Implico takes automation to Latin America

DOWN MEXICO WAY

DIGITISATION • LEADING TERMINAL AUTOMATION SPECIALIST IMPLICO HAS STRUCK TWO PARTNERSHIPS TO SPREAD THE WORD ON THE BENEFITS OF DIGITISED OPERATIONS

IMPLICO GROUP HAS teamed up with Mexican solutions integrator Apollocom to form a partnership to digitise the Mexican downstream sector. The joint project centres on Implico’s feature-rich terminal management system, OpenTAS TMS, which is seen by Apollocom as the ideal solution to open up the Mexican bulk liquids storage sector to the benefits of digitisation.

“We see great opportunity in Mexico,” says Thomas Roller, head of sales and marketing at Implico. “On the one hand, the country possesses vast oil reserves and has a high daily demand for oil. On the other hand, it has only in recent years invited foreign companies to enter this business. This has created a special field of tension in which the

IMPLICO SEES GREAT PROMISE IN LATIN AMERICA’S

DOWNSTREAM SECTOR, INKING TWO COLLABORATIVE most forward-looking and open-to-innovate companies will take the lead.

“We believe that OpenTAS TMS is a vital means to achieve this. And we believe that Apollocom, with its great expertise in terminal automation and process enhancement, is the perfect partner to introduce the Mexican market to the many advantages of OpenTAS TMS,” Roller adds.

The tank storage market in Mexico offers a lot of potential for digital transformation specialists such as Implico and Apollocom. Currently, the priority is to increase storage days of hydrocarbon products in storage and distribution terminals on Mexican ground. Since the energy reform was introduced, many of the world’s leading tank storage providers either started or announced the construction of storage facilities in Mexico. Besides these new structures, there are also more than 70 terminals operated by the state-owned national oil company Pemex. DIGITAL IS THE KEY Belinda Quijano, managing director of Apollocom, points out: “Digitalisation is key to success – this claim, which is currently more true than ever, can be applied to any industry or market. It is especially valid, however, for the Mexican downstream industry. Here we see huge demand for a capable, flexible and feature-rich solution providing substantial business benefits - a solution like OpenTAS TMS, which we are eager to bring to Mexico together with our new partners at Implico Group.”

The partnership with Apollocom follows swiftly on from Implico’s announcement this past December that it had struck up a partnership with the digital transformation and IT consultancy Minsait to guide and support oil and gas companies in Latin America, Spain, Portugal and Italy in their digitisation endeavours.

Both Implico and Minsait are convinced that oil and gas companies must streamline and target their operations through digitisation now more than ever. The better their internal and external processes are designed, the more direct and purposeful they can position themselves in a market that is hard to predict and constantly in motion. According to Implico and Minsait, this is especially true in today’s – and tomorrow’s – oil and gas landscape, which is heavily impacted by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

“These days, all market participants in downstream face the same challenge – namely to keep their margins intact in a disruptive, volatile environment,” says Cesar Salan, director of Minsait. “To achieve this, they must digitise their businesses and render their processes lean, flexible, aim-oriented and efficient. Implico and Minsait have the knowledge, mindset, connections and technology to make this happen.”

The partnership between Implico and Minsait will centre on Implico’s established SAP downstream solutions for distribution and fuel retailing. Minsait too is a long-running SAP partner and together the two companies will help their customers transform more quickly, more smartly and more lastingly. www.implico.com www.apollocom.com.mx