New software capabilities are improving business management in the oil and gas industry.
Timely billing and accurate fleet tracking are issues still faced by many companies in the oil and gas industry. Luckily, several companies have been hard at work coming up with answers to those problems. Fieldbook ERP and Vehicle Tracking Solutions are two such companies that created software processes that help make this industry a little easier to manage.
The oil and gas sector has done a phenomenal job in terms of using new technologies to recover oil from areas that would not have been a profitable venture in years past, says John Swift, CEO of Fieldbook ERP.
“But the business process that we incorporate is stuck in the technology of 1950,” he adds. “The truth of the matter is that we in the oilfield services industry are oftentimes our own worst enemy when it comes to getting paid.”
There are plenty of companies that bill out hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars a day that literally record that day’s activities on a pre-printed paper ticket with a number two pencil, Swift explains, and that piece of paper becomes the only proof that someone was at a wellhead and performed the work on that given day.
Much like football, every time a piece of paper has to trade hands, it’s a chance for a fumble, he says. Paper tickets get blown out of the windows and doors of semi-trucks and pickup trucks every day.
Although moving this process online can be the answer to this long-standing problem, an added challenge is that software tends to break down when dealing with liquids and also when the point of delivery is a hole in the ground in the middle of a field, Swift adds.
Unique design tackles pay cycle
Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Fieldbook ERP works to address this business process with its software, helping clients in three main areas: sales and operations, accounting, and reporting and analytics.
One of the keys to their success revolves around the unique design of that software, Swift notes. The physical location where the work is performed becomes the hub of all information as opposed to an oil company and its mailing address.
“It is always going to be the point of revenue not only for the oil and gas company but also for the drilling contractor, the fracking contractor, the drilling fluids contractor – all those things happen at a hole in the ground 12 miles from the nearest county road,” he says.
Customers’ bottom lines are impacted by this element of the software design, according to Swift. It’s commonplace for some tickets to get delayed or rejected by the oil company because they claim it is an invalid charge.
“In the world of Fieldbook, because we have tied the bid and the value of a good or service directly to a lease, there cannot be a pricing error,” he says, unless bad data is entered. “We have been able with our customer base to eliminate about 95 percent of those.”
The product also impacts the path from job start to the point of getting paid for that work. Many in the business world consider days sales outstanding to be the moment you invoice to the moment you get paid. But in the oil and gas industry that’s not how it’s defined, Swift explains, because it takes about 45 days from the moment a typical service company completes the work to the moment they can submit an invoice.
“We radically address and attack time – not only the time required to get paid but also the time required to begin, complete a job and then on the backside get paid for that job,” he says, estimating that Fieldbook ERP can bring a typical 70- to 90-day time frame down to 30 to 40 days.
Keeping track with technology
Headquartered in Commack, New York, Vehicle Tracking Solutions (VTS) is using technology to improve business practices for its clients. The company specializes in GPS tracking and routing software, providing a web-based interface that allows users to log in from anywhere and view their fleet, which is tracked by small devices installed by VTS technicians.
There are a few issues that tend to come up most often for customers in the oil, gas and mining industries in particular, notes Pete Desiderio, fleet management specialist. Many companies in these fields tend to have heavy equipment and most want to be able to track the location of their vehicles because they tend to get moved around from site to site.
“My system gives them the live location,” he says. “They have a live view of where all their equipment is at all times without sending anybody out into the field.” Customers can cut costs by keeping an eye on mileage, reducing idling time and monitoring routes. In addition, the system allows customers to track hours put on all vehicles so they can ensure equipment is well-maintained.
Tracking where their people are located helps ensure workers are where they say they are, particularly if being paid at an hourly rate, Desiderio says, and this same level of awareness can also be used as a safety tool since it is easier to know where staff are at all times.
“We’re a one-stop shop, which is one of the things that sets us apart from most of the other folks out there that do what we do,” he adds. “We developed it, we install it, and all billing, tech support, training and sales is through one location, so as far as customer service we bring a little something extra to the table.”
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