As Miguel Luque, Chartering Director at Repsol, put it, “time doesn’t stand still, and neither do we.”

One of the most dynamic and innovative energy providers in the industry, Repsol prides itself on progress – working tirelessly to imagine and bring to life a better, cleaner future for all. A crucial ingredient to achieving this vision is prioritizing efficiency and sustainability across their value chain.

Knowing the value chain is only as strong as its weakest link, Repsol strove to bring transparency to a historically opaque part of every producer or charterer’s global operations, the marine modality. This led them to implement the Veson IMOS Platform (VIP) in 2019.

“From a shipping point of view, we have to be more efficient in our operations by extracting the most value from the data available to us to help achieve our aggressive business goals,” explained Miguel Luque. “Having all the data easily accessible in a single tool is key for a complex organization with people serving different roles and tasks and teams located in various countries around the world.”

From Burdensome In-House System to Cutting-Edge Cloud Solution

Several years ago, Repsol assessed their digitalization goals and recognized that their current in-house system was holding them back. Burdened by extensive upkeep, manual data entry, and lack of agility, the Spanish energy giant decided that it was time to make an intentional change.

Led by their commitment to innovation for sustainable, long-term success, Repsol sought out a forward-thinking technology partner with a purpose driven approach to digitalization and change management. When they discovered the Veson IMOS Platform, the search was over.

“During the first stage of this partnership, while we were still evaluating VIP, we did not have any specific knowledge on the tool,” Luque said. “Veson helped us to define processes and understand how the system’s many functionalities could fulfill our needs. It was the clear choice.”

Moving from an in-house system to the maritime world’s most dynamic commercial freight management platform required a significant adjustment in Repsol’s workflows. “As we were coming from a system developed in-house, both the processes and the look and feel of VIP was a radical change,” recalls Luque. “The Veson services team worked with us to ensure the approach to these new process changes was centered around our users and our unique business needs.”

“During the first stage of this partnership, while we were still evaluating VIP, we did not have any specific knowledge on the tool. Veson helped us to define processes and understand how the system’s many functionalities could fulfill our needs. It was the clear choice.”

Miguel Luque, Chartering Director at Repsol

With decades of experience leading software implementations for maritime innovators, Veson was eager to support Repsol in their mission to drive progress through efficiency and sustainability. “Repsol and Veson had an excellent collaboration throughout the VIP implementation project,” recalled Martin Balestra, Director of Professional Services at Veson Nautical. “Our two teams worked as one to implement industry-standard processes by leveraging both the functionality in VIP and Repsol’s deep industry knowledge.”

With this collaborative and intentional approach, Repsol experienced a smooth and successful transition to the new cloud solution. “Since implementing VIP, we have cut down significantly on the time required to perform specific tasks, giving us more time to dedicate to others regarding analysis and decision making,” noted Luque. “Additionally, we have experienced a great improvement in the amount and quality of information that is now available to our global teams in the system, which was previously calculated and communicated outside of the system.”

“Repsol and Veson had an excellent collaboration throughout the VIP implementation project. Our two teams worked as one to implement industry-standard processes by leveraging both the functionality in VIP and Repsol’s deep industry knowledge.”

Martin Balestra, Director of Professional Services at Veson Nautical

Strong Digital Roots for A Fruitful Future

Streamlined workflows are not the only benefit to Repsol. “The quality, detail, and availability of the information registered in VIP is allowing us to launch diverse digital initiatives that were previously much more difficult and expensive to implement,” Miguel Luque commented. “Emissions calculations; bunker consumption optimization; and analysis of dynamically available information through Power BI and reporting – all of these initiatives are now readily accessible within VIP.”

With the right digital solution as a foundation, Repsol is able to branch out into new digitally enabled initiatives, creating a dynamic digital ecosystem that drives their business forward with a competitive edge.

“I think it adds a great value to be able to connect your core system with other sources of information, both internally and externally, so that everything is central and in sync,” Luque emphasized. “Doing this ensures data quality and availability in near real time with total transparency, as well as reduces the operational risk that comes along with siloed data and systems.”

Repsol has integrated its VIP environment with a variety of other systems and plans to continue expanding. “Currently, we have interfaces with several systems, such as our ETRM System, SAP for accounting, and Power BI for reporting,” explained Luque. “We are also working to connect VIP with other external tools to help us to optimize our fleet. Extending our capabilities allows Repsol to have reliable and actualized information earlier, which means more profitable and sustainable decision making.”

As an organization on the cutting edge of delivering cleaner, more sustainable energy to all, the ability to make more sustainable decisions at sea is crucial for Repsol. “Our mission is to be an energy company committed to a sustainable world with a forward-looking vision based on innovation, efficiency, respect, and creating value that promotes progress in society,” stated Luque. “Repsol is present in the entire value chain: exploration, production, transformation, development, and commercialization of efficient, sustainable and competitive energy. With VIP streamlining our seaborne operations, we are in a much better position to live out our mission across the entire value chain.”

“Our mission is to be an energy company committed to a sustainable world with a forward-looking vision based on innovation, efficiency, respect, and creating value that promotes progress in society. Repsol is present in the entire value chain: exploration, production, transformation, development, and commercialization of efficient, sustainable and competitive energy. With VIP streamlining our seaborne operations, we are in a much better position to live out our mission across the entire value chain.”

Miguel Luque, Chartering Director at Repsol

Collaboration is Key

Active for over a year, the partnership between Repsol and Veson Nautical has evolved as each organization continues to innovate for a better future. “Our partnership now focuses more on change management and the evolution of our processes to obtain greater benefit from VIP functionalities,” noted Miguel Luque. “This means that we are starting to coordinate our evolution with the roadmap that VIP is charting as a product among other initiatives.”

As Repsol looks to the future, they can see a clear path to their operational efficiency and sustainability goals. “There are plenty of opportunities in this field,” Luque stated, “you just need the right tools to help you capitalize on them. Our partnership with Veson is empowering us to do just that.”