The Evolution to Next Generation Operating Models in the Energy Industry | Sherpas in Blue Shirts

As pioneers of global sourcing, leading organizations in the energy industry such as ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, and BP have been able to extract significant value from offshoring while maintaining a manageable risk profile. However, the growing complexity of their global sourcing portfolios in terms of internal and external supply options (see Table 1 below), service delivery locations, governance models, and systems/tools has led to a set of challenging issues around design and ongoing optimization.

Comparison of sourcing model for leading energy companies

From a design standpoint, energy companies are rethinking their operating models to address a wide range of issues and concerns including:

The next wave of scope expansion opportunities

  • How can I systematically identify new sourcing areas balancing value and risk?
  • How can I predicate and manage short- and long-term demand?

Building an integrated supply mode and global delivery footprint

  • How can I maintain an optimal, complementary mix of internal and outsourcing supply alternatives reflecting requirements for capacity, competencies, and cost?
  • How can I build a consistent framework to place incremental scope into the right supply model?
  • How can I create an integrated, flexible global delivery model that meets current and future demand while minimizing exposure to risks?

Energy companies also face challenges in building a holistic management approach to enable ongoing value capture and expansion, such as:

How to build a holistic, enterprise-level governance model

  • How can I appropriately assess performance across outsourcing service providers, captives, locations, and service lines?
  • What is the optimal governance approach to enable best practice sharing, risk mitigation, and economies of scale?

How to improve end-to-end process effectiveness and control

  • What are the value and constraints to standardize and simplify end-to-end processes across my enterprise?
  • What are the right effectiveness metrics and process efficiency measures?
  • How can I enhance process control to minimize operational risk?

Many of the top energy organizations are experimenting with next generation operating models to address these issues. For example, a global energy major that utilizes both outsourcing service providers and internal shared services recently embarked on a multi-year journey to integrate services design, delivery, and governance across business units, functions, and geographies. The objectives are to enhance end-to-end process effectiveness and control, reduce complexity and risk at the enterprise-level, and improve service performance and cost efficiency.

Our experience in the energy industry clearly indicates that unlocking the next wave of value requires more deliberate design of an integrated global delivery model, a consistent framework to better align supply with demand, and a holistic approach to govern and optimize services. In addition, corporate culture impacts cannot be overlooked. In global energy companies’ large, complex environments full of competing interest and priorities, strong executive leadership and commitment are vital to success.

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