in an upcoming release of the standard.

MTML focuses on the key steps and events that occur in this process and does not impose a specific trading workflow. This allows greater flexibility to handle different situations and business conditions that may arise, such as the need for up-front payments, contract based ordering, etc.