A Houston crude oil supplier signs a "marriage contract" with Cadec to develop an information system to respond to the needs of the oilfield market... then buys out a multi-state operation twice its size.
In 1990, the Scurlock Oil Company had 400 truck operators/drivers and a fleet of 190 vehicles. It purchased and gathered crude oil in and around Texas and Louisiana. The Permian Corporation, another oil purchaser and gathering company, was a giant in the business. Twice the size of Scurlock, it had 1,100 employees, a tractor-trailer fleet of 550 vehicles and a strong presence in 15 oil states.
In July of 1991, Ashland Oil, the parent of the Scurlock Oil Company, announced that it had bought The Permian Corporation.
How did David manage to buy Goliath?
The answer, at least in part, is the Cadec vehicle information system, which was installed on Scurlock's fleet. ''The Cadec information helped us to assess the challenges, risks, and costs associated with acquiring The Permian Corporation," said Duane Gilliam, president of what is now the Scurlock Permian Corporation (SPC). "It helped us to arrive at what was a realistic bid... Without Cadec, it would have taken a veritable army of people countless hours to record, gather, process, manage and utilize the data."
Rugged Computers, for a Start
In the first stage of the relationship, Scurlock used the Cadec product because it provided Scurlock with immediate, tangible benefits. For example, trucks that deliver crude oil have to withstand nearly constant vibration, relentless travel on dirt and limestone roads, blistering heat, and freezing cold. So too, do their onboard computers.
Cadec's rugged OBCs not only passed the durability test, they provided data that helped identify inefficient patterns of vehicle operation. Scurlock took this information and implemented a more decentralized dispatching system. Further. Scurlock's administrative team found that the Cadec systems improved productivity and response time and cut company costs.
It was not much longer before Scurlock had installed Cadec onboard computers on its entire fleet.
SPC Defines a Need, Cadec Provides a solution
After installation, Cadec continued working closely with Scurlock Permian personnel. In this, the second stage of their relationship, Cadec focused on meeting the needs and solving the problems of its customer. SPC requested reports and software uniquely suited to its needs as a crude oil gatherer. Cadec responded by developing the Oil Field Manager.
Scurlock Permian uses the Oil Field Manager to automate the tracking of DOT hours of service in its fleet. The Oil Field Manager works as a comprehensive electronic log, eliminating manual logkeeping and improving log accuracy. Its onboard computer messages use oil field terminology so that SPC drivers enter information specific to the crude oil gathering business. Such terminology includes "lease," "ticket," "tank," "reject IDs," “split loads,” and so on.
In other words, the Oil Field Manager speaks the language of the oil field business.
"Using (Cadec's Oil Field Manager) taught both truck operators and our field people more about our business so we could plan for and take advantage of synergies," said Gilliam.
George Coiner, Scurlock Permian's controller and vice president of administration, is especially keen on the use of Cadec and the Oil Field Manager to improve customer service. "Cadec gives us information about each current and prospective customer so we more clearly understand what it will require to service that customer. Using the Cadec data, we are better able to bid a job, to track our performance, and to audit our efficiency," Coiner said.
The Last Word
"I believe use of the Cadec system has given Scurlock Permian a competitive edge," Gilliam concluded. "Even some of our customers have paid attention to the positive changes that have resulted from our use of the Cadec onboard computers, and have followed suit in their use of the Cadec product."