capSpire Blog

In our last few articles, we’ve discussed question 1 and question 2 that commodity trading and risk management (CTRM) analytics answer.

Question 3: How is my portfolio exposed to shifting market prices?

Of course, companies using CTRM platforms want to make sure that their trades are profitable. But how do you see where changes in market prices or deal values can impact your company’s profitability?

Out-of-the-box CTRM systems have limitations in obtaining the data needed to sufficiently manage risks:

• CTRM systems typically don’t provide dashboards of exposure to markets and P&L.
• Companies with pricing and position data in multiple systems have no means of aggregating this data in one place.
• Pricing data is not included in real time. Rather, end-of-day pricing is used to calculate results without including the impact of current-day market moves. Throughout the day, end-of-previous-day P&L is already outdated.
• CTRM systems track inventory changes, but there is no quick, simple way to understand how much you should hedge or unwind as product is sold.
• CTRM systems are often unable to handle large volumes of data associated with managing exposure.

CTRM analytics gather all position and pricing data into one central dashboard and, with the addition of visualization tools, help you accomplish critical objectives for limiting your company’s exposure to price swings:

• You have enhanced visibility into your portfolio, including visibility into timing and specific markets.
• You can slice and dice data associated with your price exposure in greater detail and along many different dimensions—including price curves, products, locations, time periods, trade strategies, and portfolios—to understand your level of risk.
• You can incorporate real-time sales and lifting information as products move to improve your hedging decisions.
• You can incorporate data from terminal-automation systems, supplier FTP sites, rail-tracking systems, and pipeline systems to understand how inventory is moving.
• You have access to real-time market pricing throughout the day so you can understand earlier whether the market is moving in unexpected ways and how much volume is exposed.

Stay tuned for question 4: Who are my best customers?

For more information about how capSpire can help you leverage your data to optimize your business operations, please visit www.capspire.com/analytics/ or email info@capspire.com.