Quantum’s Q-CMS™ product is a unique “Contribution Management System” designed for all brackets of transportation, from Liner Operators to forwarding companies. Using state-of-the-art technology, the Q-CMS™ is a web-based application that brings together a high degree of shipping knowledge, process management and technology.

The Q-CMS™ is a highly intelligent DSS and is the only such application available off-the-shelf, with complete configurability, flexibility and scalability. It can be applied just as easily for a small regional carrier as to a global top-10 brand, and has the ability to present accuracy of contribution within 0.5% of actual.

Transportation by sea is a low margin business, with a complex cost matrix that most operators grapple to control and identify with a high degree of accuracy. The fixed cost of operations is also driven strongly by external factors such as charters, ships, fuel and others, and this requires a sophisticated system to predict before transaction the potential result.

The Q-CMS™ has the following key modules:

• Cost Management                 (Standard)

For the first time, the shipping manager is able to project his costs prior activity, and provide for results monthly costs within 0.5 % just as the month closes.

Within the Cost Manager, the Q-CMS™ is able to present the user a broad range of operating variables, from a simple unit cost between locations (port-pairs), but also the complete projected variables for a budget or business plan. When interfaced with the documentation system, the Q-CMS™ is able to provide costs for a ports exports, a vessels entire load-list, a port’s variable in a period, costs basis the type of operation etc. The list is long and powerful.

• Contribution Management    (Standard)

For this module, the Q-CMS™ brings into play an evolved Revenue Manager, gives to the managers the bottom line down to the dollar and within 0.5% accuracy and once and for all eliminate nasty surprises and enable informed trade management.

 The Q-CMS™ can be configured to link to the operators pricing system to enable knowledge of yield before rates or contracts are signed, and also with each step in the revenue chain of events.

Simple database integration allows the Q-CMS™ to give out a stream of real-time information as bookings come in or the ships sail. The Q-CMS™ allows either on-screen viewing basis the users choice of parameters, or running of detailed reports.

The user may choose to select and include different cost groups such as “empty repositioning” or even highly advanced features like “taxation and administration” in order to get the closest view of the actual contribution to fixed costs.

Advances selection options allow the user to view contribution on a number of parameters, that can be entirely flexible and as per the users preference. These can be:

• A rate that is requested
• On a container that is moved or a shipment that is made
• The entire load from a port
• The entire volume to a port
• The Complete vessel carriage
• A Period, voyages or other group parameters
• Basis a customer on a box, BL, port-pair, commodity, period or other variable Etc.

 As highlighted below, the Q-CMS™ can also show  projected contribution for an entire business plan, a budget or an agent’s periodic throughput.

• Budget & Business Planning (Gold)

Should the user have a methodology for conducting       systematic budgeting and business planning, the  Q-CMS™ can with the aid of a simple interface or database sharing, import these figures and return a contribution to the budget and/or business plan.

The output can be viewed or analysed with inclusion or exclusion of the different cost groups, and the numbers may be simulated before confirmation. This practice would allow the user to have an excellent source of comparative data when measuring targets with actual results.

• Operating Results          (Premium)

 The Q-CMS™ has a “Fixed Cost Manager (FCM)” where the various operational costs of the services and containers can be included into the calculations, and a Result delivered in near real time. This is an exceptional value-add of the Q-CMS™ and is unique in its design and its creation.

Working with a high degree of automation and integration, the FCM manages the vessel fleet and port costs with a high degree of precision, while the container management is done through fixed field parameter entries.

At the end of each sailing, a vessel-voyage result may be generated, which is a great blessing for operators with this accounting methodology. For period related results, a task managed cut-off of all voyage closures and departures is taken to provide a highly accurate Operational (provisional) result.

• Reports and Analytics

The Q-CMS™ largely comprises of 3 main areas – the set-up and masters, the interfacing or integration with the users core operating system, and reports and analytics. The latter comprises a series of on-screen data extraction features, and advanced report-generation features that may be printed or extracted.

Quantum’s own flexible report tool or the clients choice of external report tool like COGNOS, Informatica, Business Objects or others may be programmed in. Quantum would program around these tools or our own, specific analysers to the clients requirements.

• Yield Management                (Q-YMS™)

 The Yield Management system is an advanced application (product) that works the Q-CMS™ (Contribution) along with the Q-COT™ (Capacity Management) to give the user a highly penetrative business intelligence tool.

 Working together, each of the two products (CMS & COT) are able to bring their strengths into play in delivering to the client a forward view of his business along with the potential gains or losses. This allows early and substantial action to attain best results rather than react to the impact of negative situations.

The Q-YMS™ once again, is unique in its creation, design and architecture and is a highly advanced tool that has application in the Liner, Short-Sea, Feeder and NVOCC business. Equally, it can be used by other non-fixed cost operators who wish to make long-range yield decisions.