IOC ERP to integrate IBP network

Kolkata: Having won the bid for government stake in the petroleum retailer IBP, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will soon integrate the dealer network of IBP into the specially-developed enterprise resource planning (ERP) software package.

The IOC will soon initiate allocation of customer codes to IBP dealers and integrate them into the package, which has been codenamed Manthan, which will help the IOC-IBP combine to assess stocks, funds position and pricing issues on a daily basis. Manthan will also improve the existing monthly monitoring system at IBP. IBP sales command 9 per cent of the national market. IOC, which introduced the software in January this year, will now be in a position to maximise the efficiency of IBPs 1,551-outlet network.

IOCs system will enable the company to take full advantage of the dismantling of the administered price mechanism and regulatory controls. SAP and the project consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers have both described the project as the most complex ever.

The company can monitor its stocks at different levels on a daily basis, track the cash flow and focus on an accurate purchase of stocks from the nearest source, besides being able to regulate crude and bulk purchases on a corporate basis.

IOC holds stocks at over 60 locations. Elimination of the duplication of work in functions such as finance, sales, distribution, plant maintenance, human resources, production planning and quality management will have to be taken up on a war-footing.

Manthan will permit IOC to benchmark itself against the best in the world in a liberalised environment. Manthan has already covered 900 users and plan to increase the number to 5,000 by December 2002. By September next year, 15,000-plus users are expected to be covered.