Web-Based Requisitions Driven By Microsoft Dynamics SL Speed Procurement, Manage Fraud Risk at Bisso Marine

Sending requisition orders around for approval and fulfillment is a messy business. When the people requisitioning supplies are working offshore on a drilling rig, construction barge, or production platform, or driving a boat in the Gulf of Mexico, things can really get sticky.

That was the case for Bisso Marine, which specializes in offshore construction, pipeline, decommissioning, marine salvage, and diving services. The company has been in operation since 1890 and has offices in Houston and New Orleans. Its clients include major and independent oil and gas companies, pipeline transmission companies, and infrastructure and construction companies.

"Up until a few years ago, we had an Excel spreadsheet that users had to fill out and send to the corporate headquarters, regardless of their location in the world," says Bisso's Assistant Controller Katy Woolsey. "The buyers in the office had to hand-key purchase orders and obtain pricing. It was tedious and left the company open to the risk of fraudulent or erroneous purchase orders."

Things weren't much better on the accounting side. Woolsey says all invoices had to go to operations for approval before payment, leading to longer pay times, fewer early-payment discounts, and the potential for lost invoices. It was not an ideal situation in terms of vendor relations, she says.

To remedy the situation, Bisso turned to NexTec, the IT provider it had been using since it moved its headquarters to Houston after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. NexTec project manager Jim Gross knew of a Web-based requisition system built for another NexTec client that could be adapted for use at Bisso.

"Their system was definitely a struggle," says Gross. "Sometimes people on the barges had to radio requests to a tugboat captain ...