At the Total Logistics Seminar (TLS) here Monday, Saudi Aramco's vice president of Materials Supply, Esam A. Mousli, said the company's success in addressing the massive expansion in materials demand results from adopting an integrated approach to the supply chain. This strategy encompasses manufacturers, vendors, service providers, customers and stakeholders, he was quoted as saying in a report carried by Saudi Aramco's web-site. The vice president noted that growth in developing nations such as China and India is being mirrored by growth in Arabian Gulf countries, due to the rise in demand for energy. This has led to unprecedented levels of demand for equipment and raw materials essential to Saudi Aramco as it engages in the largest expansion program in its history, and enormous challenges in reserving materials, manufacturing capacity, on-time material delivery and containing costs. "The best way for companies to address massive expansion is by staying ahead", Mousli advised, commenting that "for Saudi Aramco's Materials Supply to ensure that the company continues to obtain the materials it needs in an effective manner, staying ahead means developing and implementing a set of strategies moving from the traditional focus on price to a new paradigm based on value." "This entails focus on five key areas: -- Developing business relationships. -- Exploring new value frontiers. -- Pulling suppliers inside. -- Pursuing cost-effective sources. -- Human assets. Strategies employed in these five key areas include development of new styles of long-term contractual arrangements, such as the multi-million dollar domestic logistics contract, manufacturing capacity reservation agreements with international and domestic manufacturers and local stocker-distributor arrangements for commonly used materials." --MORE
