May 2008, Automotive Fleet - Feature
Baker Hughes Taps Driver Input to Improve Services
By Cheryl Knight
Baker Hughes provides oil and natural gas industry products and services worldwide for drilling, formation evaluation, well completion, and production.
Operating in more than 90 countries around the globe, Baker Hughes divisions are organized in two segments that share common opportunities in developing and delivering technology solutions during distinct phases of oil and gas development.
Baker Hughes constantly re-evaluates its North American fleet of 5,750 Class 1-8 vehicles, used for sales, servicing customer well sites, and transporting product to customers. To better gauge customer satisfaction, the company’s Strategic Sourcing Fleet Commodity Team conducts regular focus groups of its customer base: the company divisions.
Divisions Help Set Strategic Sourcing Decisions
Divisions are involved in strategic sourcing decisions through their participation on Baker Hughes advisory boards and driver focus groups.
Brenda Davis, strategic sourcing commodity manager, fleet & temporary services for Baker Hughes Business Support Services, helps lead and facilitate the sourcing process and advisory boards. Once the process is in place, she tracks program compliance and reports on supplier performance.
Davis and a staff of three source all products and services for fleet and temporary staffing services, and manage the company’s fleet from acquisition to disposal.
“Part of my responsibility is to build supplier relationships and ensure our suppliers are performing to negotiated service levels,” Davis said. “So we stick around through the entire process.”
Davis’ customers are the company’s divisions.
“We are in a shared-services environment, reporting to corporate, and supporting all divisions in the U.S. and Canada,” she said. “Our goal is to source products and services that meet the overall good of Baker Hughes. During a sourcing initiative, we consider more than just price; we consider all the different attributes of an agreement — service, technology, quality, etc.”
While leasing light-duty vehicles from Donlen Corp., Baker Hughes leases and owns medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Each division chooses whether to lease or own heavy-duty vehicles based on lifecycle cost analyses.
Suppliers include Ford, Peterbilt, and International Truck and Engine Company. Replacement cycles are five years/125,000 miles for light vehicles, and set on a case-by-case basis for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.