CTRM Archives - Value Creed

Five Ways CIOs Can Leverage RightAngle Expertise On Demand

Modern business demands require more than merely managing the status quo for CTRM platforms. Whether executives seek to integrate their platform with other systems, provide data transparency to front office users, for instance, or reduce their total cost of ownership for the system, expertise is demanded.

Value Creed’s teams of technical and functional experts enable your organization to achieve your goals at every stage of the RightAngle journey in five unique ways.

Holistic oversight

Teams mired in RightAngle maintenance must allocate their time to short-term needs, rather than strategic programs.

Increased data capabilities

Now more than ever, data is seen as a corporate asset. Integrating your RightAngle with data sources makes business use of this asset possible.

Wide-ranging expertise

In-house teams build skills and knowledge, yet Value Creed's technical and functional expertise aids in fulfilling complex demands.

Dual-time zone model

Latent issues are resolved overnight thanks to teams working across time zones for more efficient success.

Global experience

Our experts have worked with CTRM teams across the globe, providing a wealth of insight to each valued client.

Why Value Creed's Expertise On Demand is a Game Changer

There was a time when in-house RightAngle experts could effectively handle most issues in their commodity management software. Yet the 24/7 nature of modern commodity trading and risk management requires new, more creative solutions for a rapidly evolving market.

Value Creed’s Expertise on Demand offering bridges the gap between the client’s bottom-line needs and the decades of experience available from an outsourced team. This flexible alternative to full-time staffing enables your IT budget to go further for key programs like these:

In order to meet the demands of cost of ownership improvements, Value Creed’s dual timezone support gives CIOs the capacity they need for diverse projects. These may include: scoping and developing new Endur functionality, creating and testing custom extensions, outsourcing repetitive business processes, building dynamic dashboards for decision making and monitoring performance overnight and during the work-day.

Data Smart™ Solutions for Every Level of Your Business

Data Smart™ desilos your data and places it in the hands of key users, data analysts, and decision-makers. This innovative solution engineers a complete data catalog, transcending data quality issues and optimizing DataOps methodology.

"Value Creed brought hands-on experience to the upgrade that allowed us to leverage their extensive knowledge-base with our own. In short, they were able to get us off the ground so that we could focus on what matters most: our business."

“We had an incredibly short period to make these changes so we could maintain automation of our trade data feeds. Interrupting business operations was not an option. Luckily, BroadPeak and Value Creed met our deadline. Their commitment to our project was impressive.”

Three Business Critical Dimensions of CTRM Know-how

Each individual working within an Expertise on Demand team possesses a multitude of knowledge from working across multiple accounts. They are familiar with a platform not from a single previous client, but in many different environments, making them more agile when approaching familiar challenges. This uniquely specialized expertise pays off in a number of ways:

Integration

A given vendor can lend valuable support in the early days of implementation, yet when it comes to scaling CTRM needs with market growth, integrations are essential. ValueCreed’s Expertise on Demand consultants can re-architect entirely new solutions or supply key performance upgrades that vastly reduce performance times, often from hours to minutes.

P&L Reporting

Reducing the performance time within CTRM reporting opens up more possibilities for data. Profit and Loss statements, in particular, benefit from on demand expertise, given the up-to-the-minute nature of the data needed to gain key insights.

Inventory Valuation

Objective insights in inventory valuation are essential. A given CTRM software vendor often lacks the in-depth knowledge of a company’s inventory assets and valuation methods. On demand expertise tailors solutions to valuing inventory, no matter the size or shape.

To a team of on demand CTRM experts, no problem is completely new. Successful businesses know what they need to accomplish to meet their long and short-term goals—Value Creed’s expertise on demand bridges that gap between ‘would’ and ‘can.’

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Five Ways CIOs Can Leverage Endur Expertise On Demand

Value Creed’s teams of technical and functional experts enable your organization to achieve your goals at every stage of the CTRM journey in five unique ways.

Holistic oversight

Teams mired in Endur maintenance must allocate their time to short-term needs, rather than strategic programs.

Increased data capabilities

Now more than ever, data is seen as a corporate asset. Integrating your Endur with data sources makes business use of this asset possible.

Wide-ranging expertise

In-house teams build skills and knowledge, yet Value Creed's technical and functional expertise aids in fulfilling complex demands.

Dual-time zone model

Latent issues are resolved overnight thanks to teams working across time zones for more efficient success.

Global experience

Our experts have worked with CTRM teams across the globe, providing a wealth of insight to each valued client.

Why Value Creed's Expertise On Demand is a Game Changer

There was a time when in-house Endur experts could effectively handle most issues in their commodity management software. Yet the 24/7 nature of modern commodity trading and risk management requires new, more creative solutions for a rapidly evolving market.

Data Smart™ Solutions for Every Level of Your Business

Three Business Critical Dimensions of CTRM Know-how

Integration

P&L Reporting

Inventory Valuation

Ready To Get Started?

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Training Approach

Training is integrated from inception to the end of the project. We engage the users in training during phases 1 and 2 of the upgrade process. Our team will work side by side with the users to validate the system, and provide informal one-on-one training as well as knowledge-sharing sessions, essentially helping the users “learn by doing”.

Just as testing does not begin with UAT, training does not begin with UAT. During the Upgrade Assessment phase, we establish a collaborative culture with the message, “Endur expertise is on site, feel free to engage with your questions about Endur.” We engage the users during phases 1 and 2 of the upgrade process. In addition to the training embedded in our methodology, formal training at the start of UAT is provided. We edit our training materials to use actual examples to provide a meaningful training experience. The training experience does not end at go-live.

The training approach has four elements to execute training. The first element is Training Plan & Documentation. During this, a training plan is developed based on the impact assessment and changes. The second element is testing the training material and identifying individual training needs and deficiencies. The third element focuses on training delivery, where the training participation is tracked. The last element is about refreshing and reinforcing training which details additional training if required.

Our Hyper Care team will ensure that your users are trained in any new functionality or changes to the system. It’s a support phase that follows immediately after the Upgrade Go-Live to ensure seamless adoption.

Ready to Explore Upgrading Your CTRM?

Leverage a partner with best-in-class functional and technical expertise to manage and deploy your upgrade on time and on budget.

Finding the right CTRM Solution for your business

Choosing the right software for your organization can be a difficult assignment, particularly in regards to CTRM software. The requirements can be different and might be as unique as the business itself. An ideal software should meet the needs and prepare the organization to take advantage of the opportunities in the complex and ever-changing energy markets.

The solution you carry out should follow a holistic approach and has to be dynamic in nature. It should be able to engage front, middle, and back offices in requirements gathering and should provide end-to-end solutions.

Common misconceptions about CTRM software selection process and how to avoid them

Prior to getting down to the prescribed procedures, It is very important to know what has to be avoided. The following are normal misconceptions about choosing the right CTRM software that is suitable for your business model.

Misconception #1

What worked for others might work for you as well.

Each business and business process is unique. This is the actual reason why businesses and management spend more time on “Differentiating their strategy”. Since every business strategy is unique, system implementation should also be different. It means a lot to maintain the attention on your requirement while assessing CTRM software.

Misconception #2

CTRM software selection is all about evaluating the technical and functional aspects of the software.

While it is very important to select a solution that meets your technical and functional requirements. It is also critical to look at the flexibility and ease of use that places functionality in the hands of your business users.

Any solution that that is flexible and can be used for future business requirements offers more prominent long-term value to your business or business users.

Misconception #3

Demos and very nice presentations are proof of good software.

Generally, demos/presentations are good ways to get introduced to the software. It is when you would need to dive deeper into the evaluation process and analyze what best suits your business needs. Having a good and detailed business scenarios that covers your business is an essential for a good demo.

Useful hints to assist you with your software vendor evaluation and RFP Process

Tip #1

Understand your core capabilities and day-to-day business needs

It could appear evident yet getting a clear understanding of the business, and how it makes sense to add value for the stakeholders now and in the future, and inside the organization’s related governance structures is basic for choosing the right trading and risk solution(s).

The requirements of an energy marketer that is advancing to consolidate a hedging program and a small bunch of trading methodologies are totally different from a complex trading house looking to venture into new commodities, new business sectors, outlandish instruments, or carefully empowering their trading and risk arrangement system. A tailored solution to the present companies might be rapidly growing without an insightful perspective on needs five to seven years down the line. It needs to be beneficial for your business today, but also aligned to your business strategy ready to support the future state of your business.

Tip #2

Discuss with vendors beyond the tender process: Educate yourself about the CTRM Markets

CTRM applications are niche in the market. Software vendors and software integrators are the ones who have an impeccable source of information about these products from their extensive offerings and experience. Before you start your selection process, you will need to spend time on the latest trends, CTRM market, Options available and so on, to ensure the potential fit for your business.

Ask your vendors “what is important?”

You might know what is exactly important or required for your company, however, ask for this. It is very important to talk to your vendors ahead of the tender process and build up knowledge before you go for the tender process.

Tip #3

CTRM software selection is not just about functionality

Any software vendor typically can build and deliver the functionality more than you ask about. It is all about how the functionality is implemented in your software or your process for your future needs too. You just need to challenge your vendors.

The manner in that you challenge your vendors is to give them tasks. For example: Describe how the functionality is implemented or define your implementation process and scope of your software in the future. Ask them for a guide/document so that you can understand the business model, and whether you can implement this in your organization.

Tip #4

Strategy of implementation is all about the change management: Define a clear strategy on the technology and Architecture

Nowadays, for business and IT pioneers, the event of an extraordinary framework implementation like another ERP, CTRM, or other enterprise solution might be the rare opportunity to step back, look at the innovation, technology landscaping, and, possibly take new steps in building a new architecture. Is the IT department wanting to advance in a cloud or digital native direction in terms of application strategy? Is the basic postmodern ERP approach that tries to use broad API-based integration among the reasons fabricated, leading tools? This kind of task can give the impulse and resources to digitalize the process.

We know that you or the vendors need high-level details while implementing CTRM software, but most of the times stake holders are not really ready to disclose those details. That’s where vendors try to lock the projects in the design phase to fix the design. So, once the design is fixed, you cannot make any changes because they will be building the data warehouse based on the fixed design.

What we understood is that you’re not ready to give them all the details. Since it will change constantly – Application Management – Strategy Management & Application performance management – is about change. Along these lines, don’t go into this trap of agreeing “I locked the designing phase of the project, I locked the planning stage,” since, in such a case that you do that, they will give a change request constantly, for each time you are changing the scope.

Tip #5

Challenge your vendors

It’s not just about the good demos and nice PowerPoint presentations. What you need is evidence. You will need to ask your vendors about evidence to create and show you the KPI’s and KRI’s of the application or how to create the KPI’s & KRI’s of the process. This gives a comfort that you need. Asking more and more questions to your vendors on their business cases might help you to relate your business process and build up more knowledge.

Tip #6

CTRM is an ongoing process

We think CTRM solution is not just a software or a project, it is an ongoing process. It should continue even after vendor leaves you, need the consultants to work on the application support and manage the application from multiple factors.

The important questions that should come to your mind are “who will be managing your CTRM while or after implementing your software?” “Has the implementation team delivered you enough documentation?” Have they shared you enough knowledge, so that you are able to operate by yourself on daily basis?”. Also, you need to add these your tender documents.

A brilliant method for separating vendors is to request a POC. In the event that the software is adaptable and simple to use, it ought to be simple for the vendor to set up a POC in light of your prerequisites. Making this solicitation a piece of your merchant determination cycle will help an objective evaluation of the solutions.

Critically, it is very important to think about the traditional CTRM Software selection and procurement process and tailor them to deliver that is best lined up with your plan of action and business model, Software capabilities, technology strategy and needs. digitalization is troublesome commonly and applying to many years old selection, Procurement, and implementation techniques to these sorts of undertakings are probably not going to yield significant advancement.

Value Creed will assist you in choosing the right software, that is a best fit for your resources and capabilities.

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Key Enhancements to Liquids Module UI in Allegro Horizon

This blog summarizes the enhancements made to the user interface of Allegro Horizon’s crude, NGL’s and refined products functionality and help users understand the various benefits of moving to the .NET core version, where in the logistics data gets valued in Valuation and Net Valuation that enhances performance significantly ensuring more consistent results.

The Logistics UI has been powered by various subsets of UIs to get information

To enhance system performance, various parameters are included on the view, allowing the user to retrieve only the data they need. The default settings allows only the actualized volume positions to be shown to the users thus enhancing performance.
The Physical Inventory Position UI has been also enhanced to best analyze the data of physical inventory quantities by product type, product, location, and delivery day.

Since the UI has been equipped with various parameters, users have easy access to the information like:

Benefits that a Allegro Horizon Upgrade can deliver

Improved locational hierarchy enabling users to track Locations, Sub-Locations, and Tanks in a hierarchical manner. Users can also set up to mirror the physical and logical organization of customer assets, delivery locations, and receipt locations.

More efficient and user-friendly scheduling around pipelines and in handling high-volume truck operations.

Realtime Position and P&L Reporting with automated line/transit loss and gain recognition helping users avoid manual errors.

Manage multiple inventory types within a tank with the ability to assign tank types like Lease, Storage, and Blending.

Better Exposure Reporting with an improved ability for users to execute aggregate hedging across high-volume liquid operations with complex pricing.

Enhanced net valuations for individual tanks without having the tank set up as its own location allowing a better understanding of inventory costs and value across time periods.

Separation of Tank/pile capacity, volume, and inventory tracking specifying tank capacity, liquid volume, and what portion of liquid volume has to be tracked and valued as inventory enabling users to deal with market disruptions.

Optimize your Supply Chain through Value Creed’s Expertise

The complexity and volatility of the crude and refined markets require traders and marketers to have real-time information supporting their unique trading requirements. Value Creed’s expertise in CTRM implementations and upgrades can help you leverage the new and updated functionalities allowing the maximum benefit for trading and risk management functions.

Ready to Explore Upgrading Your CTRM?

Leverage a partner with best-in-class functional and technical expertise to manage and deploy your upgrade on time and on budget.

Moving Your CTRM Database from On-Prem Oracle to Cloud-based SQL Server

Run Smart CTRM/ETRM platform managed services enable application managers to be more proactive in resolving reporting and processing errors in advance of your daily start. In this post, we examine the dominance of Oracle, while unlocking Microsoft SQL Server’s comparable functionality, cost savings, and scalability achieved by moving your on-premise solution to the cloud.

The truth is – for much of the last decade – Microsoft’s SQL Server was viewed as less expensive and less sophisticated than Oracle. Since then, however, MS SQL Server has closed the gaps in features and power, while maintaining its cost leadership position and delivering distinct advantages in terms of ease of use and uptime.

Reasons to Move Your CTRM Platform Database to SQL on Azure

Cost

Value Creed has helped many clients make this conversion and has found significant initial and ongoing cost savings. Microsoft’s unit license cost is about 15 percent of Oracle’s. In addition, real-time-bidding costs with SQL average $10,000 less per year. In total, a typical on-premise CTRM system that costs $75,000 the first year running on Oracle would cost only about $15,000 on Microsoft SQL on the Azure cloud.

Compatibility

The ubiquitous Microsoft workflow – the de facto industry standard – also makes it easier for technicians to troubleshoot, diagnose, and debug communications problems between the application and the database. Basing SQL Server in Azure brings Microsoft’s technical expertise to bear, making it easier to find support. As a third-party, Java-driven product, Oracle’s diagnostic and repair process can be less straightforward.

Compatibility

The most widely-used CTRM platforms were developed using Microsoft technology, so you can be sure it will not only work with Windows, it has been optimized to perform at its best using the Microsoft interface.

User Experience

Because Oracle originally developed more features and capabilities it necessarily required additional complexity. That makes it more difficult for many people to use. On the other hand, most users are familiar with Microsoft interfaces, making SQL Server more intuitive.

Oracle to SQL Database Conversion with Value Creed

Value Creed’s Run Smart™ CTRM managed services deliver optimal performance based on your objectives, data environment, and the number of users. Backed by Value Creed’s expertise, Run Smart™ streamlines SQL database conversions and helps commodities traders reap the cost-savings and efficiencies inherent in a cloud-platform database.

Our database conversions and data migration from Oracle on-premise to SQL on Azure incorporates elegant back-end integrations with a total workflow plan that saves you money both during the SQL conversion and throughout the life of the project. We implement a multi-step process that coordinates efforts throughout your organization.

Take Your CTRM Platform to the Cloud

Value Creed’s dedicated professionals and proven Run Smart™ approach gives you the confidence that your switch to SQL Server will be completed professionally and that the system will operate flawlessly on the cloud. We start with a holistic diagnosis of your current database situation, including the conceptualization of how your organization’s needs should be met through the new system.

From there, that analysis will inform how we convert schema, scripts, and applications so they integrate seamlessly with the cloud-based SQL Server. Once data is migrated, we perform iterative testing, tuning, and customization to guarantee your database and server are fully functional from day one.

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