Tullow Ghana’s commitment to supplier development remains a key pillar of its Local Content activities.

The company remains unfazed despite the spread of the novel coronavirus which has prevented direct physical contact among groups of people.

The restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic has led Tullow Ghana to adopt creative and alternative approaches to its engagements with suppliers in Ghana.

Many individuals, businesses and countries, are using innovative ways to keep learning, working and engaging and Tullow’s Local Content team is no exception. 

Tullow Ghana’s supplier development seminars are usually held at a physical venue – allowing members of the company’s local content and supply chain teams to engage directly with indigenous suppliers during the training sessions.

Guided by restrictions on social gatherings in Ghana, Tullow Ghana’s local content team on May 21, via an unprecedented approach, held Tullow’s first-ever virtual supplier development engagement to introduce the COUPA contract management and procurement tool to the local supplier community.

 The COUPA procurement and contract management system was launched by Tullow Ghana in February 2020 to achieve greater efficiency and transparency in our procurement activities.

One hundred and five indigenous suppliers took part in the webinar organised via Microsoft Teams. The training was held in two sessions – a morning and afternoon session. 

The purpose of targeting only indigenous suppliers for the COUPA training was not only to engage local businesses, but also, a commitment to growing and generating in-country capability to support the development of Ghana’s oil and gas industry for the future. 

In an address to open the session, Lucy Yamson, Local Content Advisor of Tullow Ghana, pointed out that, “in the wake of Covid-19, this virtual approach to our Supplier Development initiatives ensures continued focus on our commitment to local content and keeps the supplier community abreast with technological upgrades related to our procurement process.”

To facilitate a smooth online session, participants were asked to remain on mute except when making contributions or asking questions. 

 The webinar was delivered by Esther Asiedu, an Operations and Logistics Contract Advisor and COUPA Super User in Tullow Ghana.

She explained the purpose of COUPA and its implications for Tullow’s current contract and procurement activities.

Asiedu, through a live demonstration to the Suppliers, showed the ease of using COUPA and emphasised the advantages of the new sourcing platform a single platform for all of Tullow’s sourcing activities.  

Intuitive and easy to use facilitates a more efficient and effective sourcing process and helps drive compliance in document retention and improves auditability. 

A post seminar survey of the participating suppliers revealed the following: 

• 100% of the suppliers who attended the virtual training said “Yes”, the webinar was successful 
• 86% said they felt equipped to use the COUPA platform 

Additional feedback received via Microsoft team Instant Messenger also indicated that, participants understood why Tullow Ghana transitioned to the use of the COUPA tool and appreciated the ease with which tenderers would participate in Tullow’s procurement and contract activities going forward. 

The suppliers commended Tullow Ghana for the effort made to bring greater efficiency and transparency to the tendering process through the COUPA platform. 

Jennifer Bruce-Konuah, Local Content Manager of Tullow Ghana Limited commented, “As operator of the Jubilee and TEN fields in Ghana, we are committed to regularly engaging with local suppliers to ensure that they understand Tullow’s procurement requirements and can easily navigate our contracting and procurement processes”. 

“Tullow adopted COUPA as our electronic cloud-based sourcing tool to transform the way we work with our suppliers. I am pleased that as part of our commitment to training and local capacity development, we have successfully delivered our first-ever virtual training webinar to equip suppliers with the necessary skills to efficiently navigate the COUPA platform and conduct sourcing activities for goods and services with greater ease”.