Lubricating Big Oil's Supply Chain Is Target Of i2/Shell Joint Effort

Compiled ByDoug Bartholomew Shell Global Solutions International BV will work with i2 Technologies to develop a fully integrated software package to streamline the supply chain for the downstream oil industry. The system would cover operations from crude selection to product storage at terminals and depots. Shell companies operating downstream supply, manufacturing, and distribution businesses would be among the first to implement the package. The joint effort, which the two companies are calling a "pilot" development program, combines i2's market leadership in supply-chain software with the operational experience and technology of Shell Global Solutions. The latter operates half a dozen technology businesses. "Our worldwide industry experience and i2's leadership in supply-chain management software will give us every chance of achieving a very powerful breakthrough technology," says Michiel Boersma, president of Shell Global Solutions. "This solution would play a critical part in the industry migration from past 'disjoined push' production strategies to a necessary market 'pull' strategy, with production and distribution decisions being global, optimal and consumer oriented," says Philip Crawford, president of i2's Europe, Middle East and Africa division. "By enabling intelligent control through increased visibility in the hydrocarbon value chain, over more precisely where and when certain products should be produced and distributed, we would be able to provide value to the industry and ultimately its customers."