Analyzing Oil and Gas Supply Chain - Ep 179

In a reflective dialogue, Conor Doherty and Joannes Vermorel delve into supply chain challenges in the oil and gas industry, likening them to managing a miniature city rather than straightforward enterprises. Vermorel critiques conventional methods focused on criticality, advocating for automation and numerical models to enhance efficiency. He addresses the financial impact of long-tail events, emphasizing streamlined inventory practices over stockpiling. Vermorel highlights the inadequacy of systems like ERPs in decision-making, advocating for systems of intelligence to navigate future uncertainties. The conversation underscores the industry's conservative nature, where agility and digital optimization are crucial for advancing supply chain strategies. 00:00:00: Introduction to oil and gas supply chain 00:05:02: High stakes and offshore logistics 00:08:20: Financial impacts of supply chain downtime 00:13:54: Complexity and automation in supply chains 00:16:15: Misunderstanding impacts planning 00:18:39: Inventory affects uptime 00:20:33: Oil price impacts profitability 00:23:00: Right inventory for efficient uptime 00:25:10: Optimization beyond spreadsheets 00:28:58: ERP's decision-making limitations 00:31:10: Excel as decision tool 00:33:15: Systems of records' importance 00:37:00: Approximate correctness in decisions 00:38:10: Decision focus under tariffs 00:40:30: Numerical recipes enhance focus 00:43:37: Engineering challenge distractions 00:46:10: Large scale reduces agility 00:51:30: Speed and advocacy for numerical recipes 00:53:00: Pricing's role in the supply chain 00:57:19: Oil as civilization's foundation 00:59:00: AI and clerical automation ****** Check out our website: https://www.lokad.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn:   / lokad   ******