ClearLynx
The One-Stop Navigator for Bunker Management

For the fuel procurement manager of an ocean freight operator from Stamford CT, it was a relatively peaceful day until his desk phone rang. An approaching storm resulted in the change of course for one of the vessels sailing across the Mediterranean Sea. The planned bunker refueling port needed to be changed. ClearLynx helped the purchasing manager efficiently link and evaluate other ports’ physical suppliers, compare fuel price, delivery options, and order fuel to avoid any delay in the vessel’s voyage.

ClearLynx is a leading fuel-management platform provider from Stamford, CT. The users of ClearLynx can leverage the vast database that the marine fuel management platform offers and search for a suitable fuel distributor from their smartphones, even in unknown territories. “What we offer is a market-neutral platform that helps everybody in the industry to work online with lesser friction with best-of-class processes and templates to support a standardized procurement system,” says Gerry Van Geyzel, CEO, ClearLynx.

It was Van Geyzel’s extensive experience as a fuel broker that exposed him to challenges in the bunker market. Fuel procurement became more complex and needed technology to reduce pain points. He says, “Being a fuel broker since the ’80s and having witnessed the technological evolution and market fragmentation on the buying and selling side of recent years, I wanted to leverage technology to streamline the marine fuel procurement process that is followed all around the world.” Concerns like the disparity between buyers and distributors, volatile fuel price, and a lack of information prompted Van Geyzel to find a simplified, economical alternative for the prevalent fuel procurement process, which has multiple stakeholders.

Our solution can be used as a ‘platform with a service,’ as the software comes embedded with all the necessary data

The company’s proprietary Bunker Platform allows companies to overcome the hurdles of high costs, time-intensiveness, and inefficiencies that have weighed on the industry. It streamlines the planning of procurement-to-pay process with standardized workflows. The vendors would get the RFQ via e-mail, and they can log onto ClearLynx and negotiate in a traditional way. “Our solution can be used as a ‘platform with a service,’ as the software comes embedded with all the necessary data—ports, suppliers, and prices,” says Van Geyzel.

ClearLynx is getting validation from all vessel segments and especially tramp operators who travel around hundreds of ports. The ever-evolving, the plug-and-play platform can fully integrate with third-party software for further customization to satisfy the owner’s needs. Notably, in the light of IMO 2020, which restricts marine sector emissions in international waters from Jan 1st, 2020, ClearLynx’s Bunker Platform will assist ship owners and suppliers in reducing risks and meeting the new challenges to supply and procure.

Van Geyzel says, “ClearLynx is focusing on recent technologies and our potential in solving issues that the maritime sector faces using multiple dimensions of information and digitalization.”