The PESA Supply Chain Committee met October 4 at Sigma Fasteners for a roundtable discussion on digitalization. The roundtable, led by committee member Chris Welsh, CEO, OFS Portal, provided valuable insight on what is driving technology in today’s oil and gas industry and what role supply chain plays as digitalization revolutionizes the industry.
Members examined what a digital company looks like, talked about what types of “digital terms” are used in the current environment and discussed which digital solutions are mainstream, trendy or up-and-coming.
The group also considered the possible pros and cons of IOT technology, recognizing automation and revolutionary machinery may initially be costly, but in the long-term will yield process and ease of implementing business improvements. Ultimately, digitalization, data analysis and elimination of extraneous manual processes will assist the supply chain to better react to customers and their needs.
The committee agreed although there have been positive digitalization break-throughs, organizations are going to have various obstacles to face, both internally and externally.
“In order to be successful in the world of digitalization in our industry, partnerships and relationships will be key,” said committee member Kevin Joyce, Baker Hughes, a GE company.
One of the greatest challenges noted during the roundtable was the inevitable game of catch-up across the industry. The committee agreed not all oil and gas companies are on the same playing field when it comes to digitalization; there are massive amounts of suppliers under the E&Ps and because of the differences within these organizations, what is needed most is someone to drive the standard within oil and gas.
The topic of digitalization will undoubtedly be one the Supply Chain Committee will continue to discuss and will address during the 2018 PESA Supply Chain Seminar February 22 in Houston.
The PESA Supply Chain Committee will host roundtables in 2018 and will open registration to all PESA member companies.
The PESA Supply Chain Committee includes representation from Alix Partners, Baker Hughes, a GE company, DistributionNOW, Ellwood Group, Forged Products, Fox Metals & Alloys, Galtway Industries, Gardner Denver, M&M Forgings, Newpark Drilling Fluids, NOV, Oceaneering, OFS Portal, Premier Pipe, Rubicon, Sigma Fasteners and TETRA Technologies.
