Supplying the supply chain

From humble beginnings, Wrist Ship Supply has grown to become a true global leader with offices all over the world.

Wrist Ship Supply (WSS) has transitioned from a transactional and product focused company to a global sourcing and logistics partner with end-to-end solutions in the maritime space. In an industry traditionally characterized by supply chain complexities and inefficiencies, Wrist is pioneering a digital transformation with a suite of solutions and has launched Source2Sea – a ground-breaking business-to-business digital marketplace for the maritime supply industry.

Wrist is the world’s leading supplier of provisions and stores to ships and offshore (oil/gas and wind) customers. Today, Wrist has grown five-fold since Altor entered in 2007 and is more than twice the size of the second largest company in the industry.

Wrist is the only stores and provisions marine supplier with a global network of supply operations and is leading the digitalization agenda of the maritime supply industry. Wrist is a one-stop-shop for all provisions, consumables and services needed to thrive at sea. Wrist offers online sourcing and logistics globally, providing data transparency, automation, and convenience to customers.

To grasp the magnitude of this market, there are currently around 57,000 commercial, deep-sea ships in need of support. With an offering of more than 250,000 SKUs, Wrist supplies to more than a quarter of these ships every year across the globe. Spending on provisions and stores accounts for only 8% of a vessel’s annual operating costs, but procuring these 8% is a complex task accounting for ~50% of the procurement department’s time. Wrist’s global “single point of contact”-model simplifies the process and drives significant value-add for customers.

Jens Holger Nielse, Group CEO of WSS
“Efficient, convenient and value-for-money ship supply plays a paramount role in crew motivation and wellbeing of seafarers. Our continuous investments in digital innovation and sustainability ensure our customers’ safe and responsible daily operations.”

Altor and Wrist partnered in 2007 with the common goal of creating a clear industry leader and consolidate the highly fragmented market. Since Altor’s entry, the company has expanded both geographically and in the number of offerings to clients – both organically and through a total of 21 acquisitions.

During the partnership, Wrist has transformed from being a product supplier to becoming a true sourcing, logistics and solutions partner by adding services such as marine spare parts management, provisions budget management, and offshore supply. The global fleet size and the number of people employed at sea are very stable, which means that Wrist’s market for provisions and stores is equally stable and resilient.

Wrist has continuously focused on operational excellence and has emerged as the clear digital leader in the industry. To simplify the complex process of procuring provisions and stores and other consumables, such as chemicals and lubricants, at sea, Wrist has launched Source2Sea, the industry’s most ground-breaking business-to-business digital marketplace, making ship supply as easy to the customer as shopping at home. Wrist’s Source2Sea platform simplifies buying, makes pricing transparent, and facilitates informed decision-making through data analytics.

Wrist will continue to build on current offers and solutions and accelerate its position as the trusted ship supply and last-mile logistics partner.