Business case: Damen Shipyards
How Damen Shipyards maintains global control over service logistics
Every minute counts at Damen Shipyards. With more than 35 shipyards across five continents and a service organisation supplying parts to vessels in over 160 countries, downtime is not an option. Every day, dozens of shipments depart for destinations all over the world.
Through the Select Courier platform, Damen Shipyards gains global visibility, speed and control — keeping their service logistics running smoothly.
Building and maintaining on a global scale
Damen Shipyards is an international shipbuilding group. In addition to its well-known newbuild division, the company operates a rapidly growing Service & Maintenance division that supplies spare parts to existing vessels worldwide. This is where logistics plays a central role.
“Around 90 to 95 per cent of our shipments via Select Courier come from the Service division,” explains Dimos Moschatsis, Manager Transport Coordination, who oversees the company’s global logistics shipping process. “This division demands speed, flexibility and visibility.”
The challenge: speed and oversight
With dozens of shipments leaving each day across multiple continents, maintaining oversight is top priority.
“If a vessel is out of operation, it costs a huge amount of money — especially if it’s somewhere in South America, or when a client in Japan is waiting for a part,” says Moschatsis.
Without the platform, the process would be manual: multiple portals, individual quotes, and unclear lead times.
“You’d spend hours searching, calling, comparing — without ever having a clear picture of the costs or transit times.”
“We want to work as intelligently and efficiently as possible — more data-driven, less dependent on individual links in the chain. Select Courier gives us transparency, efficiency, and the right management insights.”
The solution: control and results in one central shipping platform
The decision to implement the Select Courier platform was a strategic one.
“When you’re dealing with dozens of dynamic service shipments per day to more than 160 countries — ranging from a small box to a pallet or crate — you need oversight: one environment where users can act quickly and independently.”
“I often call it the Trivago of logistics: you get a list of carriers, ranked by price and transit time. Then you choose — cheaper but slower, or slightly more expensive and faster. Real-time data helps us make smarter decisions. That’s the real benefit: we work deliberately and cost-efficiently.”
“You can always rest assured that you’ve made the right cost-based decision.”
Damen Shipyards can also integrate its own carrier contracts into the platform, maintaining full control.
“We book shipments, compare prices, and generate documentation — all in one place.”
The integration process runs smoothly as well.
“We simply introduce our carriers to Select Courier, and they handle the connection. I don’t have to get involved. That saves a lot of time, especially when setting up and maintaining a system like this.”
Supporting multiple departments
Other departments such as Procurement and Sales also use the platform — for quotations, smarter purchasing decisions, and planning import/export shipments. The use is broad and strategic.
“We’ve provided accounts for colleagues across several departments,” Moschatsis explains. “They can enter dimensions and addresses, and instantly see a list of carrier options with prices and transit times. That helps them create sharper offers based on up-to-date data.”
The platform also plays a role in purchasing decisions.
“If a supplier in Japan says: the product costs €1,000 and transport €500, we can verify that ourselves through the platform. Sometimes we find it’s cheaper to arrange transport directly through Select Courier. In those cases, we skip the supplier’s logistics and handle it ourselves.”
Knowledge partner in a dynamic international market
International regulations are constantly changing — with direct impact on daily logistics.
“They’re also a kind of knowledge centre,” says Moschatsis. “For instance, we get push notifications about changes in customs or export rules. That keeps us informed before problems arise. Sometimes they’re even quicker than traditional carriers in sharing such updates. It makes it easier for us to have the right conversations with our own carriers — to ask: how are we going to handle this?”
Partnership: fast response, building together
Damen Shipyards views Select Courier not just as a tool, but as a partner.
“We’re in direct contact with their developers. The communication is very open — you quickly reach the right people because it’s not a large, impersonal organisation. You’re genuinely heard, they think along with you, and they act quickly. It’s a very pleasant way to work.”
That flexibility also extends beyond the platform itself.
“If we don’t have a contract with a specific carrier but want to use them because they’re strong in a certain region, we just call Select Courier and it’s arranged. That gives us fast, flexible access to alternative carriers — without having to negotiate ourselves.”
“Without a shipping profile, you can’t create a good quote. Thanks to this platform, we have that insight — and we can steer based on data.”
The result: insight and impact
Integrating Select Courier into Dampen Shipyards’ operations has delivered significant benefits:
Reduced manual work and greater visibility for better decision-making
Time savings and higher efficiency across shipping processes
Direct management information for strategic choices
Data-driven control, including insight into costs, transit times and CO₂ emissions per shipment
“With a single click, I can see how many shipments we’ve made, of which type, and through which carriers. If one carrier stands out, I can challenge another: take another look at your price or service,” says Moschatsis.
The platform also supports long-term strategic decision-making. As a former business analyst, Moschatsis understands the value of data.
“Data is not a goal in itself — it only becomes valuable when you can use it to make better decisions. And this platform gives me exactly that.”
Looking ahead
Together with Select Courier, Damen Shipyards is exploring a future integration between the shipping platform and its ERP system. This will enable even greater automation and further streamline logistics processes.
The Damen Shipyards story demonstrates that even within a large, complex international organisation, logistics can be simple, smart, and data-driven — transparent, efficient and fully under control.
SCHEDULE A FREE DEMO
DISCOVER WHAT SELECT COURIER CAN DO FOR YOU
Our shipping platform can be customised to meet your every need. From delivering your packages with increased speed and reliability to operating your business more efficiently. Schedule a demo to see how you can:
- Ship all your deliveries within just a few clicks.
- Manage your entire logistics process in one place.
- Seamlessly integrate with your current software.
- Access analytics and reports for better decision-making
SCHEDULE A FREE DEMO
DISCOVER WHAT SELECT COURIER CAN DO FOR YOU
Our shipping platform can be customised to meet your every need. From delivering your packages with increased speed and reliability to operating your business more efficiently. Schedule a demo to see how you can:
- Ship all your deliveries within just a few clicks.
- Manage your entire logistics process in one place.
- Seamlessly integrate with your current software.
- Access analytics and reports for better decision-making
