A Supermajor Turns to Workrise to Accelerate an Expansion Into East Texas

Behind every drilled well is a significant paper trail. Consider that during a typical well-drilling project, truckloads and truckloads are needed to deliver everything from tools to pipes, grass-cutting machines to porta potties to the site. The work is done by hundreds of vendors, and the total number of invoices can run well into the thousands. On top of that, it’s not uncommon for the logistics of this complex operation to be handled via email or even text. In 2023, that’s an archaic way of doing business.

The Challenge

When a supermajor primarily based in West Texas recently expanded into East Texas through an acquisition, the company didn’t want to run the back end of this complex operation off of texts, email chains, and fragmented digital conversations. “They needed a source of truth,” says Ben Harrison, a Workrise senior account executive who worked with the client on this program. “That source of truth in this case was Workrise because we understand the process and provide transparency, through our platform, for all stakeholders.” 

The process began with sourcing new local vendors to ensure on-time execution and depth in niche categories. With hundreds of vendors across 200+ service categories on its platform, Workrise simply had relationships in the region that the client did not. “They didn’t know who they didn’t know,” Harrison explains. “They needed a subject matter expert to step in and show them three to four local vendors in each category who were reliable and trustworthy.”  Workrise was agnostic about who the supermajor ultimately used; its priority was making sure each prospective vendor was efficient, effective, and compliant with all safety regulations. 
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“They needed a subject matter expert to step in and show them three to four local vendors in each category."

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Time was of the essence. The supermajor wanted to move fast and had 10 vendor categories to fill. Workrise delivered — and then some — with an average onboarding time of just 15 days for each vendor, as opposed to the industry average of four to 12 months. 

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Sourcing Local Vendors at Speed

The exhaustive vendor onboarding process includes “collecting all the required documents, getting contracts signed, and making sure that the vendors are compliant and ready to start work,” says Sun Kwon, senior manager of supply chain operations for Workrise. 

While it’s hard to quantify time saved, the savings from speedy onboarding translated to about $1.5 million in upfront costs when Workrise ran the numbers on another project for the same client. “We have saved them millions in efficiencies during the time we've partnered with them,” says Harrison.

This proved invaluable to the supermajor, allowing it to focus on other core responsibilities. “Workrise acted as an extension of our supply chain, like they were part of our team,” explains a member of the supermajor’s supply chain team, “and they moved quickly to meet our goals.”

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Pricing Transparency

Another challenge the supermajor faced was pricing transparency. Because Workrise has years of pricing data on its platform, and more than half of oil companies and vendors have used it, Workrise has figures on nearly every type of transaction categorized by location, service, and vendor type. 

“While this client knew the prices in West Texas, they were in the open in East Texas,” explains Kwon. “Local vendors wanted to work with our client, and we made sure our client paid market prices for the area.” 

Because Workrise had data on local market rates, it was uniquely well-positioned to help the supermajor control project costs. “Workrise used its data to negotiate with each vendor,” says the member of the client’s supply chain team, “and get us the best pricing for this market.”

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Frictionless Platform Changes

There was also the matter of changing platforms. Most mergers and acquisitions result in a change in vendor management tools, which creates a time-suck for operators like this supermajor, which wanted to focus on its oil-and-gas initiatives, not paperwork. 

Because Workrise managed the vendor relationships, it handled that part of the expansion process for the supermajor. And, since the vendors were already set up on the Workrise platform, they didn’t have to experience the pain of an IT migration. “There was no impact to the vendors,” says Colin Chapman, sales manager for Workrise. “That's a huge value for them during expansions or acquisitions.” 

Given this supermajor’s size and strength, they will no doubt continue to expand — and to turn to Workrise for support while doing so. Says Harrison: "We're building an enterprise-level solution for our client across their assets.” 
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“Partnering with Workrise made this expansion easier, more efficient, and more cost-effective for us.” 

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For the supermajor, Workrise was able to leverage its experience, data, and expertise to the fullest during the expansion, which saved not only money but valuable time. “With Workrise, key stakeholders can see the smallest details and the big picture in real time, helping to ensure our talent is being optimally utilized on core day-to-day responsibilities,” says the client’s supply chain team member. “Partnering with Workrise made this expansion easier, more efficient, and more cost-effective for us.” 
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Grow Confidently with Workrise 

Workrise is changing the way the biggest players in Oil & Gas find, evaluate, purchase from, and manage the vendors they rely on to operate. Powerful technology provides a single source of truth for all your vendor data, documentation and requirements, as well as access to our nationwide network of vendors spanning hundreds of service categories.
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“Workrise acted as an extension of our supply chain, like they were part of our team."

With Workrise, you can be sure you have the right suppliers when just-in-time needs arise, the depth of vendors across categories to ensure competition for every bid, the data to know whether the pricing you receive is on par or out of band, and so much more. Book a demo today to learn how Workrise can help you reach your regional expansion — and greater supply chain — goals.

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About Workrise 

We are laser focused on delivering holistic supply chain solutions that help energy companies deliver against the strategic goals outlined above. Click here to learn more about how we unlock greater access, more efficient processes, and rich data to improve how the biggest players in energy find, evaluate, and purchase the goods and services they rely on to operate.