Altynalmas optimizes business processes based on SAP S/4HANA

2021: Start automation of business processes based on SAP S/4HANA

On August 16, 2021, SAP CIS announced that AK Altynalmas, one of the three gold mining enterprises in Kazakhstan, launched a large-scale project to automate business processes based on the SAP S/4HANA solution and model companies. The project was implemented by a team of SAP Services CIS experts in an extremely short time in the difficult conditions of the pandemic. The work was completely remote using the Agile methodology, this made it possible to launch the project twice as fast as similar ones. In the future, this solution will optimize operating costs by 15%, working capital - by 5%, as well as reduce routine operations by 20-30%.

In 2017, the company launched a global digital transformation project, which aims to reorganize the business and standardize business processes using another infrastructure and another operating model. The historical information system could not cope with volumes data and did not include production processes, so it was decided to replace it.

The SAP solution has become an upper-tier platform in which reliable data is accumulated from lower-tier industrial systems. Based on the analysis of these data, the company's specialists can make informed decisions, optimize processes, and correctly budget and plan, which is extremely difficult to do in a mining enterprise, where it is necessary to monitor all processes at short intervals in real time. When choosing a solution, the key criteria for us were: applying the best global and industry practices with the maximum use of standard SAP functionality, localization in accordance with the standards and requirements of the legislation of Kazakhstan, scalability of the solution, said Zhanara Amanzholova, vice president of IT and corporate development, AK Altynalmas JSC.

The project is designed for two years, will be introduced in three consecutive waves and will be completed in 2022. The first wave started on the basis of two model companies for finance and mining, it covered the processes of financial accounting, personnel management and production accounting. The second wave is aimed at the processes of moving and volume planning, sales and operations, budgeting, automation of M&R. The third is on business analysis and visualization, as well as environmental projects.

Start of business processes using updated information system occurred simultaneously for four companies, which are part of AK Altynalmas group of companies (AK Altynalmas JSC, Altynalmas Technology LLP, Altynalmas Trading House LLP, Aksu Technology LLP), seven mines (Akbakay, Beskempir, Desert, Dolinnoye, Aksu OGR, Andasay Olympic), as well as at the Akbakay and Dolinnoye gold extraction factory, the Pustynnoye enrichment factory and the Altynalmas Technology precious metals extraction plant. A digital basis has been formed for further functional development and automation of decision-making processes and all management functions. The scalable solution works with a single data model and is ready to integrate with MES systems. As of August 2021, about 600 people use it, in the future the number of users will increase to 2000.

AK Altynalmas JSC, as a mining enterprise, seriously affects the country's economy, it interacts with the state and with domestic and external market participants. The company needs a developed data management system for analysis, deep analysis, scenario modeling. Implementing a business model based on SAP solutions will increase efficiency in any economic environment, provide the necessary planning flexibility and sustainability, and support growing business volumes. From the very beginning of the project, we were faced with very ambitious tasks, both in terms of the upcoming volumes of business and IT transformation, and in terms of timing. To solve them, a special approach to the implementation of the project was developed, SAP Activate using the Agile principles as the implementation methodology. Thanks to this combination, it was possible to achieve high results even in conditions of 100% remote operation, noted Andrey Sharak, Director of Consulting and Support for SAP CIS.