Abstract: In shipbuilding, the increase of steel usage rate and reduction of material delivery are the critical ways to shorten the lead time, increase the productivity, and save the cost. For this purpose, for the first time, a novel concept of using tray for shipbuilding is proposed. Based on this concept, a new method for shipbuilding is developed. There are two types of trays: logical and physical ones. With the proposed concept and method, techniques are presented for hull production design, material purchasing management, inventory management, information management, and so on. The effectiveness of applying the proposed method is analyzed.