What can energy companies do to cope with today's volatile price movements?
It starts with complete visibility into all risk drivers combined with real-time analytics - this turns data into actionable information. A complete understanding of the potential impact of adverse risk events is vital to minimizing the negative effects of price volatility on the bottom line.
Triple Point's Commodity XL™ is the only solution providing enterprise-wide transparency and control over all areas of exposure on a real-time, integrated platform. The solution minimizes physical and financial risks across the entire supply chain. Real-time straight-through processing (STP) coupled with advanced business intelligence tools address market risk, operational risk, counterparty credit risk, and regulatory risk.
According to Apple, iPhones and iPads are already being deployed or tested at over 90% of Fortune 500 companies. How do you see the trend towards a wireless workplace changing the way companies manage ETRM?
A more mobile workforce means that in order to ensure maximum productivity and efficiency, business applications need to be accessible from wherever employees are at any point in time. Mobility will transform ETRM by empowering employees to perform key functions on-the-go, before competitors can react. You can't just take an entire application and put it on a mobile platform. You have to think about which functions make sense in a mobile environment, and then create applications that enable them to be performed effectively on a mobile device.
Triple Point is the only ETRM software company currently offering mobile applications. We have already released five applications:
- Mobile Commodity Trader supplies traders with all the tools necessary for doing business on the road.
- Mobile Voyage Estimator wins more business for shippers and charterers by providing accurate quotes.
- Mobile Inventory Navigator allows schedulers to assess bulk commodity inventory and capacity levels in real-time.
- Mobile Management Dashboard provides pinpoint analysis of key performance indicators for improved decision making and bottom-line results.
- Mobile System Console enables administrators to monitor deployments of Triple Point's Commodity Management solution.
What should ETRM companies do to ensure Dodd-Frank compliance?
Dodd-Frank regulations related to reporting and swap clearing require rigorous scrutiny of IT systems to ensure they facilitate compliance. Energy companies that have not already developed a compliance plan must act immediately to avoid being caught unprepared.
Adaptive reporting engines will be needed to ensure that transaction data, including swap life cycle events and valuations, can be conveyed to swap data repositories (SDRs) in near real-time. All systems will need to maintain a detailed, accessible history of transaction data. Furthermore, companies can't rely on credit rating agencies alone. Systems must provide internal scoring methods, collateral management, and liquidity analysis. Companies must also ensure that systems provide strong documentation of trading and hedging strategies, particularly if they want to obtain end-user exemptions.
Triple Point is committed to providing the most comprehensive ETRM solution for meeting Dodd-Frank requirements. Our platform offers real-time reporting and STP, automatically transmits data to SDRs, provides comprehensive audit trails, and enables companies to produce the necessary documentation to support an end-user exemption election. As the specifics of Dodd-Frank continue to evolve, energy companies can count on Triple Point to deliver what's needed to ensure compliance.
I heard recently that CNOOC, Petrobras, SK Energy, Valero, and other major oil companies have moved to Triple Point's ETRM platform. To what do you attribute your success?
Oil is a very physical business, involving production, inventory management, pipeline scheduling, and numerous other logistical operations. In order for an oil company to manage its business as profitably as possible, it needs an ETRM system that manages the physical side of the business along with the financial side. Commodity XL has been the solution of choice among energy companies because it provides real-time tools for managing exposure across the entire portfolio.
Analysts have validated this assertion, with Gartner naming Triple Point a Leader in its Magic Quadrant for ETRM Platforms for four consecutive years. Gartner has commended us for our extensive range of functional coverage for all aspects of ETRM, and for having the most comprehensive credit risk management, hedge accounting, and compliance solutions.
