Offshore Procurement Made Easier – ESS Chose Millum
In September last year, Compass Group’s offshore catering division, ESS, began using Millum as its procurement system – the same system already used by the staff restaurant chain for procurement to all its onshore staff restaurants. The transition to a shared procurement system for both onshore and offshore operations was a comprehensive process, as offshore deliveries come with different requirements than those on land. However, Millum has shown that they understand the challenges of offshore operations and can support customers with food service both on land and at sea.
Different Needs for Procurement at Sea
Ordering food and supplies for an oil platform in the North Sea can be more challenging than procuring for a staff restaurant on land. While staff restaurants mainly serve lunch and meeting food, an offshore catering division must cover all meals and needs for employees who are at sea 24 hours a day. This includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and supper – as well as operating a kiosk where workers can buy personal necessities. The result is large and varied procurement volumes.
Another important difference is delivery frequency. Offshore customers usually receive only one delivery per week, which places high demands on planning and accuracy in the procurement process.
Additionally, offshore work is done in shifts, meaning different people handle procurement at different times. This makes it especially important to be able to track previous orders. To support this need, Millum has made it possible for ESS to view purchase history in several places within the procurement system – so they can always consider how much was ordered last time and what is already on order.
An offshore operation should have access to as broad a range of suppliers as on land. At the same time, it would be both unsustainable and costly if each individual supplier were to ship their goods directly to the installation with their own boats. Instead, deliveries are organized so that all goods from various suppliers are gathered on land, packed into containers, and shipped together to the installation. Millum’s solution supports this process by making it easy to order from multiple suppliers at once, while still receiving the goods in one consolidated delivery.
Millum Understands the Needs of Offshore Procurement
After extensive work and close collaboration – including a pilot phase in cooperation with ESS – Compass Group’s offshore catering division is very pleased to have a procurement system that is truly tailored to their needs.
Millum has been responsive to our needs and adjusted the solution in close dialogue with us. The result is a procurement system adapted to offshore, which makes our processes simpler and more transparent. Food Specialist at Compass GroupØyvind Bolstad
ESS also uses Millum’s stocktaking module. Oil platforms function in practice as “all-inclusive” hotels with 100% occupancy year-round. In addition, they must have an emergency stock, as weather conditions can make deliveries unpredictable. The result is that goods often need to be stored in many places across large and small storage areas – making an efficient stocktaking system absolutely essential.
ESS also uses Millum’s Menu Bank, which includes features such as menu planning – a valuable tool when putting together a large number of varied and nutritious menus.
Millum is proud to offer a flexible procurement system that also works well offshore.
Offshore has extended requirements for logistics and preparedness, and the margin for error is small. That’s why we’ve worked closely with ESS to adapt the system to their daily operations. Our goal is to make procurement easier, whether it’s for a staff restaurant on land or a platform in the middle of the North Sea. Chief Consulting Officer at MillumBoye Kolstad
