The Eka Commodity Trade & Risk Management (CTRM) Solution covers the complete lifecycle of both physical and financial commodity contracts. The multi-commodity, highly flexible and comprehensive application recognizes the important differences between different commodity groups (metals vs. softs vs. renewables) and segments (traders, processors, exporters, etc). So whatever be your business model and company size, the highly adaptive solution helps streamline operations, manage risks, control costs and maximize opportunities.

             

Eka brings all your operations on a single platform, so that you can get a unified, integrated, real-time view of your company’s position and PnL at all times. This covers operations across commodities, business lines, office locations and profit centers.

This is made possible by Eka’s technology and robust product architecture, which enables all office locations to hook up to the centralized server. This means that:

1. Users across all locations always look at the same, updated information. Position and information on contracts, stocks, invoicing, costs, etc is always in real time.
2. There is no need to duplicate data entry or worry about data synchronization. All information is updated in the same instance of the application
3. IT maintenance and hardware costs are significantly lower, because everything is managed on a single server. 

2. Connect

The comprehensive application fully connects front, middle and back office operations. It takes care of the requirements of all users, and reduces dependency on spreadsheets and documents. All data is shared seamlessly across departments, so for instance traffic always knows when a new contract is created, and trade knows when a payment has been registered by finance, etc.

There’s no need to manually enter the same data twice – information entered once is automatically updated by the application in all relevant places. For instance, while creating an invoice, the system looks up for necessary counterparty, product and shipping information from the contract and shipping documents, so there’s no need to re-type previously entered details again. The solution also provides a number of multi-dimensional cross-department views, allowing you to look at your position from different angles.

Helping you control your risks and exposures is a key strength of the application. It works with you in identifying market, operational, financial and human risks. First, the system ensures that information is consistent and correct across the application. All data entered is validated from a business logic point of view.

So, for instance, you can never have a situation wherein a contract with 1250MT has only 125MT recorded against it as delivered weight even by mistake – the system has been designed to prevent human errors such as these. In addition, a strong system of access control and permissions ensures required control over who has rights to what actions and to what information in the system.

Eka presents you with a very comprehensive view of your open risk position – be it against physicals, derivatives or combined physicals and derivatives – in real-time. Which means that all exposures and risky positions are identified immediately, allowing you to take appropriate action on time.

Mark-to-market valuations for both physicals and derivative contracts present you with a clear idea of your standing against the market on a contract by contact basis. Your exposures to suppliers, customers, products and origins are calculated and updated as you go. And all exceptions are presented systematically for your review.

Finally, system generated alerts and reminders ensure that critical follow-ups are not missed out, and required tasks completed on time.

Eka provides a number of tools for you to analyze your business performance. A key functionality is the systems day and month-end routines that store the company’s trade by trade position and PnL per period. This gives you the flexibility to monitor and understand the change in position between any two dates. So when you want to know, for instance, why your PnL has moved between any two dates, you know which trades have caused this, and equally importantly why – was there a general movement in the market that caused the upturn, or did some grades move more in relation to others; in which trades are my costs higher (or lower) than my budgeted expenses; what cargo shipments have increased my PnL without an equivalent increase in my costs, etc.

Similarly, when you want to know why your physical position has changed, Eka provides you ready answers for the same – what new trades have been created, which contracts have been amended for their quantity, where all are the delivered quantities less (or more) than the contracted quantities, etc.

Eka also provides a number of tools to help you track and monitor your budgeted, accrued and actual costs.

Ultimately, it’s all about helping you make the most of market opportunities while helping you reduce costs and manage risks. Eka provides you instant answers on your business, so when you need to take a decision or react to the market quickly, you have all the necessary details at hand to make an informed, calculated choice. Eka works with you to streamline flow of information across the organization, helping you realize maximum efficiency and productivity. And by identifying risks and exposures, it helps you prevent adverse impacts on your position and PnL.

So when it comes to running your business, you can be sure that Eka understands the complexities involved, puts you in total control your position, and helps you get the maximum profit from your trades.

To learn more about how the solution will work for your business, click on one of the following links: