Integrating Enterprise Asset Management to get OMV on the move
Global oil and gas giant OMV needed an integrated
procurement, inventory and asset management solution that would
move them into the future; and asked their New Zealand exploration
and production division to pilot an implementation, and have it up
and running within a three-month timeframe.
OMV New Zealand Ltd is part of the international OMV
Aktiengesellschaft group, the leading oil and gas organisation in
Central Europe, and the largest listed industrial company in its
homeland of Austria. OMV's global mission is to 'get people on the
move' - exploring, discovering and extracting oil and natural gas
on five continents; with the end goal of providing warmth, light,
mobility and energy (as well as everyday products and services) to
customers in 22 countries around the world.
OMV New Zealand, whose motto is "Black Gold Down Under", has been
exploring and producing oil and gas in New Zealand since 1999. In
that time, the company has developed interests in both the Maui and
Pohokura gas fields, and the Maari oil field (potentially our
country's largest undeveloped oil field) in the Taranaki Basin. The
company has also already begun exploring the Great South Basin off
the Southern Coast of the South Island.
The Challenge
The exploration and production functions of an oil and gas
organisation require fairly specialised, often very expensive,
equipment. And, as any organisation that uses heavy industrial
machinery will know, obtaining and operating such equipment is far
more than a matter of simply paying for machinery then sitting back
and waiting for next day delivery.
Richard Maurd, OMV's Procurement Executive, explains that lead
time for obtaining parts alone can be in excess of twelve months.
This means OMV must know at all times exactly what they have,
where, and in what condition; because ordering and replacing
critical parts on the fly is simply not an option. Inventory
management and procurement functions need to work hand in hand -
but on a scale like OMV's, keeping track of such information
manually is near impossible.
OMV realised they needed the support of proven integrated
procurement, inventory and asset management software - and OMV New
Zealand's need for some kind of procurement control measures
following their expansion into the Maari field at the time made
them the perfect trial candidate. But the pressure was on: the need
to meet key financial dates meant any finished solution would need
to be up and running within just three months.
The Solution
When OMV New Zealand were initially asked to pilot an integrated
system, remembers Maurd, the first thing they did was to contact IT
partners, Olympic. "We wanted to work with a trusted New
Zealand-based supplier, and Olympic had worked with us as partners
since we started in this country." Olympic arranged a three-way
web-conference with Infor; whose financial management system,
SunSystems 4.26a, OMV already used; to discuss possible
options.
The net result of the conference was a firm decision to run with
Infor's Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), integrated directly with
an upgraded version of OMV's existing financials system for maximum
efficiency. This would require a three-part project that comprised
upgrading SunSystems to the latest version (5.2); implementing EAM;
and finally, using Olympic's own integration software, AXE to
integrate the two.
Implementation
Because of both the tight timeframe, and OMV New Zealand's size
(although the OMV worldwide has a workforce in excess of 30,000,
the New Zealand office employs just over 50); Olympic and Infor
worked together jointly on the project: with Infor managing the EAM
implementation, while Olympic upgraded SunSystems and developed the
integrations.
Olympic also acted as a bridge between OMV and the overseas-based
Infor, significantly shortening the EAM implementation time. "We
didn't need to go through several of the usual discovery processes
with Infor," explains Maurd, "because Olympic already knew us
inside out and had the information at their fingertips." On top of
this, Maurd estimates Olympic's AXE server (a critical element of
the integrations) cut the project implementation time by "at least
half".
Results
The innovative implementation and integration techniques meant
that OMV's EAM system met its project deadlines; and eight months
after going live, OMV New Zealand couldn't be more delighted with
the results. "The system has increased our procurement options and
streamlined our procedures - and the integration has cut our
requisition process time by over 60%," enthuses Maurd. "Not only
that, but we now have the accountability of an auditing tool, and a
solid base for inventory and asset management that will keep on
meeting our needs well into the future."
And it's not just the New Zealand arm of OMV who are impressed -
planning is currently underway to roll EAM out to other Exploration
and Production (E&P) offices across the globe. "Worldwide, I
think OMV currently considers this one of the company's most
successful implementations," Maurd states. "And we're not shy about
saying, that's largely due to Olympic."
Highlights
- OMV New Zealand (part of the global OMV group) wanted an
integrated procurement, inventory and asset management solution
that would help them manage complex inventory logistics and
integrate with their financial software.
- They approached IT partners, Olympic, and decided to use AXE to
integrate an upgraded version of their existing Infor SunSystems
financials with EAM (Enterprise Asset Management).
- Key financial deadlines required a Go Live timeframe of three
months for the entire upgrade, installation and integration.
- OMV are delighted with results, calling it 'one of the most
successful implementations the company has run', and are in the
process of rolling the system out to other offices worldwide.
