Data Quality Assessment for Global O&G Corporation

Technologies: Analytics, Master Data Management, SAP, SQL

Industry: Energy

In the pursuit of efficiency and reliability, a prominent Oil and Gas (O&G) organization recently implemented an integrated solution encompassing Inventory, Work Management, Purchasing, and Finance. However, as various regions began to implement the solution, a multitude of issues surfaced, significantly impacting operations. The root cause of these challenges was identified as inadequate data, prompting the need for a comprehensive assessment.

Context and Challenges

The organization's integration initiative involved combining data from diverse sources, including multiple SAP applications. Unfortunately, critical factors such as data quality, standardization, governance, and scope were not fully considered. This oversight led to a costly delay in the solution's release, exacerbating challenges across the entire organization.

Effects of Identified Issues

1. The lack of comprehensive scope resulted in key operational information being omitted, leading to discrepancies between the system's inventory and the physical inventory in warehouses.
2. Despite being a new implementation, organizational users lacked confidence in the system's reliability, causing further operational disruptions.
3. The absence of data governance resulted in conflicting reports generated by different departments, eroding upper management's trust in the provided data.

Enroute's Solutions

Objective: The primary goal was to conduct a comprehensive data quality assessment to identify gaps and implement corrective actions. The focus was on defining and monitoring measures to prevent the entry of inaccurate data into the system.

Approach: Enroute adopted an Agile approach, dividing the scope into Epics. Simultaneously, a dedicated team evaluated critical systems in parallel to ensure a swift resolution. The emphasis on time efficiency led to the completion of all evaluations within 4-8 sprints.

Business Impact

1. Addressing Discrepancies in Inventory: Identified and rectified a discrepancy of over 80 million USD between physical inventory and inventory in the system. Root causes included bad data quality (e.g., duplicate records) and user reluctance to utilize the system for inventory tracking.
2. Material Masters Optimization: Recognized the significance of Material Masters and their impact on Operations, Inventory Management, Finance, and Procurement.Identified that approximately 15% of material masters were missing, while 30% were duplicated.
3. Data Monitoring Reports: Implemented data monitoring reports to identify incorrect data entry or deviations from established processes.Utilized metrics such as average work orders entered per week to detect anomalies and ensure adherence to established protocols.

Enroute's intervention in addressing critical data quality issues within the O&G organization's integrated solution proved instrumental in restoring operational efficiency and reliability. Through a comprehensive assessment and agile implementation of corrective measures, the organization was able to overcome challenges, ultimately safeguarding the integrity of its data and optimizing key operational processes.