Michael Schwartz
June, 2015
Industry Trends
Over the years, the management of commodities and the risks associated with this activity have evolved as both the type and quantity of data to be managed has changed. What first started as Energy Trading and Risk Management (ETRM) software solutions evolved to Commodity Trading and Risk Management (CTRM) software solutions to include support for additional commodities other than energy. In addition to support for more commodity types, ETRM and CTRM software has grown further into the supply chain and the functional footprint of these systems has dramatically increased.
There is now a generational shift taking place from transaction based systems to solutions that provide sophisticated, real-time, analytics along with transaction management. It's still absolutely necessary for a system to have the ability to handle transactions from upstream to downstream, but it's not sufficient. The system must also harness the explosion of data, both internal and external to the system, and provide advanced analytics to ensure faster, better decision making. The next big shift in the commodities industry is the recognition of the need for Smart Commodity Management – those systems that will focus on predictive analytics, visualization, and optimization.
This is a big shift for first- and second-generation vendors; many of them will be unable to make the shift because of technological, cultural, or managerial reasons. Eka has the vision, technology, team, and solutions to lead in this transaction plus analytics market.
To read more please subscribe our Printed Magazine