Small teams & high pace: Still time to make the right decisions
For a commercial operator, good decisions are rarely about having more people. They are about having better options at the exact moment a decision needs to be made.
That is the reality for Weco Bulk.
Operating a fleet of 25-40 vessels at any time, Weco runs at a high pace. There is no inhouse procurement department. No technical team dedicated to cleaning. No port captains sitting ashore with local knowledge. The operations team carries that responsibility themselves, voyage by voyage.
In that setup, operators need to juggle many areas, and speed of information becomes the priority.
Trading visibility & options for timely decisions
Before CleanQuote, cleaning-related decisions at Weco were handled much like they are at many lean commercial operators.
Operators asked colleagues in the office for input, relied on their own experience, trusted local agents, and often used the same suppliers each time for convenience and trust. It was a pragmatic way of working. Getting clean on time is the priority, and it worked well enough.
The tradeoff was visibility and options.
“We relied on experience, trusted agents, and suppliers we knew would deliver. It allowed us to move fast, but it also meant limited visibility. In practice, that makes it hard to know whether you are choosing the best option. As operators, we want to make the right choice – but we have to act fast.”
Benjamin Riber, Senior Operations Manager
Enter CleanQuote: More options, less time spent chasing
That dynamic changed when CleanQuote was introduced.
Instead of depending on memory or past jobs, every operator gained access to real options across ports and services. Shore gangs, hold cleaning supplies, and underwater services could all be requested in one place, reaching a trusted global supplier network.
For the first time, the question was no longer “who did we use last time?” but “what are our options right now?”
“What changed for me was having options immediately. Instead of thinking about who to call or what we did last time, I can see what’s available for this voyage and decide from there. Sometimes it’s about cost, sometimes it’s about speed. The point is that I can choose,” says Benjamin Riber.
Quotes on CleanQuote come back structured and comparable, allowing operators to decide based on what mattered most in that situation. Sometimes that meant saving money. Other times it meant saving time or avoiding operational risk. The constant was having a real choice.
As Weco expanded its use of CleanQuote, this approach moved beyond individual spot decisions. With the introduction of Automated Hold Cleaning Inventory ROB, operators also gained clearer visibility into onboard inventory earlier in the voyage.
Instead of searching through inboxes for outdated Excel files, operators now have one place to go for an up-to-date inventory list including cargo-specific recommendations for what may be required to restock, and where to do it on the current voyage.
For example, if the master marks the HP machine as “Broken” in the middle of a voyage, the system automatically flags the change and notifies the operator to review it.
This makes it easier to act proactively, choose better ports for resupply, and reduce last-minute purchases.
Better decisions without adding effort
For Weco, the real value was that CleanQuote did not feel like another system. It simply fit right into the operator’s day-to-day work.
Operators send a request, review quotes, make a decision, and move on.
ROB is automatically collected, and recommendations or significant changes in inventory are sent to the operator with no extra effort.
The result is a workflow that lets a lean team like Weco’s have access to a global network of vetted of suppliers as well as valuable industry experience based on historical data, which used to be something only the shipping giants could do.
By reducing time spent chasing quotes and second-guessing suppliers, operators can focus on the pre-stowage plan, bunker planning, and cargo intake optimization. Where the real value is created.
CleanQuote’s AI-Powered Automated ROB Summary
Built for operators without a big setup
Weco’s setup is typical for many commercial operators.
Teams are small, the pace is high, and there is limited appetite for heavy systems that require training, maintenance, or internal ownership. In this environment, tools need to support how operators already work.
By giving operators access to the best options at the right time, CleanQuote helps teams like Weco operate with the confidence and efficiency of a much larger organization.
Curious to try the solution that let Weco make better decisions without more effort? Join 50+ operators and get free access today.
About Weco Bulk
Weco Bulk is a privately owned commercial dry bulk operator focused on chartering and operating vessels in the Handysize and Supramax segments. Headquartered in Rungsted north of Copenhagen, Weco operates a fleet of approximately 25–40 vessels at any given time, trading globally across major dry bulk markets. The company is known for its agile setup and commercially driven operating model.
