Overview

Grupo LAC is one of Argentina’s main players in fuel transportation, operating a wide and complex logistics network that connects refineries, distribution hubs, and critical destinations across the country. Every day, planners, drivers, and third-party systems interact to ensure that each trip is executed safely, on time, and under strict operational and regulatory standards.

Before partnering with Santex, this operation relied on multiple spreadsheets, siloed platforms, and informal communication channels that demanded constant manual coordination. Planning a single day required validating unit availability, checking driver readiness, loading trips, monitoring delays, and reconciling information dispersed across different tools and sources.

Together, we set out to build TERA. This digital platform was designed to consolidate this complexity into a single, intelligent operational system that could evolve with the business. What started as a digitalization initiative quickly grew into a strategic transformation of Grupo LAC’s logistics capabilities.

The Challenge

Grupo LAC’s operation relied heavily on manual, fragmented processes that created risk and operational inefficiencies. Trip status, availability checks, route changes, and delays were managed across multiple spreadsheets and external systems, with no real-time visibility of the fleet. The planning workflow demanded more than 7 hours and 30 minutes of manual work every day. 

Communication occurred through fragmented channels, including calls, emails, and messages, resulting in inconsistent records and limited traceability. Only one user could upload information into key platforms, generating bottlenecks and delaying decision-making. This environment increased operational risk and made workflow execution highly dependent on manual coordination.

The company needed a centralized platform that could unify data, automate critical steps, and support faster and more accurate decisions in a high-stakes industry.

The Solution

We approached the transformation in two phases, each designed to strengthen operational capabilities.

Phase 1: Digitalization

The first milestone was building a secure architecture capable of supporting a high-volume logistics operation. Core processes that once depended on spreadsheets and phone calls were digitized and centralized inside TERA. Contracts, units, drivers, and trips were integrated into a cohesive system, giving planners access to digital trip sheets, real-time tracking, ETA calculations, and role-based permissions.

Early integrations allowed automated fleet data ingestion and prepared the platform to scale with the company’s operational demands.

Phase 2: Intelligent Optimization

Once the foundational workflows were stabilized, TERA evolved into an intelligent platform. A scoring-based planning engine was introduced to recommend the most suitable unit for each trip by evaluating distance, maintenance schedules, ETA, proximity to the origin terminal, and future operational events. Bulk trip creation through Excel ingestion significantly reduced the effort required for daily routing and minimized human error.

As the platform expanded, TERA incorporated additional modules that strengthened its operational value:

Customer Management: A centralized space to store, update, and manage all customer information, improving traceability and consistency across the operation.

Fleet Status Dashboard: A real-time, consolidated view of fleet availability. Supervisors can focus on their assigned units, while managers access a full operational panorama, enabling faster, data-driven decisions.

Intelligent Planning: Automated recommendations powered by a scoring system that analyzes route efficiency, unit readiness, maintenance, ETA, and logistical context.

Third-Party Integrations: Automatic processing of maintenance and fleet events updates each unit’s availability without manual intervention, resulting in more accurate and efficient planning.

Security and Stability: Mandatory password rotation, enhanced monitoring tools, code quality improvements, and AWS infrastructure optimization strengthened reliability and ensured smooth day-to-day performance.

Through this evolution, TERA matured into a platform that not only digitizes operations but also anticipates issues and enables a more agile and efficient logistics workflow.

Key Outcomes

Daily planning time reduced by 50% 

• From 7h30 to 3h45, saving 3h45 every day.

Operational efficiency gains

• Manual tasks were reduced between 45% and 80%, depending on the activity. 

• Documentation, maintenance checks, and availability validation were optimized between 53% and 75%.

Improved decision-making

• Real-time fleet visibility replaced blind spots in trip status and unit readiness.

• Automated scoring reduced planning errors and improved allocation accuracy.

Higher-value work for planners

Planners now use regained hours for monitoring, analysis, and resolving operational issues instead of repetitive manual tasks.

Reliable and traceable workflows

All communication and updates are consolidated inside TERA, replacing the informal channels that previously drove execution.

Testimony

“Working with Santex has been a great learning experience. Adopting Santex’s practices helped us improve communication with team leads and organize our operation more effectively. TERA transformed our procedures into something tangible and structured, and it has significantly optimized our day-to-day workflow.”

— Chief Operating Officer at Grupo LAC