The procurement subsidiary Marcas of V.Group has previously in principle only been available to customers of the sister company V.Ships, plus a small number of direct clients. That is now changing.
Marcas is now ready to offer its services to cruise and leisure operators outside V.Ships’ managed fleet, according to Per Bjornsen, CEO of V.Ships Leisure (pictured above, left).
“We have not done this before,” said Bjornsen. “Marcas has continuously developed its operating model and has grown significantly: more suppliers, more categories, more specialized providers and can deliver even better value for existing clients if more cruise lines become members. There is huge potential here.”
Martin Cunningham (pictured above, right) heads up Marcas and has category managers for specific verticals ranging from lubricants to hull coatings.
Cunningham said a cruise operator could potentially realize double-digit savings in certain OPEX spending categories.
With more than 1,000 ships as members, Marcas has significant negotiating power and has leveraged that for its aggregated client base, able to negotiate framework contracts and pre-agreed pricing and discounts with suppliers globally.
Among the categories that could lead to significant cost savings for a cruise line immediately, Cunningham pointed to lubricants, paints and coatings, and technical spares.
Now, Bjornsen said, the company wants to extend those benefits to small and mid-sized cruise lines that have historically lacked the volume to command comparable terms on their own.
“For smaller and medium-sized cruise lines or any cruise line operating globally, the volumes just aren’t there to match what the major lines can negotiate in Miami,” he said.
One key feature of the platform, Cunningham said, is its ability to eliminate requests for quotations, which involve time-consuming back-and-forth that burdens procurement teams and suppliers alike. This has been developed on the V.Group’s Digital Platform and will now be available for direct clients in 2026.
Rather than issuing RFQs for routine purchases, clients access live price lists across thousands of items, select from pre-vetted competing suppliers and complete transactions in a fraction of the time.
“We’re down to less than a day for some requisitions from start to finish,” Cunningham said. “It saves a huge amount of administration on both sides, for the client and for the vendor.”
The digital platform concept was initially tested and proven on V.Ships’ clients using the V.Group ERP, ShipSure and is now live..
A version for all members regardless of ERP is on track to be launch in the first half of this year.
Cruise lines do not need to wait for that rollout to get started as new clients can join today and begin accessing framework contracts and negotiated pricing for operational procurement immediately, with the digital platform to follow.
The company is also being deliberate about how new clients are onboarded. Rather than presenting the full range of 400 framework contracts at once, they work to identify the categories where each client will feel the benefit fastest.
“Identifying through benchmarking analysis reviews we can ensure a targeted approach,” Cunningham said. “We try to pinpoint two or three categories that suit the client best from day one, build confidence and proven benefits from the platform, and then grow from there.”
For most cruise operators, lubricants, paints and coatings, and technical spares are a natural starting point.
“It’s not all about clients, without suppliers we wouldn’t be anything,” Cunningham said.
Marcas provides vendors access to a significantly expanded client base, including drydock volumes that he described as a particularly compelling category for all suppliers.
“We’re not replacing clients procurement teams,” Cunningham said. “Moreover, we’re adding additional horsepower to their organization when they need it most.”
