Piping Software for EPC Contractors
A technical comparison of piping MTO software, material management systems, and procurement platforms for Oil & Gas EPC projects. From piping estimating to bid tabulation.
The Problem with Piping Procurement
20% of project CAPEX. 50% of engineering hours. 70% of quality costs.
SAP, Ariba, AVEVA ERM, Hexagon Smart Materials all move documents and track materials. None of them understand piping specifications semantically. Traditional piping MTO software manages lists, not meaning.
A "6 inch seamless A106B" pipe, a "TUBO S/S 6" DN150," and a "168.3x7.11 SMLS" are the same product. Without automatic normalization, they become three different material codes in your ERP, three different line items in your bid tabulation, and zero visibility into historical spend. No piping estimating software on the market solves this.
This is why every EPC ends up in Excel. Even with million-dollar piping management software investments, procurement teams still copy-paste supplier quotes into spreadsheets for bid tabulation.
Manual MTO extraction
Per RFQ cycle
RFQ to award
EPC Software Landscape: Four Categories
Each solves a different slice of the problem. Know the battery limits.
Lifecycle Material Management
- End-to-end lifecycle tracking
- 3D CAD integration
- Warehouse management
- Auto-normalize supplier descriptions
- Real-time LME pricing
- Automated bid tabulation
ERP Procurement Modules
- Financial control & audit trail
- Corporate spend visibility
- Approval workflows
- Validate piping specs
- Normalize material codes
- Fast MTO revision handling
Sourcing Platforms
- Supplier relationship mgmt
- Indirect spend optimization
- Contract lifecycle
- Understand piping specs
- Handle complex BOMs
- Track MTO revisions
Site Logistics & Material Readiness
- Real-time site tracking
- Workface planning
- RFID/barcode scanning
- Upstream procurement
- Quote management
- Bid evaluation
What No Piping Software Can Do Today
This is exactly what Projectmaterials does. The only piping software with semantic normalization.
Shell MESC: The Industry Reference
Material and Equipment Standards and Code. The most comprehensive piping catalog.
What is MESC?
Shell's Material and Equipment Standards and Code (MESC) is a comprehensive catalog of over 500,000 piping products with standardized descriptions. Developed over decades, it's the de facto reference for material classification in Oil & Gas.
Many EPCs and operators use MESC codes as their internal standard. The challenge: suppliers don't quote in MESC format, and mapping free-text descriptions to MESC codes is manual, error-prone work.
MESC provides the classification system. You still need tools to manage RFQs, normalize supplier quotes, and generate bid tabulations. Our engine can map to MESC codes automatically.
Big Bang vs. Sidecar
Two implementation philosophies. The most important decision is not which vendor.
Big Bang
Replace everything
- Replace or deeply integrate with existing ERP
- Migrate historical data into new system
- Retrain procurement, engineering, construction
- Convince suppliers to use another portal
Sidecar
Complement existing systems
- Keep existing ERP as financial system of record
- Keep existing 3D CAD for design and MTO
- Add specialized layer for normalization & bid automation
- Export results to SAP/Oracle when ready
Piping Software Comparison
Side-by-side capabilities: piping MTO management, estimating, and procurement automation.
| Capability | AVEVA / Hexagon | SAP / Ariba | Projectmaterials |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical Normalization | Catalog-based (manual) | None | Automatic (3M products) |
| Bid Tabulation | Manual or add-on | Manual | Automatic TBE/CBE |
| Error Rate | 5-10% | 18-40% | <1% |
| RFQ-to-Award Cycle | 3-4 weeks | 4-6 weeks | ~1 week |
| Implementation Time | 6-18 months | Already deployed | Days |
| Supplier Portal Cost | Paid or complex | Ariba Network fees | Free for suppliers |
| LME Price Integration | No | No | Yes |
| Approach | Big Bang | Big Bang | Sidecar |
Different Problems, Different Tools
These are complementary, not alternatives. Many EPCs use both.
AVEVA/Hexagon solves:
- Material lifecycle tracking
- 3D model integration
- Warehouse management
- MTO revision control
SAP/Oracle solves:
- Financial control & audit
- PO and invoice management
- Corporate spend visibility
- Approval workflows
Projectmaterials solves:
- Semantic normalization
- Automatic TBE/CBE generation
- Supplier quote parsing
- Budget pricing from LME
The Reality Today
EPCs have AVEVA/Hexagon as data repository. But when it comes to bid tabulation...
Manual copy-paste. 4-6 weeks. Errors.
Automatic. ~1 week. <1% errors.
AVEVA/Hexagon and Projectmaterials solve different problems. You need both.
Why Piping MTO Software Fails
The normalization gap that no piping design software or ERP can solve.
PIPE-SMLS-A106-GRB-6-SCH40-ASMEB36.10 PIP-7F3A9E2B1C4D8 58 $/meter In SAP, these become four different material codes. In a manual bid tabulation, someone must recognize they are equivalent. With hundreds of line items per RFQ, this is where errors happen and time disappears.
See How It Works
30-minute demo. No slides, just the actual platform processing real piping MTOs.