| DVZ, 27. Juni 2007 |  |
New 5 Year Contract with BP
Rohde & Liesenfeld has signed a 5 year contract with BP, the british energy group and will be responsible for the material supply of all oil conveying machineries in Colombia. To support this, R&L has put in place a consortium to guarantee a consistent supply chain management.
Leif Voelcker, managing director in Colombia and head of this consortium named Tisat (Transporte Internacional Servicio Aduanera Transporte Terrestre) recently visited Hamburg to finalize the details at R&L’s headquarters.
The consortium established by R&L participated and won a tender of supply chain management of BP Colombia. The complicated name also reflects a complex logistic concept which is practically implemented since end of May.
Three under one roof - Tisat combines the three companies SIA Aduanas Gama as customs agent, Mamut Colombia as the national and R&L as international logistics service company.
R&L with a share of 33,34% is the conceptual as well as the operative leader of the business. The two partners are holding a third of Tisat each.
Voelcker and his team have selected the parties according to the guidelines of BP.
The oil company and the national petroleum enterprise - involved in at least 50% business of all national oil producers - had put out a tender for a logistical concept of the complete supply chain. The laws in Colombia define that international logistics, national transport and customs clearance business may not be controlled by one institution. “The foundation of Tisat opens an opportunity without forcing one logistic company to decide for only one segment”, explains Voelcker.
The contract covers the overall maintenance of parts for all oil conveying machineries including storage, packaging and distribution to the appropriate sites. Primarily international suppliers send their shipments by sea or airfreight to Colombia.
BP is obtaining a total of 177 000 barrel per day in Colombia, mainly in Cusiana and Cupiagua, only a few hundred kilometres away from Bogota, the capital of Colombia.
The contract volume covers approximately US$ 12,8 Mio, excluding project business of production plants. Besides sea, air and ground transportation and logistic solutions, the project business is a core competence of R&L.
Consistent flow of information
R&L already works with BP Colombia for 4 years. Before, the chain was divided, now the complete order management is operated by one efficient system which is accessible from both sides, states Matthias Hansen, COO of R&L International GmbH & Co KG in Hamburg. The consistent flow of information closes the break which used to separate the customs clearance from the delivery process. R&L has implemented the web-based order management system Rolog, which allows a real-time follow up of all orders from entry to their final destination.
Extreme conditions
The logistics service provider is absolutely familiar with the challenges in Colombia. Customs clearance is a time consuming process because the local drug problems require a solid controlling system.
However, with Aduanas Gama R&L has committed a specialist. The main problem in Colombia really begins once the freight has cleared customs and the transport to the production plants begins, says Voelcker.
The transport needs to follow high safety requirements and often passes difficult regions with poor infrastructure.
Guerilla troops attack the oil industry for many years and don’t just fight against the pipelines but also strike the transporting trucks. Therefore the oil companies have installed a complex security system and special agents partially convoy the truck transports and guide them via special routes. This type of difficult general conditions even in rather critical environments is day-to-day business for R&L. Since 1960, R&L is represented on the latin american market and - meanwhile - in every country.
Voelcker is very optimistic that this commitment for BP will develop into a strategic partnership: “BP isn’t a traditional customer - basically, we represent the logistic department of BP. The first 4 years have been our engagement, now it’s time for marriage”
And, the planning for the next project just started.
With the same concept, R&L wants to negotiate a contract with Houston Oil of Colombia (Hocol), a French daughter of the oil enterprise Maurel & Prom.
Rohde & Liesenfeld is a german based logistic service provider. The company offers individual solutions and also handles project business in areas such as oil and gas, consumers products, automotive industry and energy. Their competence is divided in three sectors: R&L Overseas (general cargo), R&L Solutions ( logistic solutions), R&L Projects (project transports). R&L has 137 offices worldwide.
