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May June 2020 Marina World

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The magazine for the marina industry

INTELLIGENT MARINA

INTELLIGENT MARINA SYSTEMS Riding a new industry wave: managing from home with Marina Master Marina Master’s intelligent systems, designed specifically for marinas, are changing the way they are operated. The company’s cloud based platforms and agile development processes are helping marinas to stay ahead of the game. Changing tides The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced many marina operators to manage properties from home. Luckily, some countries and regions are already recovering as this issue of Marina World is being finalised. Marinas are already welcoming new and existing boaters while implementing all necessary social distancing precautions. Necessary changes have had a positive effect as well, as businesses have honed their operations by making use of advanced digital solutions. Boaters around the world have embraced a new reality by utilising mobile apps. They are eager to use personalised and automated solutions that enable them to monitor, dock on their own and review their statements on the go. Marinas are also aware that swift and regular communication between staff and customers significantly improves long term customer relationships. Marina Master systems enable owners, managers and staff members to manage a marina from home. Boaters can use myMarina mobile app to communicate with the marina, book a berth, pay invoices and review statements anywhere and anytime. “Visiting a marina shouldn’t be just an urgent duty to find a berth, fill up fuel and water tanks, but an unforgettable holiday experience,” says Marina Master CEO Vesna Pavlovic. A leap forward for all Marina owners and managers take advantage of having complete control and management capabilities in their home office. The personalised Marina Master interface can be adapted and customised for every marina, shipyard, boatyard and dry storage facility, enabling the user to inspect marina property in real time, manage berth occupancy, reservations, invoicing and agreements on a mobile app. By automating and streamlining the processes marinas increase productivity and income. Marina staff benefit from having a complete real time overview of customer data, reservations, notes, alarms and task management. All communication via app, email or text message is done on a single platform and is saved on a customer’s CRM tab. Enquiries, quotes, invoicing and contract signature are processed swiftly with a few taps on a smart device. Marina surveillance and dock walks are done automatically – either by CCTV or by using dock sensors. Customers can check in and plug in to shore power on their own in a Marina Master smart marina. As these time-consuming tasks are now automated and controlled remotely, marina staff can finally tend to their main objective: taking care of customers by supplying customised services and products. This is of the utmost importance in order to gain loyal and valuable customers. As a result, boaters have improved boating experience through the peace of mind of knowing that their expectations will be met. They are free and flexible in ordering services from the comfort of their boat or home. It’s all ‘app-ening’ in marinas Soldiers Point Marina in New South Wales was the first marina in Australia to implement Marina Master and take advantage of remote facility management. This has paid dividends in the current climate. “The Marina Master solution enabled our key office staff to work from home, keeping them safe during this difficult time while still ensuring the marina is running as normal. The software not only improves the day to day operations but is saving us thousands of dollars a year in operational costs,” says Soldiers Point marina manager Darrell Barnett CMM. Communicating and managing marina services remotely not only helps the owners but also the marina customers. “The Marina Master platform has driven the professional perception our customers have of our business through the innovative use of technology. This has been absolutely central to our ability to operate the marina remotely and without interruption during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Everything from responding to berth enquiries to billing runs and back-end financial reporting we’ve been able to facilitate from 44 www.marinaworld.com - May/June 2020

INTELLIGENT MARINA SYSTEMS home which has been terrific for the health and freedom of our staff whilst staying engaged with our existing and prospective customers,” says Scott Marshall, general manager, Breakwater Marina, Queensland. Moments of truth on a typical day in most marinas managed remotely start when new or existing customers visit. Marina staff essentially respond a few days before the customer is expected to arrive, adopting all necessary new social distancing measures. An auto email is sent to the customer with a myMarina registration link. The customer can view the berth on the marina map and once docked, just clicks on the check-in button. A meter is automatically assigned to the berth and notification is sent to marina staff to advise that the customer has docked and checked-in. This allows staff to click on the berth (web or app) to view a live feed of the camera that covers the specific berth to check that the customer has docked in the correct place. Staff then call the customer to welcome him and advise on where he can pick up his preprogrammed access fob. This can be located in a secure lock box near the gate of the jetty or potentially on the pedestal next to the berth. The customer can always check information about available services in the myMarina app. Delivery orders for restaurant or chandlery items can be placed and automatically invoiced to account. World class service provider Gold Coast City Marina & Shipyard (GCCM) has also automated the majority of its manual operational processes via Marina Master. “The Marina Master team know their business well which helps with timely updates and system developments that we can efficiently roll out to benefit the customer experience,” says general manager Luke McCaul. Marina Master has also made a breakthrough on the other side of the Pacific Ocean – in North America. Ocean Havens, a group of marinas in the New England area, has taken charge of implementing the latest state of the art modules to manage marinas remotely. The marina group is forwardthinking and its main objective was to automate reservations management, eliminate dependence upon individuals and to provide all functionalities on mobile devices. “We wanted that the Out on the water: the Marina Master team has 28 years of experience in developing marina management software and shares a love of the open sea. system could be as “future proof” and flexible as possible and the Marina Master program has exceeded in all our expectations,” says regional manager Kevin Lussier CMM. It’s also all ‘app-ening’ in Europe where Marina Master is helping to boost marina management intelligent solutions at D-Marin Portonovi Marina, Montenegro. “We implemented Marina Master [just a short] while ago but already see its huge advantages. The reliability and Smart specifications are making remote controlling very simple. Everything is just a click away and very easy to access. This software gives us an opportunity to interact with customers through CRM, and to refine internal communications,’’ says manager Nikola Banovic, CMM. Consulting approach Marina Master’s agile support and development team is guided by professionalism and expert knowledge. Benefiting from 28 years of experience in providing advanced marina management software solutions worldwide, the team sees consulting as an important part of implementation and support. “We always listen to each customer’s need and utilise requests to create a custom-tailored solution,” Pavlovic confirms. Consulting on best practices in marinas worldwide is also undertaken via the Marina Master Academy, which is currently conducting a free webinar series on ‘How to Manage a Marina from Home’. “Every experience with our customer is a goldmine for our strategy,” says Marina Master president and owner, Tone Britovsek. www.marina-master.com www.marinaworld.com - May/June 2020 45

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