Companies today strive to drive innovation, boost productivity, and stay ahead of the curve. An often overlooked but powerful resource for achieving these goals is the multigenerational workforce. Embracing the dynamic nature of our team, we recognize that each generation brings unique skills, experiences, and perspectives. Let’s explore how our commitment to multigenerational collaboration defines our organizational culture and is a strategic advantage in today’s competitive landscape.
Diverse Perspectives, Unified Goals: True innovation stems from the fusion of diverse perspectives. Our multigenerational workforce comprises individuals from different age groups, each contributing unique experiences and insights. By harnessing this diversity, we cultivate a culture of creativity and collaboration, where ideas flow freely and barriers are dismantled in pursuit of shared goals.
Knowledge Sharing and Mentorship: As a firm rooted in excellence, we understand the importance of continuous learning and development. Through initiatives like our LearnSmart program, we facilitate the exchange of knowledge between seasoned professionals and emerging talent. This mentorship model enriches individual skill sets and fosters a culture of growth and empowerment across generations.
Collaboration Cultivates Connection: Collaboration lies at the heart of everything we do. By breaking down silos and fostering cross-generational collaboration, we create a sense of belonging and purpose that transcends age barriers. From project teams to cross-functional initiatives, we leverage the diverse talents and perspectives of our team to drive meaningful change and innovation.
Strategic Decision-Making: In the boardrooms of Value Creed, diversity is not just a checkbox—it’s a strategic imperative. Our multigenerational teams bring a breadth of perspectives to the table, enriching our decision-making processes and enhancing the quality of our solutions. By embracing diverse viewpoints, we mitigate risk, drive innovation, and chart a course towards sustainable growth.
Cultivating a Culture of Inclusion: Above all, our commitment to multigenerational collaboration reflects our unwavering dedication to inclusion and belonging. At Value Creed, every voice is valued, and every contribution is celebrated. By fostering a culture of respect and collaboration, we create an environment where individuals of all ages can thrive, grow, and realize their full potential.
Unlocking success in today’s dynamic business environment means embracing multigenerational collaboration. By harnessing each generation’s unique strengths and fostering inclusion, learning, flexibility, collaboration, and recognition, we create a workplace where individuals of all ages thrive. Join us on this journey of discovery, innovation, and growth.
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Upgrades in Dynamic Markets: Solutions for Liquids Trading
Explore the benefits of upgrading to the latest version of RightAngle with our in-depth analysis of new features, improvements, and bug fixes. This blog highlights major enhancements, evaluates their functional and technical impacts, and showcases how our expertise can guide you through the decision-making process.
Discover how our innovative solutions can help you achieve your goals. Explore our solution page now to learn more about what we offer.
Why Choose Value Creed for Your Upgrade?
Value Creed’s commitment to excellence and client satisfaction, coupled with our extensive expertise and track record, make us the ideal partner for ensuring a successful transition. Our key differentiators include:
Tools like Testing Automation & FinOps enable a quicker, error-free upgrade with minimal disruption.
A structured roadmap for upgrade assessment ensures smooth transition and effective resource utilization.
Experienced with diverse upgrades, we ensure a successful upgrade tailored to your needs.
With fixed-price models and a commitment to delivering value, we provide transparency throughout the engagement.
By minimizing business involvement, we ensure a seamless upgrade process, continuity, and reduced downtime for your operations.
We identify cutting-edge platforms for enhanced performance, providing comprehensive support from strategy to implementation.
SUCCESS STORIES WITH VALUE CREED’S UPGRADE SERVICES
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This case study highlights how an energy company achieved a Swift upgrade in three months with Value Creed’s upgrade services:
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Key Enhancements: Impact and Insights
The streamlined movement and scheduling tools enhance scheduling efficiency by simplifying data staging and importing, reducing manual effort, and minimizing errors. The enhanced precision in the Inventory Workbench with real numbers improves accuracy in inventory tracking and management, facilitating better decision-making. The new Projected Inventory Reports offer valuable insights for long-term planning, enabling more informed inventory management strategies.
These enhancements require updates to data import tools to support streamlined movement processes and improved precision in inventory tracking. Additionally, enhancements are needed in inventory reporting systems to accommodate the new Projected Inventory Reports, ensuring accurate and efficient projection functionalities.
Precision of financial operations by providing more detailed payment terms, streamlining cash management through the treatment of negative value invoices, and ensuring compliance with tax regulations via enhanced tracking and reporting capabilities. Additionally, they improve the visibility and management of receivables and tax compliance measures.
Implementation necessitates updates to accounting modules to seamlessly integrate event-based payment terms, negative value invoice handling, and tax license tracking functionalities. Adjustments to data structures and reporting systems are required to accommodate these changes effectively, including enhancements to support streamlined cash management processes and improved reporting capabilities.
The new mass features in S23 enhance system precision by capturing data in both volume and mass metrics across inventory, movements, invoices, and risk assessments. This update requires thorough configuration and testing for seamless integration. Custom reports may need adjustments. Some users may need help with using volumetric units, necessitating specific configurations. Value Creed offers expertise to help clients navigate these changes, ensuring smooth transitions and tailored solutions for both mass and volumetric calculations.
S23 upgrades involve significant system modifications, including database schema and API updates for dual quantity handling, improved inventory management, and enhanced risk management reporting. Performance is boosted through optimized data processing and scalability testing. Value Creed ensures precise system configurations and seamless transitions. Our structured methodology, including continuous business engagement and user training, supports efficient operations and maximizes upgrade benefits.
The upgrades result in an improved user interface and integration capabilities, facilitating seamless interaction with custom APIs and third-party systems. Additionally, security management is strengthened, ensuring enhanced protection of sensitive data. Our team analyzes service monitor threads, optimizes licensing costs, and provides the right systems and configurations are chosen for each upgrade.
Significant updates are required across the system architecture to accommodate the upgrades, including codebase adjustments for seamless integration with DevExpress controls and thorough testing for the new API framework. Careful planning is essential to maintain stability while incorporating these new features. Value Creed provides comprehensive support in configuring security settings, optimizing system performance, and ensuring seamless integration of new frameworks.
Increased flexibility in adjusting units of measure for inventory groups, comprehensive support for all valuation methods to enhance inventory reporting, and the ability to reset inventory balances in both volume and mass for precise control. Furthermore, improvements in managing mass units of measure (UOMs) within key processes like the Order Actualization Tool, Quantity Caps, and Over/Under Lifting processes streamline operations.
Minor adjustments are made to further enhance the existing dual quantity handling capabilities introduced in S23. These adjustments involve refining data processing algorithms, optimizing database queries, and fine-tuning system configurations to ensure seamless handling of mass and volume separately downstream. Additionally, improvements are made to API endpoints and data validation routines to accommodate the updated handling requirements.
Improve valuation accuracy and reporting for blended products, enhancing financial precision and compliance. The capability to finalize reconciliation within specified tolerances streamlines inventory management, minimizing manual tasks and ensuring seamless transitions between accounting periods.
Adjustments to WACOG calculation algorithms and reporting systems for blended products. Similarly, reconciliation processes require modification to support finishing within specified tolerances, including updates to tolerance settings and data validation routines. Implementing Automatcher Rule Maintenance necessitates customizing validation options. Integrating Write to Zero functionality entails enhancing data processing and validation mechanisms.
The introduction of the MTI Maintenance report and streamlined user interface on risk reports simplifies MTI entry assignment, enhancing overall operational efficiency. Value Creed’s support ensures clients can fully utilize these enhancements, increasing accuracy in P/L calculations, improving performance measurement, and enhancing strategic decision-making, ensuring a seamless transition to the upgraded system capabilities.
Modifying database schemas, enhancing user interfaces, and integrating backend logic for MTI management. Implementing security measures for data protection and access control ensures seamless integration and efficient operation of the new MTI functionalities across the system. Our team provides comprehensive support, including system configuration, assigning levels of authorizations for making MTI changes, user training, and ongoing maintenance to ensure accurate market price management.
S24’s tax integration ensures compliance, reduces manual tax calculations and enhances audit readiness. Improved payable matching streamlines transaction handling, reduces errors, and eliminates dropdown list redundancies. These features enhance accounting accuracy, efficiency, and overall operational performance.
Implementing tax integration requires API updates, database schema changes, and enhanced reporting. Payable matching improvements involve optimizing algorithms and UI components, eliminating dropdown redundancies. These modifications ensure accurate data import, efficient processing, and enhanced system performance.
The introduction of editable document templates and convenient access to favorite tools enhances flexibility and efficiency in document management. Users benefit from streamlined processes, improved accuracy, and reduced manual effort in customization tasks. Template editing simplifies customization, reducing manual effort.
Implementing these features necessitates adjustments in document management systems to support direct editing of templates, enhancing usability and integration.
Upgrade with Value Creed: Your ETRM Solutions Partner
Experience the difference with Value Creed, your premier partner for ETRM solutions and upgrades. With years of experience and a proven track record in executing seamless transitions, we tailor our approach to your specific needs. Seamlessly upgrade to RightAngle S24 and optimize your energy trading operations by partnering with us. Get in touch today to ensure a smooth and efficient upgrade process.
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A leading North American energy company, managing over 130 electrical generation, transmission, and distribution facilities, faced significant challenges due to outdated and manual bookkeeping processes for trade approvals and invoicing. Despite migrating these processes to Snowflake DB, inefficiencies and risk management issues persisted, impacting its operational effectiveness. To overcome these challenges and support scalable growth, the company aimed to implement a comprehensive ETRM platform as part of its broader digital transformation strategy. This new solution sought to enhance trading operations, improve risk management, expedite back-office procedures, minimize errors, and modernize the IT infrastructure.
Leveraged real-time data and analytics for strategic insights
Streamlined trade approvals and invoicing for faster processing
Enhanced risk management with automated workflows
Built a flexible IT
infrastructure for future
growth
Strong user engagement through training and stakeholder involvement
Value Creed collaborated with the operating business to thoroughly explore their existing operational challenges and propose enhanced solutions.
Interviews: Our team conducted extensive interviews with front office (FO), middle office (MO), and back office (BO) users to understand existing processes. Over 15 interviews were conducted with users from FO, MO, and BO.
Process Evaluation: After reviewing existing process documentation and workflows, we identified processes to retain and eliminate, pinpointing those suitable for automation and those to be executed via integration tools like SAP or repositories, ensuring continuous evaluation and improvement.
Process Flows: By collaborating with stakeholders on revisions and enhancements, we developed comprehensive revised process flows incorporating their feedback. Obtained sign-off from relevant departments and key decision-makers to ensure involvement and alignment with various stakeholders. A total of 72 process flows were created and delivered, each denoting processes that had scope for automation, integration with third-party software, and enabling through schedules/triggers.
RFP Documentation: Drafted RFP documents specifying client-specific process customizations while simultaneously selecting appropriate databases and schemas to meet technical requirements. Integrated existing Crystal Reports seamlessly and incorporated external engines for market data into the ETRM system, ensuring comprehensive coverage of client needs. RFP documents were tailored to the client’s power trading operations, involving architecture requirements, frameworks, and the extent of code changes required.
Future State Strategy: By identifying requirements and providing tailored solutions, we ensured seamless integration with users and business operations, guaranteeing cost-effective solutions. This set the stage for a successful digital transformation, modernizing the company’s operations and supporting its long-term growth and efficiency.
Our Advisory services not only will help you guide your operations but also help you achieve your vision by taking all stakeholders into consideration. Our highly experienced team has combined full lifecycle, functional and technical expertise to deliver frameworks and guidance around building reliable and scalable commodity trading businesses.
Obtain the most appropriate and useful data for your specific needs! Value Creed offers a range of services to support you during your data transformation journey. With expertise in data integration, reporting, and performance optimization, we assist in ensuring that your data is optimized for analysis, visualization, and validation.
Transform your company’s trajectory with Value Creed’s proven expertise in consulting and digital transformation. Our seasoned consultants excel at navigating complex challenges, delivering seamless transitions, and optimizing processes. Committed to client satisfaction, we tailor solutions to your unique needs, leveraging cutting-edge technology and industry best practices. Partner with us to drive innovation, efficiency, and growth.
Reach out today to embark on a transformative journey towards operational excellence with our digital transformation solutions.
Performance Challenge A prominent downstream company that operates a network of gasoline service stations across the United States faced significant challenges while generating timely business
Performance Challenge A global commodity merchant who trades in a wide variety of financial and physical markets was facing issues with data integration. Resorting to
Performance Challenge Due to manual efforts, a company encountered data analysis challenges that hindered its operations. Generating multiple reports, such as monthly reports for various
Customize & improve business processes with Value Creed’s Implementation Services
In the fast-paced world of commodity trading, delivering shipments to customers’ preferred locations efficiently and cost-effectively is crucial. Traders rely on robust logistics systems to transport commodities, optimizing economies of scale and minimizing shipment costs. Typically, commodity trading firms operate dedicated shipping or freight desks that select the most efficient and safe transportation methods for each delivery to maintain low overall commodity costs. However, when managing commodity deals, these desks must choose a vessel along with its International Maritime Organization (IMO) number for transportation. Often, the shipment team lacks real-time information about the vessel’s availability, operability, credit status, and movements. This information gap can significantly hinder effective transportation and shipment planning, leading to costly delays and inefficiencies.
To address the above-mentioned issue, the Value Creed team of experts provides an integrated Lloyd’s List Intelligence with your ETRM system. Lloyd’s List Intelligence provides comprehensive maritime data, news, and industry trends. This integration enables the shipment team to access vessel information and track real-time vessel movements, enhancing decision-making and planning.
The interface features a table to retrieve information from Lloyd’s List Intelligence into the ETRM system, providing users with access to the latest vessel data and risk ratings. This interface offers four main features:
By integrating these capabilities, the Value Creed team ensures that the shipment team has the necessary real-time data to make informed decisions, optimizing transportation and reducing costs.
Simplifying Vessel Booking for Crude Delivery
Value Creed experts excel in implementing custom solutions tailored to your specific system needs. By proactively analyzing industry trends and anticipating potential challenges, we ensure your business stays ahead of the curve.
Gain an edge with the following advantages of the featured solution:
Comprehensive vessel information is readily available within the ETRM system, eliminating the need to search multiple websites for current data and streamlining decision-making.
The system restricts users from selecting potentially risky vessels for shipment scheduling, ensuring safer transportation.
Users can confidently make informed decisions with precise vessel information, including IMO details, contributing to efficient logistics management and minimizing errors.
Vessel information is always updated, eliminating manual data entry tasks and ensuring access to the latest data, enhancing operational efficiency.
Let Us Know
A leading power and gas utility in the Northeastern United States operating with multiple ETRM software faced a critical challenge. Their existing ETRM software, essential for managing core operations, was nearing its end-of-support phase, posing a risk to core business processes. Additionally, their regulated business was implementing a separate ETRM solution. Previous support models, including in-house and outsourced IT services, had struggled to meet the evolving needs of the business. The company engaged Value Creed to evaluate the software used by the regulated unit as a potential replacement for the current ETRM software, aiming to consolidate disparate systems into a single, streamlined solution. The chosen system needed to effectively manage front, middle, and back-office activities while seamlessly integrating with the existing technical infrastructure.
Risk Mitigation: Early identification of technical challenges enabled proactive mitigation strategies.
Cost Savings: Cost analysis highlighted potential savings and informed financial decisions.
Project Efficiency: Structured approach facilitated timely and resource-efficient decision-making.
Value Creed undertook an extensive 8-week assessment to evaluate the suitability of the ETRM solutions:
Understanding Business Needs: Our team conducted comprehensive interviews across the utility’s commodity trading organization to understand its unique requirements, challenges, and objectives. This process identified specific functional and technical requirements essential for the evaluation process. The primary objectives highlighted were:
Request for Proposal (RFP) Development: Separate, detailed RFPs were crafted and sent to each ETRM solution under consideration, focusing on solution fit, implementation efforts, and supportability to ensure alignment with the utility’s business objectives.
Vendor Demonstrations: Value Creed organized vendor demonstrations to allow stakeholders from both units to interact with the proposed solution. These demonstrations provided valuable insights into the solution’s capabilities in addressing the utility’s business scenarios and requirements.
Evaluation and Feedback: Following the vendor demonstrations, we thoroughly evaluated vendor responses and gathered user feedback from stakeholders. This evaluation compared the solution against the utility’s functional and technical requirements, assessing its suitability as an upgrade to the existing ETRM system.
Cost Analysis: We conducted a comprehensive analysis to establish preliminary cost estimates for the ETRM solutions. This financial assessment enabled the utility to evaluate the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of transitioning to the ETRM system of choice.
Comparative Analysis: Our evaluation revealed that the proposed solution demonstrated comparable capabilities to the current system in various aspects, with notable improvements in reporting and book-structure functionality. However, significant limitations in middle and back-office functionalities were identified compared to the current system.
Final Solution Considerations: The assessment emphasized the need for a multi-year phased project approach, estimated over 18 months, and highlighted technical integration challenges. Given the cost, timing, and functional limitations, we recommended upgrading the current system rather than a greenfield implementation of the proposed solution.
Strategic Guidance: Value Creed’s advisory services provided the company with a clear roadmap for evaluating and selecting a future-state ETRM solution. Value Creed played a crucial role in enhancing the utility’s operational efficiency and ensuring alignment with strategic objectives by offering a comprehensive understanding of requirements, mitigating risks, and providing cost-effective recommendations.
Unlock operational effectiveness and elevate the efficiency and reliability of your database through Value Creed’s services. Optimize performance with fast and accurate data extraction, reconciliation, calculation, and reporting.
Our Advisory services not only will help you guide your operations but also help you achieve your vision by taking all stakeholders into consideration. Our highly experienced team has combined full lifecycle, functional and technical expertise to deliver frameworks and guidance around building reliable and scalable commodity trading businesses.
Our comprehensive Software Selection process ensures a complete study of the business operations. Workshops help us to understand the key requirements of business operations to design a process map and conduct a gap analysis. With industry-experienced team members, we understand future business needs, playing a vital role in software selection services.
Discover the difference with Value Creed’s Advisory services. Benefit from our deep expertise and tailored solutions to drive informed decisions, mitigate risks, and strategically align your operations. Let us empower your organization with insights and guidance that maximize efficiency and effectiveness. Partner with Value Creed to transform challenges into opportunities with our proven track record of empowering organizations for success.
Performance Challenge Due to manual efforts, a company encountered data analysis challenges that hindered its operations. Generating multiple reports, such as monthly reports for various
A diversified energy company based in New York needed to upgrade its CTRM, but had no experience with major technical software upgrades in the past
Global Energy Company’s Ambitious Growth Goals Powered by Value Creed’s Seamless CTRM Upgrade The Imperative Challenge A global energy company engaged in natural gas production,
Customize & improve business processes with Value Creed’s Implementation Services
A large U.S. Midwestern power cooperative faced a pivotal challenge in optimizing its trading portfolio reporting. Despite a successful system upgrade, the cooperative encountered a significant hurdle. They had established a robust book structure for their natural gas trading, and their power trading needed a similar differentiation of trades in the system. This deficiency hampered effective reporting on power trades, leading to an inability to discern regional, strategic, or activity-based performance metrics. Consequently, the cooperative’s management needed more granularity to make informed decisions and identify areas for portfolio improvement.
Improved Data Accuracy: Quarter on quarter from the time of deployment
Enhanced Operational Efficiency: Reduced errored trade count total trades per day
Risk Mitigation: Increase in timely reporting to trade repositories
Streamlined Reconciliation: Reduced manual verification hours for front-office (2 Desks & 7 Members)
To address this challenge, the power cooperative engaged with Value Creed in applying the successful natural gas book structure model to their power trading portfolio. Drawing on years of industry experience and deep domain knowledge, Value Creed initiated a strategic approach to implement an effective solution:
User Interviews and Analysis: Value Creed conducted comprehensive interviews with the cooperative’s power traders, middle office personnel, and back office/ reporting teams. Leveraging our extensive advisory experience, we facilitated collaborative discussions and conducted in-depth analysis to uncover specific requirements and challenges faced by the cooperative.
Iterative Structure Development: With our extensive expertise in trading operations and technology, Value Creed proposed multiple iterations of the book structure. Each iteration was carefully crafted to align with the cooperative’s unique trading activities, regions, and strategic objectives. Feedback from the cooperative’s stakeholders was integrated to ensure the structure’s effectiveness, leading to the next iteration of the proposed structure.
Mock-up and Testing: Using a test environment within Allegro, Value Creed configured the proposed book structure and applied it to actual power trades. This facilitated real-time visualization of how trades would be categorized and reported within the system, enabling the cooperative to provide valuable feedback and refine the solution iteratively.
Consensus Building: Throughout the process, Value Creed facilitated collaborative sessions involving the cooperative’s stakeholders to ensure alignment and consensus on the finalized book structure. Through iterative refinement, we were able to tailor the solution to meet the specific needs and objectives of the client.
Enhanced Management Focus: The implementation of a comprehensive book structure empowered the cooperative’s management with granular insights into their trading portfolio performance. With the ability to analyze performance metrics at a detailed level, management could identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement more effectively.
Unlock operational effectiveness and elevate the efficiency and reliability of your database through Value Creed’s services. Optimize performance with fast and accurate data extraction, reconciliation, calculation, and reporting.
Our Advisory services not only will help you guide your operations but also help you achieve your vision by taking all stakeholders into consideration. Our highly experienced team has combined full lifecycle, functional and technical expertise to deliver frameworks and guidance around building reliable and scalable commodity trading businesses.
Are you facing challenges in optimizing your trading portfolio reporting, just like the power cooperative in our case study? We specialize in delivering transformative solutions tailored to your unique needs. Our experienced team combines deep industry knowledge with innovative strategies to help you overcome obstacles and drive success. Whether you’re seeking to streamline reporting processes, enhance data accuracy, or gain actionable insights, we’re here to guide you every step of the way. Contact us now to revolutionize your trading portfolio and gain a competitive edge.
Performance Challenge Due to manual efforts, a company encountered data analysis challenges that hindered its operations. Generating multiple reports, such as monthly reports for various
A diversified energy company based in New York needed to upgrade its CTRM, but had no experience with major technical software upgrades in the past
Global Energy Company’s Ambitious Growth Goals Powered by Value Creed’s Seamless CTRM Upgrade The Imperative Challenge A global energy company engaged in natural gas production,
Customize & improve business processes with Value Creed’s Implementation Services
