Independent oil companies are dependent on multiple vendors and a complex supply chain for their production activities and admin functions. Each service provider is a vital cog in the wheel when initial expenditure is planned for drilling the wells. The vendor’s lifecycle impacts this choice from planning to completion stage. The sole way to calibrate related expenses (some of which are variable) is with the installation of latest software capabilities that provide authentic oil and gas vendor spend analytics.

The following blog provides a thinking material and an analytical insight for you to deal with the right vendors. Moreover, it sheds light on how their services affect expenditure in each phase.  

Journey Of Vendor On Boarding 

There are different stages of the vendor lifecycle an exploration company endures. A typical maturation of the span looks like the diagram shown below. When a project is announced, at every stage the contract entered into with service provider matters. Details of supplies as per the contract can be available at the tips of the fingers if they are presented online for everyone. With software capabilities, it is possible to acquire essential information for a new or an ongoing project. It pertains to expenses related to supplies even if numerous vendors are involved. The work is systemized and human resources at different levels manage all functions more efficiently.  

Key Capabilities For The Vendor Spend 

By now most companies recognize the significant migration to digital technologies for various business operations. The end-to-end experience of allowing a valued purchase or hiring of equipment from vendors has to be frictionless.  

Disbursement projections originate with every lifecycle management. Automation offers the following benefits: 

1. Management solutions 

2. Performance monitoring at every stage

3. Leaders can carry out informed decisions of hiring and signing contracts

4. A specific tool box comes with the solutions to evaluate and measure the deals

5. A modern software can easily be incorporated with an existing procurement process

While choosing the software the procurement team should seek certain values: 

• Monitoring the expenses incurred by performing wellbores and cost centers. 

• All disparate vendor spend should be traced online.

• Accounts and operations teams must be able to segregate the expenses in various heads like LOE, G & E or even by CAPEX .

• The accounts department ought to regulate the costs, make spate invoices and figure out the charge per vendor for the company .

• A vendor should be red flagged for a frequent inferior performance. This must be visible on the deck for everyone to maintain transparency .

If these key capabilities are aligned at the beginning, there will be no room for errors. The systems will generate accurate insights for decision makers at all times. They will be experienced to shortlist the expenses according to three categories - accounts, wellbores and spend. The accounts department can coordinate it with the ERP system. The entire documentation is on record while the project is in progress. 

Ancillary Benefits 

An oil and vendor spend analytics software system providing value for money in other ways that a technical team can understand with expenses issues and also exceptions. The details that can be accessed include: 

• Drilling data required for invoicing 

• Stop exceptions related to expenses

• Detect anomalies and rectify the payment

• Stop mistaken codes from cost centers being displayed

• Customized software offers enterprise level security to the system

• Availability of visible permissions strictly by authorized personnel

If you are looking for a service provider who can offer demos, the software should have the following features which are required for exploration activities.

• Able to provide data-driven analytics by search option in any category selected  

• If information pertains to wellbores, then the configuration and layers should be visible

• Security is handled by admin control or even role-based

• If any irregularities are detected, then there should be alerts and instant notifications

• All personnel should be able to share the data across any platform or device

• The software should be integrated with all other networking available to the company

• It should effectively function soon after installment

• Minimal training required for everyone to grasp how it operates

The energy sector in North America will always be dictated by the oil prices and the vendor spends. If this insight has been practical, do take the necessary steps to opt for the best solutions.