18 March 2014, Lagos – Addax Petroleum Development (Nigeria) Limited has restated its commitment to promote excellent service delivery by providing a platform for open and collaborative discourse with its service providers.
Speaking during the company’s 2014 Supply Chain Vendor Forum held in Lagos at the weekend, the General Manager in charge of Supply Chain Management and Nigerian Content, Mr. Valentine Agwu, said the company would not be able to provide excellent services without its vendors.
“In our business, we are a service provider to our customers and we cannot provide the service without our vendors. Our customers expect some level of performance from us. So, we felt the need to talk to the other half of the service providers, which is the vendors; to have a meeting with them and to collaborate with them because we have a common set of issues. It is all about how to serve our customers better,” he said.
Agwu said since the Nigerian Content Act was enacted, the capacity of indigenous contractors had improved significantly.
“It is growing; thanks to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, based in Yenegoa. There are so many jobs that in the past, you would not want to give to a Nigerian vendor – so many activities; so many technical jobs. But the Nigerian companies are increasing capacity. They are getting trained and are learning from the multinational companies. So, I would say that they are growing,” he added.
He said Addax Petroleum was committed to supporting the Nigerian Content in its full nature, adding that the company is in the forefront of giving highly-technical jobs to Nigerian companies.
On the challenges facing Nigerian vendors, Agwu said they “are traditional issues, which are also experienced by the multinational companies.”
“It is one thing to give a man a job and it is another thing to work with the man to make sure he does the job well. It is not peculiar to Nigerian companies,” he added.
The forum with a theme Collaboration – Setting the Pace for Improved Quality Service Delivery in 2014, saw Addax top service partners participate in group discussions on pre- determined contracting and procurement issues.
The event kicked off with an address by the Deputy Managing Director of the company in charge of Corporate Services, Mr Tunji Mayaki, who appreciated the contribution of the service providers in the previous years and emphasised the company desire to working with them in an open and frank manner while urging them to have successful deliberations that will be a foundation for an improved quality delivery.
Agwu in his presentation highlighted areas of the current contracting process where better collaboration would drive required improved service delivery.
The issues deliberated on were ranging from driving Positive HSE Culture, understanding Contract & Performance expectations, developing Contract measurement metrics and achieving Nigerian Content Compliance. At the end of the sessions a number of recommendations were proffered to ensure an improved and mutually beneficial working arrangement.
– Ejiofor Alike, This Day
