The BI project in the oil company of Kazakhstan (Sinopec group)

TAdviser: How did you come to the decision on need of implementation of a BI system? How the main objectives, business objectives were formulated?

Baurzhan Shumekov: Requirement available of BI tools was caused by need for creation of the difficult reports and data analysis at the level of company management which is saved up at that time in the ERP system. After implementation in 2008 of basic functionality it was decided to add a system with an e-business intelligence. Timely obtaining the authentic reporting, simplification of process of information exchange and a possibility of its representation in the most convenient type for implementation of a main goal – support of acceptance of effective management decisions was the main objectives.

TAdviser: How did you select the BI platform? What else systems considered what advantages played a crucial role?

Baurzhan Shumekov: The choice was quite natural to us: our supplier – Epicor company - offered us the BI products working with the ERP system of iScala which user we are. An important factor in decision making process became a possibility of use of already preconfigured managerial reports on different business processes thanks to what it is possible to use BI tools directly after installation. The Epicor company developed a number of the ready reports based on the best practices in the field of financial and management accounting in the international organizations. Also the solution price question was important.

TAdviser: Whether there is some corporate BI standard in your international company and if is – as it influenced the choice of the solution and the project in general? Whether it was necessary to adapt corporate solution for the Russian conditions, to finish it, to expand?

Baurzhan Shumekov: Yes, in our organization there is a number of forms of corporate statements which mostly were already submitted in Epicor Portal Content Pack. We finished some reports using Epicor Portal. In general, any report demanded at the level of the management can be implemented not only at the level of IT group, but also at the level of the user that does this software solution very attractive to the organizations.

TAdviser: The oil-extracting industry has the bright specifics. Whether you looked for some industry BI solution, or industry expertize at the partner in implementation? Whether the BI solution which was created has some industry features and is now operated at you in the company?

Baurzhan Shumekov: In general, of means we did not look for any special specifics at the level of BI. As the Epicor BI tools allow to implement any reporting without difficulties, we can create any forms of the reporting up to forms, specific to our industry. The main thing that data in the ERP system were. Besides, at a stage of the choice of the ERP solution we already thought over what add-on modules and tools can be demanded by our organization further in process of data storage. Any ERP system exists finally to have an opportunity to analyze given and to use them for acceptance of management decisions. As Epicor showed the broad range of opportunities for the analysis already at a stage of demonstration of the ERP solution, quite logical was to buy also BI means from the same supplier.

TAdviser: How did the project last long? What problems did you face during implementation? How they were overcome? What became the most difficult or most unexpected obstacle?

Baurzhan Shumekov: One of advantages of use of the BI product Epicor is an opportunity to proinstallirovat the solution and to use the ready forms and KPI configured by the supplier. This product does not require any long implementation. Own reports also quite simply are configured.

TAdviser: Whether arose during the project of a task which could not be solved by the available BI platform opportunities? How did you at the same time find a way out – sent to vendor the wishes, refused these tasks, solved them using some other products (Excel, for example)?

Baurzhan Shumekov: Purchasing this solution Epicor, we accurately represented what problems we will solve with its help. For convenience of using of the solution Epicor Portal we purchased Epicor Portal Content Pack – a number of ready forms of the interactive reports representing pages of the web portal which contain set of the reports including timely and reliable data on a certain subject:

• Data on orders. These information pages give an opportunity to trace information on deliveries and returns of goods, given about the existing purchase orders, information on orders for service (the report also allows to trace information from the module service management).
• The information pages concerning service transactions. With their help also the location of this equipment at the client is possible to obtain equipment state-of-health data with a certain serial number.
• Control of accounts payable. Using reports it is also possible to trace accounts from suppliers and to control their payment.
• Reports on works orders allow to gain an impression about loading of work centers in production by works orders and also to gain a detailed impression about works orders and the orders making these: routes, the activity description and purchase orders connected with the works order.

Baurzhan Shumekov: At the moment the staff of finance division of the company uses BI tools. Further we are going to expand a circle of users. Maintenance is performed  by our  own specialists whom we trained. Besides, we  used standard services of "hot line" of Epicor.

TAdviser: Whether you did some quantitative estimates of payback of the BI solution, including preliminary, at a project planning stage? Whether forecasts matched real indicators?

Baurzhan Shumekov: So far we did not do quantitative estimates of payback, but already now I can tell that BI means of Epicor significantly facilitated life of IT specialists and company management. We are going and to develop a system further.