Splash247: Marcura closes procurement-to-payment loop with new platform

Published by Splash247

Dubai-based maritime technology group Marcura has launched an end-to-end procure-to-pay platform, bringing its ShipServ procurement network, invoice processing, compliance and MarTrust payments into a single workflow.

The new Procure-to-Pay solution covers the process from supplier onboarding and purchasing through invoice validation, approvals and final settlement, with Marcura looking to tackle the fragmented systems still used by many shipowners and managers across procurement and finance.

The launch is the clearest integration yet of ShipServ since Marcura acquired the maritime procurement platform in 2023. ShipServ today connects more than 11,000 vessels and provides the procurement layer for the new offering.

Procure-to-Pay gives suppliers a single verified profile across Marcura and combines bank account verification with sanctions screening. Active suppliers are subsequently re-screened daily.

Invoices are processed using AI-based data extraction and four-way matching against purchase orders, delivery notes and goods receipts, with anomaly detection used to flag discrepancies before payment.

Once approved, payments are handled through Marcura’s regulated fintech arm MarTrust, with the platform selecting payment rails and providing payment status back into the same workflow. Marcura said payments can be settled in more than 130 currencies, with 99% succeeding on the first attempt.

“Marcura sits across every stage of the workflow from procurement and supplier collaboration through to compliance, fraud checks and payment execution,” said group chief executive Henrik Hyldahn.

“That vantage point is what let us see how much this gap was costing our customers and build something that closes it end to end rather than patching one part of the process.”

The platform also maintains a single audit trail covering the process from purchase order through to settlement.

Marcura said it has prevented $14m in attempted fraud since 2014 through its compliance processes, which include counterparty, sanctions, ownership and bank account checks.

The new system is already being used across a 120-vessel fleet and is being introduced to Marcura customers during SMM in Hamburg this week ahead of a wider rollout.

Marcura bought ShipServ for an undisclosed sum three years ago in a deal designed from the outset to combine the procurement platform with Marcura’s payments and compliance capabilities. The group has continued to expand since then, adding vessel management software specialist VesselMan and claims businesses HubSE and Shipdem to its portfolio.

Earlier this year Marcura also launched a dedicated husbandry platform targeting procurement and cost control around non-commercial port calls.