MMK improves budgeting system with help from IBM solutions

Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) has upgraded its analytics and budgeting capabilities. With help from GMCS, an IBM business partner, the Company has successfully implemented a new budgeting system based on IBM Planning Analytics that receives input from 400 staff.

The project's strategic goal is to combine MMK Group's large companies into a single budgetary framework. This will help to significantly reduce planning time and allow for budget recalculations, resulting in an optimised process which takes into account the volatility of the raw materials and metal products industries.

MMK launched the project in 2019 and put it into commercial operation in Q4 2020. The system introduces a full budgeting loop, integration with the Oracle-based ERP system, and a system which optimises production and economic planning. The system currently covers the budgeting processes of almost all the major companies in MMK Group.

IBM Planning Analytics, powered by TM1®, is an integrated planning solution that makes use of artificial intelligence, automation, and forecasting capabilities to allow businesses to quickly, easily and more precisely calculate financial transactions, sales, supply chains and much more. By choosing and implementing IBM Planning Analytics as a new budgeting solution, the joint MMK-GMCS project team specialists have significantly expanded the functionality of the Group’s budgeting system, with input coming from an increased number of staff.

"MMK is constantly striving to boost management efficiency, to develop and improve business processes, and to extend its high standards for planning and analytics to all of the Group's companies. Improvements to the automated budgeting system mark another step in this direction. The transition to IBM solutions helped us not only to optimise and unify our budget planning processes, but also to increase their transparency. In addition, these solutions result in a more controlled process, thanks to the integration of all processes on a single information platform", said Andrey Eremin, Director of Economics at MMK.

The implementation of this project represents another step towards the development of MMK's analytical applications based on IBM Planning Analytics. In 2015, with the help of GMCS, MMK introduced financial planning and consolidations systems based on IBM Planning Analytics. In addition, a system enabling the automatic collection of actual reports was installed, based on IBM Congos Controller. All three systems conform to IFRS accounting standards.

"Despite the great difficulties of this year, when most of the work on the project was carried out remotely, we were still able to complete the project on time. This was made possible thanks to MMK's exceptional project management culture, along with the great professionalism of the project team", noted Bela Temirkanova, Project Manager at GMCS.