While complex challenges are nothing new in oil and gas industry, workers in the field, support staff, accounting personnel and the corporate back office all face unique demands. From how information is created and gathered to real-time use and visibility for executives and supporting teams, the need for mobile technology has become a greater necessity for oil and gas companies to smoothly and efficiently run the business while maintaining critical communication, real-time insight and a competitive edge.
If leveraged correctly, mobile technology will benefit employees at all levels in the company. Supplying workers in the field with mobile technology, whether it is a computer, tablet or related device, will give them the connectivity needed to accurately communicate field tickets and log run-time, well status checks, inventory counts and service on equipment.
Cash is king for many oil and gas companies, thus a quick turnaround in the accounting department can be mission critical. Mobile technology can allow accounting personnel to receive real-time data to process vendor invoices and contracts, and can reduce invoice processing time by two to four weeks. Human resources and other administrative areas can easily connect with employees all over the world and virtually maintain payroll, benefits, travel plans and more.
The executive team, particularly the CFO and COO, can use mobility to forecast the capabilities of the “what if’s.” They can use indicators straight from the field to run multiple scenarios on how their reactions to industry trends, such as drops in oil price and maintaining the headcount required to run the company, could disrupt the future of their company.
Oil and gas companies are continually seeking ways to gain a competitive edge and increase operational effectiveness and financial processes. Investing in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is one way to introduce mobility and streamline daily operations from the field to corporate offices. Microsoft Dynamics NAV is a fully integrated and flexible ERP system that can strengthen operations in a number of challenging areas, including field ticket and invoicing, storing data, tracking costs, managing multiple site locations and more.
Dynamics NAV can simplify a current barrier in the industry―field tickets and invoicing errors that cause setbacks for the accounting department. With Dynamics NAV, an on-site worker can create a field ticket on his or her mobile device, which accounting can view on a variety of platforms. Once the field ticket is electronically entered, it will automatically send the invoice to billing, shortening the processing time and eliminating duplicate tickets and errors. In addition, Dynamics NAV provides real-time visibility to monitor performance and gain insight on project completion and deadlines.
With the current uncertainty in the oil and gas industry, there is no excuse to not fully leverage today’s technology and mobile capabilities for business operations.
Read More: I sat down with Energent Group’s co-founders to discuss their new product that will have oil and gas companies thinking smarter. Learn more in our blog post, Energent Group: Improving Proactivity with Intelligence on the Oilfield.
