Background
Fluxys is the independent operator of both the natural gas transmission grid and storage infrastructure in Belgium. The company also operates the Zeebrugge LNG terminal. Fluxy has developed its infrastructure into the veritable crossroads for international gas flow in North-Western Europe.
Challenge
In order to manage all gas usage communications – e.g. measure, remote control, etc –, Fluxys makes extensive use of fiber optic cables. As it had to renew part of its optical network, Fluxys needed to buy hundreds of miles of new cables of various capacities, ranging from 8 to 144 fibers per cable.
To evaluate the offers, Fluxys brought together staff members from different functional teams to combine qualitative judgments and quantitative data. During those meetings, they had to:
- Take into account non-financial criteria such as mechanical and optical characteristics
- Achieve good communication between the stakeholders
- Promote a better offer selection process via fast and binding decision-making
- Ensure the selection of the best provider
Actions
Given the increasing number of international tenders under management, Fluxys resolved to standardize the way offers were being compared. This is particularly important when technical requirements are part of the equation and multiple criteria need to be considered in order to evaluate products or services properly. In addition, Fluxys is generating more than 500 calls for tenders a year and it is therefore important for it to streamline its processes.
The method originally used by Fluxys to evaluate the offers consisted in a weighted sum implemented in an Excel sheet. As the procurement department was in contact with a research unit of the University of Brussels, active in the field of multi-criteria decision aid, Fluxys decided to test D-Sight. This initiative was aimed at providing a deeper and faster analysis of the received offers data.
During the evaluation phase, two Fluxys staff members worked on this call for tenders: a buyer and a telecom engineer. The buyer was responsible for all the procurement aspects as well as the legal and financial provider evaluation. On its part, the engineer was responsible for evaluating all the technical aspects of the different products.
Results
By using D-Sight, the team was able to conduct a faster offer evaluation process. While saving their time, D-Sight gave them the possibility to immediately have a global idea on what the providers offered. Furthermore, as the team held progress meetings, the interaction between the buyer and the engineer was improved significantly. Indeed, the interactive interface of D-Sight allows the stakeholder to easily understand the results.
The numerous tools available within D-Sight allow for a deeper offer comparison. By empowering the users to perform sensitivity analysis, the stakeholders are comforted in their choices and can easily and rigorously justify them. In addition, D-Sight provides a results export feature for simple report creation.