SAP for Oil & Gas: Flexibility to Adapt to Market Volatility and Complexity

This industry faces the challenge of profitable and sustainable growth of reserves, production, and delivery of refined products to meet global, demand for energy. The business environment is increasingly complex and volatile due to growing geopolitical uncertainty and limits on access to new resources that require greater complexity and globalization to exploit.

Learn how SAP can help your industry segment face these challenges:

• Upstream
• Supply, transmission, and trading
• Refining and manufacturing
• Downstream marketing and retail

SAP for Oil & Gas: The Business Process of Upstream Management

SAP for Oil & Gas solutions support processes related to the exploration, development, and production of crude petroleum, enabling key activities such as:

• Exploration and appraisal -- With SAP solutions, you can maintain your portfolio of assets by finding and developing new petroleum reserves. Integrated solutions support the full exploration cycle, enabling you to assess your current asset and production portfolio, identify exploration targets, acquire leases and licenses, manage surveys and appraisals, and model reservoirs.
• Exploration and production contract management -- SAP solutions facilitate the acquisition of petroleum reserves through mergers, acquisitions, or joint ventures. Our solutions enable opportunity analysis, strategic planning, venture equity trading, as well as the development and management of joint operating agreements and production sharing contracts.
• Field development -- SAP solutions helps you establish the size of the field, work out the most efficient production method, and assess whether the field will cover the costs of development and day-to-day operation and yield a profit.
• Liquid and gas production -- With capabilities for well mapping, production planning and execution, volume and capacity management, and quality assurance, you can ensure 24/7 production cycles and maximize quantities produced. You can also comply with corporate, industry, and governmental standards for safety and environmental protection while maintaining all facilities in good working order.
• Allocation and settlement -- SAP solutions enable you to allocate volumes and value to owners who have an equity share in a producing well or to sales contracts, indicating what you have promised to purchasers. You can also submit reports and pay royalties to governments and other public bodies.
• Oil field service and repair operations -- With SAP solutions, you can conduct long-range planning to optimize resources. You can also deploy and schedule resources as needed, when customer service requests come in or as planned service activities occur. Plus, you can outsource services, procure and source services, and carry out billing and payment activities.

Upstream management is enabled with SAP offerings such as SAP xApp Integrated Exploration and Production and mySAP ERP.

SAP xApp Integrated Exploration and Production: Driving Value Throughout the Upstream Life Cycle

To stay competitive in today's challenging marketplace, upstream oil companies must increase operational efficiencies and squeeze every additional drop of profit out of production. Yet increasingly complex technologies and business partnerships are creating a tremendous integration and data challenge -- and stressing operating conditions.

The SAP xApp Integrated Exploration and Production (SAP xIEP) composite application optimizes upstream operations, including appraisal, development, production, and abandonment activities -- driving value at all stages of the exploration and production (E&P) life cycle through online services and systems.

SAP xIEP allows real-time integration of applications and data from technical, project management, knowledge management, and virtual collaboration systems -- creating powerful project- and process-based teaming environments for sharing best practices and organizational know-how.

With SAP xIEP, you can reduce time to market, accelerate the prospect evaluation process, and coordinate well planning, rig selection, scheduling, and drilling across the enterprise. The application can be adapted and used in all major upstream areas, including exploration, production management, upstream financials, project and well delivery, asset management, oil field procurement, and logistics.

SAP NetWeaver

SUCCESSFUL DIGITAL OIL FIELD PROGRAMS

After working with companies that initiate digital oil field of the future (DOFF) projects, Accenture and SAP have identified critical factors for a well-executed DOFF program -- such as optimizing processes and data, aligning requirements, and establishing a stable data architecture and communication infrastructure. SAP solutions, including SAP xIEP, can help accomplish these factors.

Read The Report       Our Server

SAP for Oil & Gas: The Business Process of Supply, Transmission, and Trading

SAP for Oil & Gas supports the management and execution of bulk supply chain activities, from initial planning to final settlement. Our solutions automate and streamline key activities, including:

• Bulk supply chain planning and optimization -- SAP solutions enable you to plan and optimize key aspects of your supply chain, from long-term forecasting to operational planning, integrating them into daily operations and scheduling processes. You can also use information from execution and settlement activities to create plans, ensuring that all processes within the supply chain have a common heritage.
• Bulk supply chain operations and scheduling -- With SAP solutions, you can manage immediate and short-term operations and scheduling. You can also schedule transportation and pipelines, manage inventory and contract operations, and capture custody transfer documentation.
• Bulk supply chain execution and settlement -- SAP solutions streamline the deal-to-cash process loop, enabling you to update inventory, monitor product movements, and manage inbound and outbound invoicing. You can also apply execution information to planning and operations process cycles for ongoing and long-term planning.
• Bulk supply chain reporting and analytics -- SAP solutions support decision-making and strategy setting, helping you gather activity and performance data from many different sources. Using flexible report structures, analysts and planners can monitor supply chain activity at every process step and provide feedback on an ongoing basis as well as at periodic review points.
• Physical oil and gas commodity trading -- Working with the most heavily traded commodities in the world, you can capture deals, manage contracts, monitor positions, and integrate trading into the bulk supply chain. Because trade volumes are very large, companies can use bulk transport methods, such as marine vessels and pipelines, to achieve delivery.
• Oil and gas paper trading and risk management -- With SAP solutions, you can mitigate the risks of volatile market conditions -- hedging your positions in commodity markets by executing paper trades for futures, options, and swaps. You can use a trading exchange or work directly with partners in over-the-counter deals. You can also use mark-to-market and value-at-risk calculations to monitor and evaluate risk from both physical and paper trading.

Supply, transmission, and trading is enabled with SAP applications such as mySAP Supply Chain Management and SAP Global Trade Management.

SAP for Oil & Gas: The Business Process of Refining and Manufacturing

SAP for Oil & Gas helps you manage business processes related to the transformation of crude oil into refined, finished products ready to be marketed -- supporting process areas such as:

• Refinery operations -- With SAP solutions, you can procure crude oil and feedstock and manage the associated inventory. You can forecast demand, plan and schedule production, blend semifinished products to produce the final refined products, and deliver finished products to the distribution market.
• Lubes manufacturing operations -- SAP solutions enable you to plan the demand for lubes products, ensure the supply of base oils and additives, blend the product, and manage packaging-plant operations to provide finished products. You can cover all processes internally, or you can split the processes into separate steps and outsource each step.

Refining and manufacturing is enabled with SAP offerings such as mySAP Supply Chain Management and SAP Manufacturing.

SAP for Oil & Gas: The Business Process of Downstream Marketing and Retailing

SAP for Oil & Gas solutions provide comprehensive support for key marketing and retailing activities, including:

• Marketing planning and execution -- With SAP solutions, you can design, execute, coordinate, and monitor all marketing initiatives. You can create personalized and segment-specific campaigns and monitor enterprisewide profitability at the program, product, customer, and partner levels.
• Sales planning and account management -- SAP solutions enable you to streamline your sales planning and promote your most profitable products to your most profitable customers. You can also segment customers and target segments with well-differentiated products and services.
• Opportunity-to-cash management -- SAP solutions provide complete visibility into opportunities -- enabling you to convert them into contracts or customer orders. You can take orders, create proposals, determine pricing, check product availability and customer credit, and manage and track contracts across all interaction channels.
• Customer service -- With SAP solutions, you can deliver superior service through multichannel interaction centers, including Web-based customer self-services. You can also ensure optimum customer service levels with powerful tools to analyze service performance.
• Terminal management -- SAP solutions enable you to monitor goods movements and compare stock levels in terminal tank farms. By implementing terminal automation systems, you can optimize internal processes for taking orders and managing tank stocks and shipments.
• Hydrocarbon products transportation -- With SAP solutions, you can plan and execute bulk and packaged-products shipments. You can calculate freight costs for bulk and non-bulk shipments with evaluated receipt settlement for invoice processing with carriers. You can also use end-of-day data collation to consolidate actual delivery quantities with scheduled quantities.
• Service station fuel management -- SAP solutions enable you to derive fuel sales quantities from point-of-sale (POS) data or calculate them from meter readings that are reconciled with physical dip readings. You can analyze and adjust fuel pricing throughout retail networks to remain competitive.
• Convenience retailing -- With SAP solutions, you can manage pricing and promotions, merchandising activities, and accounting at stores and headquarters. You can use POS data to analyze customer loyalty, and store employees can access the system at headquarters to optimize store operations.

Downstream marketing and retailing is enabled with SAP applications such as mySAP Customer Relationship Management and SAP Oil & Gas Secondary Distribution.

Please also see Training & Talent Management

IBM Chemicals & Petroleum

Data center outsourcing services is the management of a customers' data center. This may include the transfer of employees and IT assets to IBM. Covers all types of server platforms.

Spec sheet     

IBM Data Center Outsourcing Services provides customized outsourcing solutions to help relieve your company from the task of managing computing resources, allowing you to focus on your core business. Data Center Outsourcing Services furnishes the flexibility needed to expand your data processing capabilities on a seasonal or ongoing basis, adopt new technologies, migrate key applications to new platforms and quickly develop, test and deploy new applications. It also provides the technical skill and support to supplement your in-house staff as needed.

 

Highlights

 

Matches computing resources to changing business requirements

Helps minimize your technology investment by leveraging IBM's expertise

Provides flexibility to adopt and deploy new technology

Offers control over your information systems

Allows application re-engineering, development and testing without affecting current systems

 

Flexibility in a changing world
Top companies in today's changing business environment need to move swiftly to adapt to change, seize new opportunities and meet the demands for increased productivity and reduced costs. Similarly, as business workloads and requirements expand and contract, you need the ability to match your computing resources to your current business needs. You need flexible, comprehensive access to information system operations to help your company continue to change while maintaining a competitive advantage.

Choose the components your business needs
IBM Data Center Outsourcing Services is designed to provide a tailored outsourcing solution to meet your needs. You choose the platform, the software, the usage level and degree of support that most closely matches your business needs. You determine the length of the commitment. Through it all, you retain control of your data, applications and system software.

By offering flexible service options, Data Center Outsourcing Services provides a cost-effective outsourcing solution to help meet changing business demands, sustain growth and help protect your existing technology investments.

Dedicated computing tailored to your requirements
The dedicated processor component of IBM Data Center Outsourcing Services allows you to align your business needs with your computing resources. Whether you require additional capacity to handle seasonal increases in data processing, support for legacy systems while migrating to client/server or refocusing of your computing resources on key business opportunities, this component is designed to provide the flexibility and control you need to achieve your business objectives.

Data Center Outsourcing Services offers cost-effective, ready-to-run computing power and capacity. Computing capacity is matched to your specific requirements and can be adjusted as those requirements change.

Your dedicated computing environment resides at an IBM facility. IBM provides around-the-clock support that includes supplying the hardware and system software, mounting tapes and responding to system messages. This support can help reduce your need to purchase equipment, license software and hire staff. Predictable monthly pricing is based on system configuration, making budgeting and planning easier.

Managed flexibility and ability to support growth
The managed application servers component of IBM Data Center Outsourcing Services is a cost-effective solution for businesses that require a broader selection of platforms, services and technical expertise than they possess in-house. This component allows you to quickly develop, test and deploy new applications; move to client/server while maintaining key legacy applications; provide application level disaster recovery for key business applications; eliminate a server platform by outsourcing remaining applications; implement e-business solutions and more.

This component provides server capacity, including a wide range of software products, without the need for a significant long-term investment. Usage-based pricing makes this a cost-effective solution, as you pay only for the resources you use. If you can shift workloads to off-peak hours, you can realize additional savings.

Best of all worlds
IBM uses proven technology to deliver fast, reliable, security-rich network services to you. Data Center Outsourcing Services provides an outsourcing solution that allows you to adapt your computing environment to your changing business requirements. You can accomplish this goal without incurring the cost of additional hardware and software, helping to reduce your risk of technological obsolescence and helping minimize the need for capital investment.

 

Global expense management tools and services designed to transform and automate enterprise processes, enhance expense controls and maximize data visibility.

Global Expense Reporting Solutions Proven expense management tools and services

As an expense management technology and services solution leader for almost 20 years, IBM can bring unmatched experience and consultative expertise to your organization. We can help drive both process and policy transformation for uncomprimising control and compliance, as well as create measurable reductions in your bottom line expense management costs.

 

Sarbanes-Oxley

To provide a more effective regulatory framework for business operations, the U.S. Congress signed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act into law on July 30, 2002. While some of the law's particulars are still evolving, the message is clear: Improving your business credibility through adherence to Sarbanes-Oxley must be one of your top priorities. IBM's Global Expense Reporting Solutions can help your organization comply with Sarbanes-Oxley legislation by:   Delivering relevant expense information to decision makers at all levels, anytime, anywhere; Improving expense reporting audit capabilities and proactively monitoring internal expense activity; Providing segregation of duties for vulnerable change management procedures; and Ensuring the privacy and security of sensitive information.

 

	Our Solution: Expense Management Tools
IBM's leading edge, Global Expense Application, coupled with a comprehensive business rules/policy engine, integrated hard copy receipt imaging capability and robust web based data analysis tools create a seamless automated workflow across the enterprise.
	Our Solution: Expense Management Services
IBM's reliable e-business infrastructure for expense management Application Hosting and Monitoring services, as well as our Business Transformation Outsourcing service component, which handles the out-tasking of back office processing support functions, allow your organization to focus on its core competencies.
	Our Customers
IBM's existing client base boasts leaders in expense management Best Practices, architects of enterprise Global Deployment and masters of non-core competency Outsourcing.

 

Features

Flexible Compliance Controls Understand how IBM's expense management solutions help enforce tighter controls and consistent compliance across the corporate enterprise.   Extensive Reporting & Data Analysis Leverage your expense data to negotiate better contracts with suppliers, identify potential fraud and communicate expense trends with management.   Full Service Outsourcing Reduce your expense processing costs with efficient global expense management, integrating processes and systems across the enterprise.   Experienced Consultative Project Delivery Process Realize the benefits of almost 20 years of experience implementing successful expense management solutions for clients.   Comprehensive Systems Integration Utilize a set of common system interfaces from your organization's existing systems for real time data validation and back office expense posting.

 

For more information

	Customer Testimonials
	Expense Management Tools
	Expense Management Services
	Solution Features

IBM Flexible Hosting Solutions - Workplace for Business Controls and Reporting provides an integrated Web-based repository for document and records management – to help your company more effectively manage internal business controls.

IBM Flexible Hosting Solutions - Workplace for Business Controls and Reporting provides an integrated Web-based repository for document and records management -- to help your company more effectively manage internal business controls. It lets you take advantage of all the features and functionality of IBM Workplace™ for Business Controls and Reporting software in a hosted environment, relieving you of the expense and complexities of running the application -- and rolling out another IT project -- in-house. Delivered over the Internet, with 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption, the service offers a fully Web-enabled application -- along with backup and restoration services, data archiving, and level 2 and 3 help desk support. It’s an easy-to-use, cost-effective solution that allows you to pay a predictable monthly charge per user.

 

Highlights

 

Offers a cost-effective, easy-to-deploy alternative to developing an in-house compliance and risk management solution

Delivers an easy-to-navigate, Web-enabled solution designed to help eliminate the significant operational concerns involved in technology rollout and acquiring application maintenance skills

Provides a standards-based, “plug and play” compliance framework

Offers an organized approach to gathering information about business controls, while providing a means for evaluating the effectiveness of those controls

Takes advantage of hosting in IBM e-business Hosting™ world-class, security-rich data centers

 

An important note about compliance

Clients are responsible for ensuring their own compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other legislation. It is the client’s sole responsibility to obtain advice of competent legal counsel as to the identification and interpretation of any relevant laws, including but not limited to, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, that may affect the client's business and any actions the client may need to take to comply with such laws. IBM does not provide legal advice or represent or warrant that its services or products will ensure that a client is in compliance with any law.

In-depth information

Learn more about IBM Workplace™ for Business Controls and Reporting Software

Learn more about IBM e-business Hosting Services

Learn more about Sarbanes-Oxley solutions

 

A comprehensive suite of software, services and expertise that allows you to interact dynamically with business processes, employees, partners, suppliers and customers. Benefit from a security-rich, collaborative and dynamic environment that can help optimize employee productivity and effectiveness.

IBM On Demand Workplace is a comprehensive suite of software, hardware, services and expertise that creates an environment where people dynamically interact with integrated business processes, other employees, partners, suppliers and customers.  IBM On Demand Workplace simplifies employee access to content, applications, people and processes. It includes an enterprisewide portal designed to enable people to do their work from virtually anywhere, at anytime, faster and more effectively. The anticipated result is a personalized workplace, tailored specifically to each person's role.

IBM On Demand Workplace can bring virtually unparalleled breadth and depth to your business, and can enable a high performance workforce by:

• helping to reduce the complexity of the work environment to focus people on higher value activities
• helping to improve productivity and effectiveness by expediting communication and collaboration between employees, customers, suppliers and partners
• helping to enable your organization to deploy the right skills at the right time, allowing people to focus on core competencies
• providing more effective and flexible access to training

By allowing people to communicate and collaborate with others in faster and more efficient ways, IBM On Demand Workplace can help make enterprises more competitive, giving them the ability to respond quickly and successfully to changing business requirements and to rapidly reap cost savings, productivity enhancements as well as longer term organizational benefits.

Related links

• IBM Workplace Solutions
• IBM Workplace for Bank Branch
• IBM workplace for Healthcare Administration
• IBM Workplace for Retail Merchandise Management
• IBM Workplace for Automotive Retail and Aftermarket
• IBM Software Solution for On Demand Workplace

 

For more information

IBM On Demand Workplace Details Page

 

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Output Management Services (OMS) provides managed supplies & support for printers, fax machines and copiers.

What do you say to services that can add up to savings of 20 to 40 percent?

Say yes to IBM Output Management Services (OMS), managed services and supplies for fax machines, copiers, scanners and multi-function devices that print, fax, copy and scan all in one machine.

OMS begins with a review of your output environment. Comparing your current state to the desired future state, we offer a customized plan, including number and location of devices. Our team will then consolidate and optimize output devices, implement new technology and improve support processes such as help desk and training.
Once in "steady state", we provide remote monitoring and management to detect and quickly respond to problems before they affect your business. Proactive support services for end users, specifically help desk and supplies management capabilities, mean you receive new printer cartridges only when needed and are billed based on usage. Last, and most important, we can help cut output costs 20 to 40 percent by reducing print volume and automating business process.
 

Responding to user needs with an optimal Output Management Service
 

	View case study
	View data sheet

 

IBM CRM Management Services helps you deploy and manage your CRM applications, CRM technology infrastructure and call center operations. The service is offered in a modular fashion and includes the following key components:

• Ongoing application hosting and management services for marketing, sales and customer service applications. IBM supports industry leading CRM packages from Siebel, Peoplesoft, SAP and Kana.
• IBM's Industry Based Templates. IBM's Industry Based Templates are pre-configured, prepackaged work products that were built using industry best practices and intellectual capital. The Industry Based Templates are proven to shorten implementation time from 10% - 20%.
• Integrated Business Intelligence. Provides four key performance indicators "out of the box": Customer Value, Customer Behavior, Contact Value and Performance of Operator. We also offer other key performance indicators that cut across other channels and applications. Integrated business intelligence leads to improved customer targeting, up-selling, cross-selling and campaign execution.
• Customer interaction centers. Professional and efficient agents using state of the art call center technology to help acquire, service and retain customers.

IBM CRM Management Services provides end-to-end CRM services, from helping customers decide what to do, helping customers do it and helping customers manage it. IBM integrates the piece parts to provide seamless "plan, implement and run" CRM services. Very few service providers are capable of providing end-to-end CRM services.

What customer value is created?

• Assists in improving return on investment by helping to lower costs and increase revenue. Revenue should increase because of improved up-sell and cross-sell capabilities, improved close rates, and reduced customer churn. Costs should decrease because of increased use of web self-service, e-mail and chat and decreased CRM and call center support costs.
• Faster realization of visible results and tangible benefits of CRM - - greater customer intimacy, improved customer acquisitions, and improved customer loyalty and retention are the tip of the iceberg. Improved marketing, sales and customer service execution are also possible.
• Access to industry specific innovation and expertise to quickly deploy best practices.

Why IBM?

IBM provides a robust suite of "plan, implement and run" CRM services that allow you to choose the desired CRM components.

• Deep IBM expertise in every area related to CRM, from consulting through operations.
• 4,000+ CRM consultants
• 900+ Business Intelligence practitioners
• 500+ outsourcing engagements worldwide
• Market leaders in consulting, systems integration and outsourcing.

IBM has a strong track record of implementing similar projects for customers in all industries.

• IBM has a long consulting track record with many customers across all industries in CRM projects. We have over 100 customer references in CRM consulting from every industry.
• IBM's CRM implementation is the largest of its kind, deploying enterprise-wide and globally.
• IBM has global CRM management services experience.
• IBM has proven and deep industry experience. As a result, IBM's Industry Based Templates shortens deployment time and increases the chances of success.

Want to learn more?

Read how "Gaining a competitive edge with effective CRM management services" is made possible by IBM: View PDF

Read how IBM has helped General Motors decrease costs and improve customer satisfaction: View PDF

Read how IBM has eaten it's own cooking and was able to deploy Siebel in 68 days!: View PDF

Read IBM's perspective on the challenges and pitfalls of CRM and how we can help overcome the obstacles: View PDF

IBM Managing Human Capital

We live in an age when work has changed as radically as the world around us. The improvements in productivity once brought about by automation, technology and developments in management techniques have inevitably started to bring diminishing returns. In the future, information, and the people who possess and deploy it, will become at least as important as the technology they use.

Economic growth will no longer come only from putting more people to work, as in the past, or from greater consumer demand. It will come from a continuing increase in the resource that developed countries still hold as a competitive advantage — the productivity of knowledge workers.

But the increasing value of knowledge workers lies at the heart of a paradox. In the past, employers owned the means of production. Today's knowledge workers own the means of production — the knowledge in their heads. As a result, they have become both assets and costs. But while costs must be managed and reduced, assets have to be increased. How do you square this apparent circle?

The answer lies in an approach we have used with successful organizations all over the world. Our approach is simple, direct, powerful and effective. It drives out fixed costs and replaces them with variable costs. It increases efficiency. It empowers your workforce to do more and more in a way that makes your business resilient and responsive. It places vital management information in the right hands, at the right time, and eases the communication process across the enterprise. The business becomes so lean and responsive that profits can go up, even if revenue falls.

Download complete IBM Institute for Business Value study  (208KB ) [20 pages]

Download complete IBM Executive Technology Report (69,9KB )

We work in partnership with some of the world's ERP vendors, including Oracle and SAP to develop and deliver solutions that meet our clients' unique business needs.

Alliances enable us to deliver our wide range of services
To become an on demand business, every organization must re-assess the value delivered by its core business processes. IBM Business Consulting Services combines its deep insight into industry-specific processes with the capabilities and technologies of its renowned alliance partners to help clients achieve improved levels of integration across several dimensions.

IBM has 90,000 business partners worldwide, including consultants, integrators, software vendors, value-added resellers and distributors.

Our alliances include:

Dassault Systemes
Dassault and IBM help clients achieve competitive advantage from product lifecycle management.

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i2
Together with i2, we deliver best-in-class services with our deep business process and industry expertise.

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Oracle
With the largest independent Oracle and PeopleSoft consultancy practice, we provide business solutions delivering measurable results.

Intro

Case studies

Literature

Also recommended

 

IBM Business Consulting Services has an award-winning strategic alliance with Oracle. Our deep partnership enables us to provide our clients with Oracle, PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards business solutions combined with our industry expertise that deliver measurable and sustainable business benefits while reducing risks and uncertainty.

 

Highlights

 

An Award Winning Alliance: IBM Business Consulting Services was one of Oracle’s first global strategic alliance partners and is currently recognized as an Oracle Global Certified Advantage Partner, reserved for partners who have consistently demonstrated the highest level of competency and commitment to Oracle. IBM BCS has won numerous recent awards from Oracle, including the Oracle 2004 North American Applications Partner of the Year Award. In addition, IBM was the first and only partner to win the PeopleSoft Award of Excellence.

The Broadest Base of Successful Engagements: IBM Business Consulting Services has teamed with Oracle since 1986 and has a proven track record with more than 500 Oracle and 2,000 PeopleSoft/J.D. Edwards engagements.

Largest and Most Experienced Team of Resources of Any SI: Our team, the largest and deepest independent globally managed Oracle and PeopleSoft consultancy practice, delivers industry and process expertise along with world-class implementation methods, tools and accelerators, including our IBM Application Services for Oracle capabilities.

 

Working with our clients, we manage the right mix of on-site and global resources to deliver lower-cost and lower-risk Oracle and PeopleSoft application solutions. Our IBM Oracle/PeopleSoft Solution Center, for example, offers clients expert remote application development and support at substantial cost savings. The center supports rapid integration of new functionality and aligns business goals and objectives with the delivery of on demand software solutions. It offers a range of services, including:

• One-stop shopping for all Oracle and PeopleSoft solutions
• Packaged and customized Oracle and PeopleSoft solutions
• Project-based and utility-oriented support
• IT management services
• Business process services.

This Solution Center is just one in an extensive worldwide network of Solution Centers focused on development, delivery and R&D featuring innovative, world-class expertise and solutions at substantial cost savings for our clients.

IBM and Oracle solutions

Our integrated solutions can be tailored to your business needs in a combination of technology and high-value services. They focus on the four Oracle product families: Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft Enterprise, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, and JD Edwards World.

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SAP
Integrated e-business solutions from IBM and SAP help customers achieve tangible business results and realize ROI.

Intro

Case studies

Literature

 

A recipient of the SAP Award of Excellence for customer loyalty and satisfaction in every year and every geography in which it was awarded, the IBM Business Consulting Services SAP Practice is ready to assist companies implement the suite of mySAP products and Industry solutions.

 

Highlights

 

This emphasis on practice excellence has helped us achieve our position of leadership, serving over 70% of SAP's Fortune installed base and small and medium business customers.

 

Recognized as “Most Visionary” in Gartner’s 2002 SAP ERP service provider Magic Quadrant, more than 8,500 highly focused professionals in 160 countries bring comprehensive industry knowledge, deep skills and years of SAP experience to all aspects of the application lifecycle, from strategy through operate. Our goal is to deliver business value so customers gain competitive advantage, achieve tangible business results and realize return on investment.

We help companies achieve those objectives by applying business processes and information technology to their business, and leveraging our strong alliance and joint development initiatives with SAP. Receiving the 2002 Pinnacle Award for Global SAP Partner validates our ability to provide e-business integrated solutions that link departments, customers, partners and suppliers and position them to become an on demand business.

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Siebel Systems
Our relationship with Siebel delivers comprehensive CRM solutions that improve ROI and lower total cost of ownership.

Intro

Case studies

 

The IBM and Siebel partnership links deep process insight with advanced technologies to deliver comprehensive CRM solutions that improve ROI and lower total cost of ownership for our clients. Now that Siebel is owned by Oracle, vaulting it to #1 in the CRM space, IBM continues to deliver innovating solutions to its Siebel and Oracle CRM clients.

 

Highlights

 

IBM Business Consulting Services has built the world's largest Siebel practice, helping customers achieve a return on investment in more than 2,100 engagements on every continent and within every industry.

Our Siebel-certified practitioners employ deep industry expertise to address all aspects of the application lifecycle, helping customers react rapidly to changing market conditions, manage risk and outpace their competitors.

 

Our alliance with Siebel helps businesses:

• Improve the customer experience through integrated and consistent marketing, sales and service processes
• Extend customer relationships by developing insights about customer needs, preferences and service experiences
• Appropriately cost services through better segmentation of customers and interactions
• Devote more attention to improving customer strategies and interactions than to technology maintenance
• Focus on their core competencies by managing or hosting CRM applications and related maintenance.

To learn more about IBM's deep experience in CRM, visit Business Consulting Services or the IBM Institute for Business Value and select "Marketing, Sales and Service" in the drop-down menu.

 

Download complete IBM Institute for Business Value study (479KB ) [28 pages]  Our Server

Advocacy in the customer focused enterprise  The next generation of CRM Done Right Executive Handbook

Customer Relationship Management

Companies in virtually every industry face an almost insolvable problem: how to reduce operating costs and maintain profitability in the face of soaring customer expectations.

In an atmosphere of extreme price sensitivity, customers are demanding more service, more convenience and more personalized communications. Businesses must maximize every interaction with their customers to make positive impressions and drive loyalty and preference.

At IBM Global Business Services, we regard CRM as a journey, not a destination. It involves shifting your focus from your products and channels to your customer. It means streamlining and integrating your sales, marketing and customer service.

Done right, the results can be extremely powerful:

• Lower contact center costs
• Increased customer satisfaction and sales conversion rates
• Improved sales performance across all channels (direct, indirect and partner)
• Reduced field service operations costs

 

IBM Application Management Resource Services provide skilled supplemental staff to meet the continually shifting and expanding requirements of your business and by managing your existing subcontractors.

Businesses today are running on lean budgets and with fewer in-house information technology (IT) resources at their disposal. At the same time, the demand for new and more complex business applications -- and support for these applications -- continues to grow. To meet this demand, IT managers are turning to outside resources for the wide variety of skills they need to build, improve and maintain their application portfolios. Managing these resources, especially when they come from multiple vendors, creates new business challenges.

 

Highlights

 

Provides the staff you need to build, improve and maintain your application portfolio

Recommends ways to increase the value you receive from your subcontractors

Offers subcontractor management services on an ongoing basis

Helps you better predict your IT resource needs over time

 

IBM Application Management Resource Services provide skilled supplemental staff to meet the continually shifting and expanding requirements of your business and by managing your existing subcontractors. Our services help you realize increased business value by lowering costs and increasing the performance of your application development and maintenance staff.

Gaining access to a flexible pool of resources

IBM Application Development Staff Supplementation Services offer a flexible approach to meet the changing business demands for application development and maintenance resources. We use an IBM proprietary global resource modeling tool to define a labor-sourcing solution that meets your unique situation. We also provide access to a vast pool of experienced IBM professionals to help you get the additional staff and specialized skills you need.

Assessing the value you receive from subcontractors

Our subcontractor assessment offering helps determine the value that subcontractors are providing to your business. We begin by assessing your approach to acquiring and managing subcontractors and evaluating your current subcontractors against a defined set of criteria. We then provide recommendations on how to lower costs and increase the value you receive from your subcontractors.

Providing ongoing management of your subcontractors

Our subcontractor management offering provides you with professional managers who assume responsibility for managing your subcontractors on an ongoing basis. By using the same processes, procedures and relationships that IBM uses to manage its vast pool of subcontractors, we can help to rein in subcontractor resources and costs.

 

For more information

Spec sheet

 

Provides an independent review of your disaster response and business continuity program

Delivers an objective assessment of your ability to cope with a crisis such as a pandemic and its unique stresses

Leverages our crisis response team's experience along with industry best practices and government and health agency guidelines

Identifies your potential vulnerabilities

Provides recommended actions to help mitigate risks associated with the identified vulnerabilities

Experienced IBM business continuity and crisis management consultants work with you to help you protect your operations, your customer services, and your brand reputation. There is much more at stake than data and data centers, especially in a disaster or crisis scenario when illness and fatalities are widespread. Many employees, partners and suppliers may be unable to work for extended periods of time and there may be significant disruptions to normal operations.

We'll review and assess your readiness related to human resource planning; proximity to medical services; internal and external communications; supply chain capabilities; IT, network site and facilities infrastructure, security, customer support, and your business policies and operations.

You can choose from two levels of assessment:

• High-level assessment—designed to meet the needs of small and midsized companies
• In-depth assessment—designed to meet the needs of large enterprises and government agencies with more complex environments or multiple critical sites

HRsmart's Online Recruiting and Applicant Tracking Solution provides an online recruiting center and back-end system that allows recruiters to post jobs and track applicants through the screening and selection process, helping reduce cost per hire while improving job fit and reducing turnover.

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Hosted by IBM, HRsmart's Online Recruiting and Applicant Tracking Solution provides a network-delivered, online recruiting center and back-end system that allows recruiters to post jobs and track applicants through the screening and selection process.

 

Highlights

 

Automates the recruiting and selection process

Reduces time to fill by 66% or more

Helps reduce cost per hire by 50% or more

Improves job fit and reduces turnover by 10% or more

Allows you to continuously improve your hiring process with tracking and reporting

 

HRsmart is a participant in the IBM Managed Hosting - application enablement program, which prepares applications to be delivered as a service. Applications can be configured to suit the needs of each customer and implemented rapidly.

Additional details

• Hosted with Linux virtual services on an IBM   zSeries® mainframe, providing virtually unparalleled performance, reliability and security features
• Delivered via almost any Web browser
• One-time setup fee and quarterly fees based on number of seats

In-depth information
More information about HRsmart

Our approach to human capital management looks at four key factors:

	More from people (MFP)
	Better HR
	Learning and development
	On demand workplace

More from people (MFP)
More from people focuses on getting the highest possible value from your workforce while controlling your Human Capital costs. Our approach focuses on your strategy, examines your operations, and analyses how your workforce implements the initiatives that drive your business. Our analysis provides a methodical and measurable approach to determine the right people strategy for your organisation. The result is a unique combination that produces the behaviours that drive increased productivity and profits.

Better HR
Better HR is about transforming the way Human Resources works and delivers value to the business by improving the quality and reducing the cost of Human Resource processes and systems. We help clients to successfully design, implement and adopt the most appropriate combination of HR service delivery portfolios; operating models; technologies and processes for their organization.

Learning and development
Inspires and equips people in business to improve their performance, skills and knowledge by focusing on improving the effectiveness and reducing the cost of learning and development within the organization. This is achieved by addressing the fundamental organization, technology, and methods used to facilitate employee learning and development to help meet key business objectives.

On Demand Workplace
On Demand Workplace brings together all the strands of information that run through an enterprise in ways that can radically change the way you work. It helps clients achieve dramatic efficiency, effectiveness and innovation by integrating and simplifying core employee work processes.

In an on demand enterprise, human resources can be more efficient. All employees can have effective training delivered to them when they need it, and they can receive immediate service through the lowest-cost channels that meet their needs.

Our human resources business transformation outsourcing service areas include HR transformation, HR analytics, HR applications and infrastructure, and HR specialty services.

Having an on demand environment means that multiple vendors are integrated transparently, providing the most cost-effective solution, and all of the online resources an employee needs are available through one consistent interface. Human resources (HR) applications can be added or updated as needed through a flexible, low-cost architecture.

Business transformation outsourcing (BTO) services can make HR on demand happen for you by implementing solutions that unlock business value and helping you develop the attributes of an on demand business:

• Responsive: HR staffing changes fluidly as people are acquired or divested.
• Variable: Technology advances allow HR to become a virtual organization.
• Focused: HR managers focus on strategy and vision, not transactional processing.
• Resilient: HR strengthens its role in managing risk and opportunity.

Our BTO services comprise a full range of outsourced HR services, including:

HR transformation:
 

• Business-to-employee (B2E) strategy
• HR process redesign
• Service delivery strategy
• Decision support

• Access to consolidated HR information
• Data warehouse design and implementation
• Performance metrics and benchmarking

• Full HR process delivery
• Transaction processing (benefits, payroll)
• Web-enabled self-service and contact centers
• Vendor aggregation and management
• IBM learning solutions
• Specialty processes (eHR expertise)
• AMS - Systems integration, application development and management, specialized applications
• Infrastructure and hosting

• Separation services
• Expatriate services

The potential benefits of outsourcing your HR functions to our BTO services include savings from utility-like HR costs, more dynamic and responsive systems, and the risk reduction that comes with technical and process improvements. We have partnerships with leading specialized providers and a truly global understanding of HR and its legal requirements, all of which facilitate a smooth transition to an outsourced solution.

More and more businesses are looking at how to automate and improve their human resources (HR) services -- creating self-service opportunities for employees and streamlining application-based processes so HR managers can focus on key strategic tasks. By understanding your unique needs and requirements, IBM can help provide IT services that deliver real business results.

We can help make your HR functions more efficient, improve services to your employees and increase your ability to serve your customers.

Key IGS services offerings that align to Human Resources:

• On Demand Workplace - Lotus Web Conferencing
  On Demand Workplace - Lotus Web Conferencing can help you increase productivity by connecting disperse employees and improving productivity without having to invest heavily up front.
• Portal, Content and e-Commerce
  IBM Portals, Content and e-commerce services shrink your enterprise by putting users’ two clicks away from any information, application or person. Basic e-workplace services include search, collaboration, personalization, expertise identification and connection to key applications to help you capture, access & utilize both structured and unstructured data.
• Learning Development
  Demand for high-quality training that can be developed cost effectively, updated quickly, and delivered efficiently has grown globally. IDC, a leading industry analyst firm, estimates that the worldwide e-learning market opportunity will exceed $24 billion by 2005, with learning outsourcing and customized content representing the fastest growing areas.
• Integrated Identity and Access Management
  An Integrated Identity & Access Management services engagement helps you ensure that access to sensitive HR information assets are managed in a controlled and secure manner.  User authentication can help reduce the risk of unauthorized access to systems, while reducing administration and complexity.
  
  For a complete list of IBM Global Services, click here .

IBM Training

Energy & Utilities

SAS^® Solutions for the Energy and Utility Industries
The intelligence to fuel effective, forward-looking decisions in volatile markets

Energy and utility companies operate in a unique climate of risk, uncertainty and volatility – where the challenges are intensifying daily.

Upstream operators – those involved in the exploration and production of raw energy resources – are under pressure to make better use of their aging assets and diminishing reserves, while reducing exploration and development costs.

Downstream operators – those focused on refining, storing and delivering energy – must grapple with transportation and security logistics, huge investments in refinery and distribution facilities, and uncertainty as to where and when market demand will appear.

Utility companies are struggling to accurately predict retail demand, control supply costs, protect delivery systems, minimize regulatory disallowances and sustain good credit ratings – in an environment sharpened by deregulation.

Across all sectors of the energy and utility industries, companies must make reliable decisions amid hundreds or even thousands of variables – while improving profitability, controlling costs and enhancing operational efficiency.

SAS solutions for the energy and utility industries combine award-winning software and best-practice services to transform masses of data about your operations, suppliers, risks, assets and profitability into strategic business intelligence – the fuel for competitive advantage.

Key Benefits

Understand patterns of energy supply and demand. SAS Forecast Server leverages past experience to more accurately predict future requirements. You'll clearly see the effects of seasonality, population growth, holidays, capacity and more. You'll know how accurate past predictions have been and be able to apply that knowledge to continuously improve future results.

With SAS analytics, utilities can generate highly accurate projections of energy demand and revenue. For large energy organizations, the incremental additional precision in forecasts can deliver significant bottom-line returns.

Measure and manage risk. SAS Risk Solutions for Energy provide a full range of advanced modeling techniques to accurately measure and monitor risk factors associated with trading energy. SAS' fully configurable risk solutions enable the accurate modeling and assessment of both market and credit risk in an open framework that makes the most of your firm's proprietary risk methodologies rather than a closed form "black-box."

Together with RiskAdvisory, a division of SAS, SAS Risk Solutions for Energy represent a complete front-, middle- and back-office risk management and trading platform. SAS technology provides oil and gas companies, energy hedge funds, financial institutions, energy marketers and utilities with industry-leading deal capture, position and risk reporting, and the most sophisticated suite of risk analytics available on the market.

Make informed decisions about allocating scarce resources. SAS Enterprise Miner helps you proactively manage assets for best results. For example, you can assess the expected ROI on proposed infrastructure projects and objectively compare projects under consideration. You'll be able to optimize preventive maintenance to ensure continuous operations. With sophisticated analytics, you have the information to improve the way resources are allocated and the returns they generate.

Reduce supplier spend while simultaneously improving supplier relations and collaboration. With SAS Supplier Relationship Management, procurement departments can gain a better understanding of their purchases, suppliers and performance in order to make better strategic sourcing decisions. Using this comprehensive solution, companies can reduce enterprise spend, consolidate and prioritize suppliers, reduce supplier risk and align procurement strategies with corporate goals.

Understand the true costs of processes and projects. Unlike traditional accounting systems that broadly assign costs to budget categories, SAS Activity-Based Management matches costs to specific business processes. As a result, you can clearly identify which factors are driving up costs, which processes are inefficient, where outsourcing would be beneficial, how to price products or services, and other issues that affect bottom-line profitability.

For nearly three decades, energy and utility organizations have counted on SAS software to handle complex forecasting and management needs with large data volumes. SAS solutions for the energy and utility industries give you the ability to assemble data from many platforms and systems to create a picture of what has happened and transform it with analytic and predictive capabilities to project what's going to happen – the foresight that can give you a competitive advantage.

Watch the webcast "Forecasting Energy Requirements".

See our Alliance Partners with Energy and Utilities Expertise.

Read related success stories.

ABBGlobal utilities giant ABB controls billions in procurement spend with SAS Supplier Relationship Management.

CemigCemig, the Brazilian energy giant, relies on SAS for accurate, reliable forecasts that keep energy costs down and ensure availability of power.

ConocoPhillips NorwayConocoPhillips Norway manages performance and achieves a safer working environment using SAS.

Copenhagen EnergySAS doubles forecasting accuracy, offers cost savings of up to 50 percent and supports stable, reliable delivery of energy to consumers.

Reliant EnergyReliant Energy, a Houston-based supplier of wholesale and retail natural gas and electricity around the world, trusts SAS to help the company meet customer demands reliably and at low cost.

OMVOMV, a leading oil and gas company in Europe, personalizes its Web portal with SAS.

INASAS helps INA, Croatia's leading oil and gas company, speed access to data, bolster decision-making, strengthen business relationships and lower site operating costs.

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