“At SAAM Towage Mexico we are looking to strengthen our market leadership and the Tripanko project brings us closer to that goal”

Cristián Rojas, Country Manager of SAAM Towage Mexico, has lived in that country since the end of 2018. “Lately we have been working hard to take over Intertug’s operations in Mexico, which added four tugs to our fleet as well as three contracts, one with the Topolobampo Port Administration and two with PEMEX,” he explains.

This civil engineer with a concentration in transportation tells us that each day he works to oversee contract compliance at each port and stakeholder relations in Mexico, in addition to monitoring sales and operations to ensure that the main tasks are performed on time and as agreed.

What role does software like NSE and Helm play for our employees in Mexico? What impact will implementing this software have on our employees’ day-to-day activities?

Implementing these two programs will be key since they will bring major benefits, such as better control and recording of activities performed within the organization. In addition, with everything online communication is simpler and quicker.

Once implemented, our team’s daily activities will be simplified since process flows within both systems will enable information to be recorded, transmitted and reported more efficiently and, above all, in real time.

How does Tripanko impact the goals of our operations in Mexico?

At SAAM Towage Mexico we are looking to strengthen our market leadership and the Tripanko project brings us closer to that goal. By standardizing systems, processes and records, we will obtain high-quality information, which will enhance our ability to analyze operations in the country and, consequently, make any identified improvements. Our customers will also see a substantial improvement in operational supporting documentation for invoiced maneuvers, cutting invoice approval time by reducing analysis time on their end and the need for clarification from us, which currently occurs quite frequently.

In what phase of implementation is Mexico currently?

For this new version of NSE, the system we already use in Mexico, we are beginning the phase of validating the information that will ultimately be uploaded into the system, for both Maintenance and Purchasing.
For Helm, we are in the system configuration phase, which is critical as it defines how to properly execute all tasks within the system. It is the basis for what employees will see on their screens and will do each day.

For 2021, what do you think the main challenges are in terms of implementing this software?

The main challenge will be reporting. By implementing the Qlik Sense tool, we will be able to prepare reports just like we want, but for that we must structure the information as needed from the start, in both NSE and Helm. So, we will pay special attention to developing reports with quality information and making sure this information has everything needed from the start to process it.

We also have the enormous challenge of incorporating Intertug’s Mexican companies into Tripanko from the go live. At that moment we can pull them away from Colombia and put 100% of their processes and accounting in the hands of our team in Mexico.

What developments are coming in terms of NSE and Helm implementation in Mexico? What are the next stages?

We are just about to deploy NSE. Next month we will begin operating the platform and, as a result, there will be changes in operations, new challenges and lessons.

For Helm, we are concluding configuration, which will be followed by training and subsequently deployment, which will also be full of challenges and lessons.

In both cases, the improvements to our current processes will be clear and the benefits for both local and corporate operations will be huge.