Dockwise: Outsourcing Ship Management Services

The case describes the outsourcing of operations by Dockwise, a shipping company specialized in heavy transport over sea and serving customers in the oil and gas industry. It provides students with an insight into contract and supplier management in a capital intense industry. Students will experience how to outsource actual operations and how to put this into an effective contract and relationship. In addition, students will learn that business outsourcing needs to be in line with a company’s overall strategy and objectives to become effective. The additional component that can be addressed includes trust and commitment: how a contractor and a supplier wish to develop a relationship and what control needs to be in place.