For more than a century, SLB has been a technological pioneer in the energy sector.
With current operations spanning more than 100 countries, a workforce of 80,000, and $36B in revenue in 2024, SLB is a globally recognized leader with a focus on three pillars: traditional oil and gas activities; digital, where the company aims to deliver data-driven solutions at scale for the energy industry; and its new energy division, which is diversifying its portfolio for the needs of tomorrow.
However, when it came to its supply chain, like many global enterprises, SLB faced challenges stemming from siloed planning processes.
Richard Bancel, global director of S&OP at SLB, recalled that there was a heavy reliance on Excel spreadsheets and that “a lot of these planning cycles were actually not really cycles, not orchestrated, and kind of happening on an ad hoc basis.” This lack of integration hindered scenario planning capabilities and disconnected planning efforts from executive decision-making.
Agnes Gaultier, global S&OP digitalization manager at SLB, further touched on this fragmentation, noting that among its core division the company had “13 business lines that operate almost like separate companies with their own processes, dataset, everything.”
Aside from an overreliance on Excel sheets and uncoordinated planning cycles, this fragmentation also led to inefficient resource allocation, excessive inventory, and inaccurate forecasting, with accuracy rates around 50 percent — ultimately impacting the company’s bottom line.
To address these challenges, SLB implemented SAP Integrated Business Planning (SAP IBP).
Reaping the rewards: tangible business value
The impact of SLB’s SAP-powered planning transformation has been noteworthy, to say the least. As Bancel put it, “The big enablers to make a vision come true are the focus on end-to-end processes, change management, and, of course, the digitalization. In our case it was with SAP IBP.”
Some key achievements for SLB include:
- Efficiency gains: Planning activities that previously took up to three weeks now take less than a week, and some that took up to two weeks now take less than a day.
- Inventory reduction: “SLB has been able to improve customer service, reduce lead-time, and drive over $1 billion in inventory savings over the last four years with SAP Integrated Business Planning,” Bancel noted. SLB is also reaching a historically low level of inventory days, reducing days inventory outstanding by 37 percent over three years.
- Demand forecast accuracy: Some business lines that started with less than 50 percent demand forecast accuracy and that have been on this journey six to nine months have improved that number to around 90 percent.
- Time savings: Teams now spend less time on data gathering and more time on simulations and scenario planning.
Beyond these quantifiable results, the transformation has fostered a culture of data-driven decision-making and collaboration, empowering SLB to navigate the complexities of the energy industry with greater agility and confidence.
Looking ahead
While impressive, SLB expects even more benefits.“We’re very proud of these results, but there’s now way more to come,” Bancel said. Wth SLB having all its data in one place, the company is starting to see even more opportunities to streamline and accelerate outcomes. “The fact that all the data is now available for AI, for forecasting, scenario planning — this is just opening a world of opportunities for us.”
Jeb Insley is head of Supply Chain Management for SAP Americas.
