An organization
must have clear and concise objectives when managing outsourced IT projects on
an ongoing basis. Says Col Rae from Oniqua, an international company which
specializes in enterprise analytics and asset performance management, “ensure
you have the right people in place and be aware that managing a so-called
‘captive team’ is an evolutionary process.”
He was commenting on the ingredients for the success of an outsourcing
arrangement in which Mitrais staff are responsible for the ongoing cataloging
projects which Brisbane-headquartered Oniqua undertakes for its international
clients.
In 2006 the outsourcing arrangement established a captive team of 12 people
in Bali operating under the day-to-day management of Col Rae and his cataloging
team that reside in Oniqua’s Melbourne office.
The initiative arose as it became a strategic business necessity for Oniqua
to undertake cost-effective measures to lower the cost of cataloguing activities
so as to remain competitive in the global market. Outsourcing enables Oniqua to
escalate its production and speed of service for clients, while project
management along with strict quality assurance procedures, are all maintained
within the Australian operation.
Three years on and now 18 in number, the Bali team is finalizing a web-based
cataloging directory, which will further streamline the services Oniqua provides
to asset-intensive organizations such as mining, oil, gas and utilities. In
addition to cataloging, Oniqua backs up its Australian based development group
and operations with a team of programmers in Bali developing analytical
applications and software testing.
“We enjoy a successful and productive relationship with Mitrais because we
laid the right foundations and we recognize the need for the relationship to
continue to evolve,” Mr. Rae said.
Oniqua helps organizations minimize their asset-related inefficiencies and
waste by making better use of the data captured by their transactional systems
across the enterprise. Its clients include blue chip giants such as
ConocoPhillips, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Newmont Mining and many others.
The materials cataloging function unambiguously describes materials with the
objective of delivering a range of bottom line benefits in areas like
procurement and inventory.
For a material catalog of 5,000 items valued at $5million, Oniqua regularly
sees duplication of between 5 and 20 percent. Removal of that duplication
reduces inventory holdings, as well as purchasing activity and procurement
costs. A good material catalog is critical to support efficient material and
maintenance planning practices and outcomes that are typically required in
asset-intensive applications.
Oniqua’s
international reputation in materials cataloging has grown solidly on the back
of its ownership of the intellectual property rights to Auslang, an Australian
cataloging language. Auslang is one of just a handful of open or proprietary
standards which can be used to document and unambiguously define materials.
Until 2006 Oniqua maintained the cataloging application in its Melbourne
office, including the core Oniqua Standards Dictionary, an easy to use reference
tool that provides access to widely accepted material cataloging standards.
Melbourne remains the company’s cataloguing project office which specifies
the work undertaken in Bali where the major functions undertaken by the captive
team are to apply the cataloging standards and to realign materials data into a
consistent format.
“The captive team is briefed by and answers to the project managers in our
Melbourne office,” Mr. Rae said.
He says the strength of the relationship between the two locations is
underpinned by the geographic proximity of a near offshore location and the
skills base available to Oniqua at Mitrais.
While outsourcing is cost effective, it does require adherence to certain
guidelines Col Rae says. Specifications must be tightly defined with no assumed
knowledge. Effort must be expended in getting the team across the intricacies of
a software product’s business rules and coding standards.
He says communications in remote teaming needs to be structured and formal.
Not being able to see the team directly may present a challenge for those who
haven’t done it before. So, effort must be made to stay in regular communication
with the outsourced team to ensure that they are on the right track.
“We measure the ongoing success of the venture with Mitrais based on such
things as daily throughout and accuracy.
“Our near term objective is to foster an even closer relationship between the
Bali team and the project office, as well as relocating more functions to Bali,”
Mr. Rae says.
In the immediate future however he is keen to see the launch of the web-based
Oniqua Standards Dictionary which will be delivered to clients using the
Software as a Service business model. Enabling users to identify standard names,
material characteristics and abbreviations, the SaaS version will replace twice
yearly updates on CD and further advance Oniqua’s credentials amongst a blue
chip international customer base.