In today’s market, companies must be aware of the importance of having a complete traceability service of the transport chain for different products. And Repsol is one of those companies that knows that the role of this service is fundamental.
During the 42nd CEL Logistics Conference, one of the most important events in the country that focuses on logistics innovation, Repsol has made an in-depth analysis of the Track and Trace success story carried out by its chemicals, asphalts and lubricants area.
Initially, this project was designed to strengthen safety in transport operations thanks to a traceability system. But, at the same time, it has also served to improve customer service, reduce the environmental impact of the organization’s operations and optimize the use of personnel and equipment.
A challenge of great complexity
Implementing the Track and Trace software has been a great challenge due to the complexity of changing from a manual system to a fully digitized one. But it has also been complicated by the differences that exist between the 84 carriers of different sectors and nationalities that work for Repsol’s chemicals, asphalts and lubricants area.
Despite being a complex process, the energy company has faced it in a challenging environment, which has been marked by the impact of the COVID-19 health crisis, and without having an industry benchmark.
One more step forward in the project
Those responsible for the project at Repsol did not overlook the great potential offered by the tool, thanks to which it has been possible to transform a project designed to increase safety into a comprehensive initiative that provides results in the areas of sustainability, service and optimization.
In terms of specific data, the software has enabled Repsol Química to manage more than 33,000 geopositions. As well as tracking carriers for more than 120,000 kilometers and more than 800 drivers using the application.
The system has also made it possible to efficiently and rapidly control the company’s 11,000 operations per month, which supply some 5,000 delivery points in Europe and the Iberian Peninsula.
Being part of three ecosystems
Developing this initiative has been a great technical challenge as they have had to integrate the three related ecosystems that make up Repsol, customers and carriers.
Likewise, the group of transportation companies working for the energy company already had a very high degree of technological maturity.
With all this information, Repsol’s managers have always been clear from the beginning that, for the experience to be a success, it was essential that everyone involved be able to connect to the platform, regardless of their technological level. The objective is that they could be in a position to share all the information relevant to the service, at any time and through different media.
Thanks to hard work, Repsol has successfully developed the first project within the chemical, lubricants and asphalt sector that integrates event management and advanced localization to achieve complete traceability.
Complete tracking of the transport service
As a result, the solution performs a complete tracking of any transport service from before the transport vehicle goes to the loading center.
Then, during the route, the geopositioning of the truck is complemented by a series of events, both automatic collection and manual input. These events offer a wide range of data that have been collected throughout the expedition in order to provide customers with all the information at any time during the development of the service.
As mentioned at the beginning, the tool also provides an increase in the security of shipments, which is a very important factor in the case of products such as dangerous goods or pharmaceuticals, which require a exhaustive control due to their special conservation requirements so that they are not damaged.
However, the development of the platform has provided Repsol with an effective tool that allows them to anticipate any incident. In this way, the logistics chain can be modified and vehicles and personnel can be added where they are needed, as well as removed where they are no longer required.
This is a very important point, as there are goods that require preparation time before transport. This makes it necessary to have the information on the location of the trucks in advance in order to be able to adjust the times and means, being a coordination effort that the software has made possible in a visual way.
This optimization of resources is also important to reduce the environmental impact of the operations carried out.
The customer at the center of the process
The implementation of the software has convinced Repsol’s customers, who have seen a 70% increase in access to the Track and Trace website, from where they can control shipments in real time and in an integrated manner.
On the other hand, the carriers have successfully adapted to a digital transformation process, where the energy company has played an important role in driving the solution and designing virtual training courses that have helped the transition.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the objective of improving customer service has been achieved in an outstanding manner, and the company is already studying its use for maritime transport.
As a summary, FIELDEAS has carried out the development of a SaaS solution for Repsol based on FIELDEAS Track and Trace where all the information that has been collected through an API, a web and a mobile application is integrated, with the aim of capturing it visually and intuitively in real time. All this improves the service, offers greater security and facilitates decision making, aligned at all times with the needs that the oil company had at the time of carrying out this project.