After all, these goods cannot be filled into a tank and transported to their new destination right away. Instead, their weight and volume must first be measured and converted. The reason for this: Dependent on the temperature they are exposed to, fluids like gasoline, liquid gas, or aromatics constantly change their volume and density. This adds an all-new layer of complexity to the related business and logistics processes. At any point throughout the process, even a small temperature fluctuation could result in substantial quantity differences – which would then continue to distort all following steps and stages in the supply chain.
Applying the volume correction factor
In practice, the described irregularities are evened out via the so-called volume correction factor (VCF), which converts the volume at the current temperature to the volume at a reference temperature (e.g., 15° Celsius in Europe, 20° Celsius in warmer southern countries, and 60° Fahrenheit in the US). This conversion ensures that the same amount is always referenced throughout the transportation process: from the refinery to the tank terminal to the consumer.
Benefiting from next-gen quantity conversion from the cloud
To handle these complex operations in a most efficient and reliable way, Implico has developed QCM, which is now available as a true cloud solution. Containing all relevant data, tables, and standards, QCM calculates the required values automatically. The experts in the Implico team ensure that the data is always up-to-date and that it includes all international conventions. The special thing about the QCM cloud solution: It can be integrated into the entire end-to-end petroleum logistics process chain – from the refinery to the end customer. The module communicates with other systems and automatically outputs the correct data, right up to quantity bookkeeping and invoicing in ERP systems such as SAP.
