Trading & Risk Management

System Implementations and Upgrades

CTRM system implementations and upgrades can be complex, expensive, time-consuming endeavors. Our team of 40+ CTRM implementation consultants have, on average, more than 15 years of hands-on experience implementing, operating, and supporting the leading solutions. This enables us to get more done with fewer resources and to avoid potential pitfalls that can lead to escalating costs.

Opportune ensures project success by:

• Conducting an up-front assessment to clarify scope and provide an accurate estimate
• Preparing a comprehensive, realistic plan combined with a transparent view of status
• Working with, not against, software vendor and ecosystem partners – we “play well with others”
• Adhering to a proven implementation and project management methodology of the client’s choice of agile, waterfall, or hybrid
• Mitigating risk to your business via carefully scoped and executed testing, from unit test through UAT
• Bringing your IT team up to speed on the new technology and supporting platforms
• Ensuring that users are ready for more than just new tools, but also for streamlined processes, refined responsibilities, enhanced controls, and clarified roles 
• Complementing the CTRM system with tight integration & automation, enhanced reporting & analytics, and targeted industry solutions
• Supporting the business on the new, integrated solution set until they’re comfortable and confident

Read More

CTRM Integration, Automation, and Customization

No off the shelf trading and risk system can exist in a vacuum or addresses every business requirement. Integration is necessary to bring in crucial data sets and provide for end-to-end, straight through transaction processing from origination to settlement.

• Providing standardized and vendor approved interfaces for common needs like price feeds, forecasts, nominations, tickets, inventory, invoices and more
• Developing custom solutions to meet critical needs in areas such as cash and liquidity forecasting, working capital management, and inventory valuation (e.g., LIFO)
• Tailoring the system to specialized renewable fuels requirements and calculations to comply with RFS, LCFS, CFR and other emerging federal, state and provincial regulations
• Understanding how to utilize industry leading technologies like Azure, Power BI, Tableau, Alteryx and others to extract even more value
• Advising when customization makes sense and when a purpose-built industry solution is the right fit

Software Selection

We begin with deep understanding of the energy business learned by doing – as industry leaders, consultants, and technology implementors. Then, we take a business scenario-centric approach, supported with a library of tools and templates developed across dozens of selection engagements, to quickly elicit, analyze, and articulate solution requirements. Many of our consulting professionals are former software vendor employees who bring a singular depth of understanding of these solutions that is complemented by our longstanding relationships with the leading solution providers.

Many firms take a cookie cutter approach to system selection; not Opportune. Because of our rare blend of industry and system knowledge we will add value by:

• Taking a collaborative and holistic approach to understanding business objectives
• Considering the existing technology footprint as well as the IT vision and strategy
• Developing a population of proven vendors and solutions that are fit for purpose
• Accelerating the selection using our proprietary process library and catalog of common requirements and standardized templates
• Defining and documenting core business scenarios and using them to facilitate tailored vendor demonstrations
• Scoring solutions, arriving at a recommendation, and supporting vendor negotiations
• Delivering a solution architecture that goes well beyond the CTRM core to identity other technology key enablers

Read More