International Marine Purchasing Association

What International Marine Purchasing Association does

International Marine Purchasing Association (IMPA) is a UK-registered non-profit membership association founded in 1978 to serve the marine procurement and supply chain profession. Headquartered in Colchester, Essex, IMPA represents more than 1,100 member companies across 90+ countries, with its purchaser members collectively responsible for over 6,000 vessels — more than 10% of the global fleet. The organisation operates a five-pillar portfolio: Insights (IMPA Insight Centre, Members' Directory, BLOG, CAST podcast, and Supply Chain and Sustainability Magazine); Sustainability (IMPA ACT, IMPA SAVE, IMPA Green Business Bureau, and the 2024-launched IMEF emissions initiative); Networking (IMPA London, Hamburg, Athens, and Singapore exhibitions); Education (the IMPA Foundation Course for Maritime Procurement launched September 2025); and the Marine Stores Guide (MSG), the world's leading maritime product reference, covering approximately 70% of the market with a proprietary six-digit code system stable for nearly 40 years.

IMPA's core technology assets include the MSG book (8th edition, 2024), MSG Data Licence, MSG Online Service, MSG API for third-party integration, and the IHM Relevancy Check service. The business model is a diversified non-profit funding base: annual membership subscriptions (£184/year for purchasers, £345/year for corporate purchasers), MSG print and digital product sales, exhibition VIP packages and sponsorships across four global cities, advertising in the seasonal Supply Chain and Sustainability Magazine, and paid online education. Members access 1,000+ industry reports, 20+ annual events, and discounts across partner organisations including Lloyd's List Intelligence, the Nautical Institute, and the UK Ports Conference. Customer segments are horizontal and two-sided — ship-owners/operators/managers on the demand side, and maritime suppliers/manufacturers on the supply side — with go-to-market executed through regional ambassadors, digital content, and in-person exhibitions.

The organisation is governed by a Council of member representatives and led by Susan Wraae Koefoed (Chair and CEO) and Stephen Alexander (Secretary General and COO), supported by an eight-person secretariat covering sustainability, digital media, networking/events, commercial, client services, and membership liaison. IMPA holds no external investment, has no parent company, and is not publicly traded; all revenues are reinvested into the association's programmes and initiatives.

Name

International Marine Purchasing Association

Legal name

International Marine Purchasing Association

Website

https://impa.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

International Marine Purchasing Association is an association for marine purchasing and supply professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Industry Association Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

akta.pro primary industry

Classification Society & Flag-State Liaison / Plan Approval Support (IMAJAGAN)

Keywords

• Maritime procurement services
• Marine supply chain management
• Marine stores guide
• Maritime membership association
• Shipping industry sustainability

Headquarters

HQ city

Colchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Purchaser Membership: Annual membership fees for companies with up to 5 individuals from manufacturing or supply of goods and services to maritime.
2. Marine Stores Guide (MSG) Products: Sales of MSG Book (8th edition), Data Licence (digital version updated every 6 months), and Online Service access for searching 50,000+ products. Members receive 10% discount.
3. Events and Exhibitions: Revenue from world-leading exhibitions including IMPA London, and sister events in Hamburg, Athens, and Singapore. Includes VIP attendee packages with 20% member discount.
4. Supply Chain and Sustainability Magazine Advertising: Advertising opportunities in the official IMPA publication circulated to all members and stakeholders in the supply chain.
5. Education Programmes: Revenue from online maritime procurement courses and professional development programmes.
6. Purchaser Membership: Annual membership fees for ship-owning, ship-operating and ship-managing companies. Provides access to IMPA resources, networking events, discounts on products and initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

IMPA is a non-profit membership association that serves maritime purchasers and suppliers through five pillars: insights (Insight Centre, Members' Directory, blog, podcast, magazine), sustainability programmes (IMPA ACT, IMPA SAVE, IMEF, Green Business Bureau), networking events (IMPA London, Athens, Hamburg, Singapore), education (IMPA Foundation Course for Maritime Procurement), and the Marine Stores Guide (MSG) — the world's leading product reference source for maritime purchasing. Its core commercial outputs are annual membership subscriptions, MSG products (book, data licence, online service), and event/exhibition attendance.

Product overview

International Marine Purchasing Association operates a multi-pillar membership organization rather than a single unified product. The portfolio comprises: (1) Knowledge & Insights products including the IMPA Insight Centre, Members' Directory, BLOG, CAST podcast, and Supply Chain and Sustainability Magazine; (2) Sustainability initiatives including IMPA ACT (responsible supply chain management), IMPA SAVE (sustainable solutions), IMPA Green Business Bureau (supplier evaluation), and the new IMEF (environmental footprint calculation); (3) Networking events including IMPA London, Singapore, Athens, and Hamburg exhibitions and conferences; (4) Education including the new IMPA Foundation Course for Maritime Procurement (launched 2025); and (5) Marine Stores Guide (MSG) comprising the printed book (8th edition), Data Licence, Online Service, and IHM Relevancy Check. These products serve maritime purchasers and suppliers across procurement, supply chain, sustainability, and professional development needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IMPA ACT: Responsible supply chain management initiative helping companies leverage best practice to meet minimum global standards for social sustainability.
• IMPA SAVE
• IMPA Green Business Bureau
• Marine Stores Guide (MSG)
• IMPA Education

Products and services

• IMPA Insight Centre Online resource library providing IMPA members with 24/7 access to a continuous flow of research papers, reports, how-to guides and best practice documents for the maritime procurement sector.
• IMPA Members' Directory Comprehensive online directory of over 1,000 maritime purchasers and suppliers from 90+ countries, updated daily, providing real-time information about members' businesses and participation in IMPA-driven initiatives.
• IMPA BLOG Home for the latest maritime procurement news, ground-breaking insights, and critical thinking from the IMPA community, updated weekly.
• IMPA CAST Podcast Official IMPA podcast bringing deep dives into essential industry topics and all-things IMPA, updated monthly.
• Supply Chain and Sustainability Magazine IMPA's seasonal magazine circulated to all members and packed with industry news, views and reviews covering procurement and supply chain issues as well as sustainability topics in the marine sector, published 6 times annually.
• IMPA ACT Responsible Supply Chain Management initiative helping companies leverage best practice to meet minimum global standards for social sustainability and build resilient supply chains, aligned to the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
• IMPA SAVE Sustainability programme bringing knowledge of available sustainable solutions to the marine and offshore industry, supporting UN Sustainable Development Goals through webinars, conferences, and commitment to ocean stewardship.
• IMPA Green Business Bureau Programme Failproof method for evaluating maritime suppliers that put sustainability at the heart of their practice through the IMPA Green Business Bureau Programme.
• IMPA Maritime Environmental Footprint Initiative (IMEF) Initiative establishing a standard for calculating and managing corporate environmental footprint using an activity-based approach for calculating Scope 3 emissions, developed with guidance from Reflow Maritime.
• IMPA London Exhibition and Conference World's leading two-day maritime procurement event, exhibition and conference held annually in London.
• IMPA Singapore Exhibition and Conference Intensive maritime educational two-day event held regularly in the Asia-Pacific region.
• IMPA Athens Exhibition and Conference Annual Athens forum for purchasers and technical department personnel.
• IMPA Hamburg Exhibition and Conference Annual event in Hamburg, Germany focused on maritime networking and procurement.
• IMPA Foundation Course for Maritime Procurement The world's first entry-level online marine purchasing and supply education course designed by industry experts for aspiring marine purchasers and suppliers new to the maritime industry.
• Marine Stores Guide (MSG) Book World's leading reference source for maritime purchasing and supply available in print format, using a unique six-digit code system to identify products to individual descriptions, with codes consistent for almost 40 years. 8th edition now available.
• Marine Stores Guide Data Licence Digital version of MSG updated every six months that can be imported into online order systems. Members receive 10% discount from the admin fee.
• Marine Stores Guide Online Service Fastest online version of MSG allowing data licence customers to search over 50,000+ products online and offline. Exclusively available to data licence customers.
• IHM Relevancy Check and Guidance Service allowing MSG users to seek Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) guidance on items listed within the MSG data.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 10% of global fleet represented by IMPA purchaser members (6,000+ vessels)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UK Chamber of ShippingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2024Joint announcement between IMPA and UK Chamber of Shipping to seek a more sustainable future for the maritime industry. Collaboration on sustainability initiatives and industry standards.
• Reflow MaritimecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDanish specialists providing expert guidance for the IMEF Initiative, developing comprehensive guidance paper for Product Carbon Footprint calculation in maritime.
• Green Business BureauminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMPA Green Business Programme partnership offering sustainability evaluation for maritime suppliers. IMPA GBB provides failproof method for evaluating suppliers that put sustainability at heart of practice.
• Nautical InstituteminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner discount of 10% when purchasing books from the Nautical Institute offered to IMPA members.
• Lloyd's List IntelligenceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner discount of 20% when acquiring Lloyd's List Intelligence Vessel Data offered to IMPA members.
• UK Ports ConferenceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner discount of 10% when attending the annual UK Ports Conference offered to IMPA members.
• Seably ABminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcquired WellAtSea, an organization providing seafarer well-being solutions. IMPA partners with WellAtSea to help improve overall well-being of seafarers.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ShipServ: Maritime e-procurement platform connecting shipowners and suppliers, with an established TradeNet supplier network. Directly comparable to IMPA in serving the maritime purchasing community, and IMPA already partners with ShipServ for member verification.
• BIMCO: The world's largest international shipping association, representing shipowners, operators, and managers. A directly comparable global maritime industry association model to IMPA, with a broader scope but overlapping membership base.
• International Chamber of Shipping (ICS): Principal international trade association for the shipping industry, representing merchant shipowners and operators. A direct peer as a global maritime industry association serving overlapping customer segments.
• Society of Maritime Industries (SMI): UK-based trade association for the maritime sector covering engineering, equipment, and services. A direct peer as a maritime industry membership body, though more focused on UK manufacturers and techno-engineering companies than IMPA's procurement focus.
• UK Chamber of Shipping: UK trade association for the shipping industry. A comparable maritime industry association; IMPA explicitly partners with the UK Chamber of Shipping on sustainability initiatives, reflecting overlapping membership and agenda.
• METS Trade Show (Marine Equipment Trade Show): The world's largest marine equipment trade exhibition, organized annually in Amsterdam. Comparable to IMPA London/Hamburg/Singapore/Athens as a major maritime industry exhibition organizer serving overlapping supplier and buyer audiences.

Broad incumbents

• Lloyd's Register: Global maritime classification society and broader marine services provider. Comparable as a long-established maritime industry standards body with data, advisory, and certification offerings that overlap with IMPA's standards and sustainability work.
• DNV: Global maritime classification society and assurance provider. Comparable to IMPA in setting maritime standards and serving shipowners, but at far larger scale and with a much broader industrial portfolio.
• S&P Global Maritime (formerly IHS Markit): Major maritime data and analytics provider serving shipowners, financiers, and suppliers. Comparable to IMPA in providing maritime market data and serving procurement and supply-chain decision-makers, though at much larger scale.

Others

• Lloyd's List: Long-established maritime news, data, and intelligence publication. Adjacent to IMPA as a maritime information and content provider with whom IMPA has a partner discount arrangement; complements IMPA's content offerings rather than directly competing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IMPAassoc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCO9ccJ9rA_urnQt7uShWbUw
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheIMPA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/impa---the-international-marine-purchasing-association

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about International Marine Purchasing Association