Odyssey consulting company implements project on automation of financial management in Uralkali trading division. The project is a continuation of cooperation between the organizations as part of the deployment of a corporate information system. The launch of this system is dictated by the trade division management's desire to increase manageability and improve the quality of interaction between the central and remote trade branches.
At present, the solution created by the Odyssey consulting company provides the full sales and supply chain management cycle for Uralkali's trading division. Data on all transactions is stored in the new system and updated in real time. Employees do not have to be in the office - remote access means allow them to work anywhere and anytime. Approval of documents is extremely simplified: in order to approve an agreement, a manager only needs to receive approval from the management via e-mail, the answers are processed automatically in the system, and the status of the deal changes. The main difficulty in the work of the trading department is accounting and control operations for shipments - rail, sea, and container shipments. At the time of the transaction, charterers receive a shipping plan, on the basis of which they determine the schedule and the ship type. The new information system calculates all expenses for cargo handling and delivery, track cargo delivery status and current cargo location up to the moment of receiving the cargo by the final customer. Odyssey solution also makes it possible to upload data on the crossing of the borders of the Russian Federation by railcars. In the future, this will make it possible to automatically register the transfer of title to the cargo from the production units to the trade organization in the new system.
The system development project which is currently being implemented involves automation of the main accounting operations of Uralkali's trading subdivision - settlements with customers and suppliers, cost accounting and generation of accounting reports - and their linkage with the existing system of commodity accounting and managerial cost accounting. Microsoft Dynamics NAV is currently used for bookkeeping. Since the transition of the commercial block on Microsoft Dynamics AX, a certain part of the accounting operations - the reflection of invoices, payments - have to duplicate in both systems, the staff of the financial service spend extra time on their reconciliation.
The main goal of the current project is to create a unified transparent financial system in the trading division, quick and easy to use. Uralkali is one of the world's leading potash producers with a share in global production of about 20%. The company's production assets include five mines and seven enrichment plants located in Berezniki and Solikamsk (Perm region). The company's main production division employs around 11,800 people. Uralkali's shares and GDRs are listed on the Moscow Exchange and the London Stock Exchange.
