SAP Customer Success StoryOil and Gas

BHARAT PETROLEUM DELIVERING ACTIONABLE INSIGHT AND BUSINESS VALUE – FAST

“When people saw the software in ac-

tion, they began to understand the

power of business analytics. They soon

realized that SAP NetWeaver BI is not

just about technology, but that it de-

livers real business value.”

K. B. Narayanan, General Manager, ERP Competence Center, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

SAP Solutions and Services• SAP ERP application• SAP for O&G • SAP NetWeaver BW• SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence

Accelerator software, functionality that is now known as SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse Accelerator software

• SAP Consulting

Implementation Highlights• Implemented new functionality and

performed upgrade smoothly and successfully

• Expanded the adoption of SAP NetWeaver BW across the enterprise

Why SAP• Extensive existing SAP software−based

landscape• Industry-specific functionality that is

critical for the BPCL value chain• Total of 9 out of top 10 oil companies

leverage SAP software• Good local presence in India

Benefi ts• Better, more accurate decision making• Faster, more efficient reporting and

analysis• Enhanced access to business analytics

for more employees • Increased sales generated by customer

loyalty card programs

Third-Party Integration• Database: Oracle• Hardware: Hewlett-Packard• Operating system: HP-UX

Company• Name: Bharat Petroleum Corporation

Limited (BPCL)• Location: Mumbai, India• Industry: Oil and gas• Products and services: Crude oil refining;

manufacture and retail of solvents, petrochemicals, lubricants, and fuel

• Revenue: US$27.8 billion• Employees: More than 14,000• Web site: www.bharatpetroleum.com• Implementation partner: SAP® Consulting

Challenges and Opportunities • Enhance functionality across all areas

of the enterprise• Enable faster, more efficient decision

making• Provide employees with accurate,

up-to-date facts and figures• Streamline reporting and analysis• Optimize use of SAP NetWeaver®

Business Intelligence (SAP NetWeaver BI), functionality that

is now known as the SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse (SAP NetWeaver BW) component

Objectives• Upgrade to the latest version of the

SAP for Oil & Gas (SAP for O&G) solution portfolio

• Upgrade to the latest release of SAP NetWeaver BI

QUICK FACTS

Headquartered in Mumbai, India, BPCL came into being following nationaliza-tion of Burmah Shell in 1976. It is the country’s second-largest oil company and was ranked on the 2008 Global FORTUNE 500 list. BPCL specializes in refining crude oil and in the manufac-ture and retail of a wide range of petro-leum products for both industrial and domestic use. As an operator of retail gas stations, convenience stores, and liquefied petroleum gas distributors throughout the country, it is a well-known, high-visibility brand in India. The company currently employs a workforce of over 14,000 and posted revenues of more than US$27.8 billion in 2007.

Innovative Approach to Technology

Over the past decade, BPCL has seen the business go from strength to strength. And it is on course for more growth in the years to come. Underpinning the

company’s success is a strong, stable, and state-of-the-art IT infrastructure – based on SAP® software. “We made the transition from our disparate legacy sys-tems to SAP software almost 10 years ago. And we haven’t looked back,” ex-plains K. B. Narayanan, general manag-er of the ERP competence center at BPCL.

The initial project was a first in India: rather than simply selecting a few func-tions, BPCL opted for an innovative, big-bang approach – introducing the full scope of functionality available at the time (and now found in the SAP ERP application and SAP for O&G). This set a precedent, and the company has con-tinued to pioneer new technologies and implementation strategies ever since. For Narayanan, the company’s relation-ship with SAP is an ongoing journey. “We’ve come a long way since we set out, but we’re not done yet,” he says.

Keeping Technology Up-to-Date

Senior managers at BPCL decided it was time to upgrade the core enter-prise resource planning software to the latest version of SAP ERP and to further extend functionality from SAP for O&G. Their motivation? To streamline busi-ness processes by giving employees access to some of the most up-to-date technology on the market. SAP for O&G solutions provide industry-specific support – from the extraction of raw materials to refining to selling finished goods. SAP for O&G helps BPCL man-age the entire downstream hydrocarbon value chain from the refining of crude oil through to the transportation, distri-bution, and sales of petroleum products.

Around the same time, decision mak-ers took a closer look at the way SAP NetWeaver BI was being deployed. The software had been installed some years previously, and management felt it was time to optimize and expand its usage. SAP NetWeaver BI integrates data from across the enterprise and beyond. It provides employees with the tools they need to retrieve vital facts and figures and transform them into valuable business insight – fast.

Indian oil giant Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has always been keen to ensure its IT delivers real business value. That means streamlining business processes and increasing efficiency by keeping abreast of technology trends and implementing powerful solutions. Against this background, staff from BPCL’s own compe-tence center introduced new functionality from the SAP for Oil & Gas (SAP for O&G) solution portfolio. What’s more, they transformed the way SAP NetWeaver® Business Intelligence (SAP NetWeaver BI), functionality that is now known as the SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse (SAP NetWeaver BW) component, was deployed – giving employees throughout the entire enterprise access to critical facts and figures.

“We made the transition from our

disparate legacy systems to SAP soft-

ware almost 10 years ago. And we

haven’t looked back.”

K. B. Narayanan, General Manager, ERP Competence Center, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

In-House Expertise

At BPCL’s ERP competence center, certified experts test, implement, and maintain the company’s extensive SAP software−based environment. The 100-strong team has extensive experi-ence and hands-on knowledge of SAP products, which is extremely useful

when supporting end-user queries and issues. “Thanks to our highly skilled resources, we were able to successfully perform the upgrade and implement software from SAP for O&G ourselves,” says Narayanan. “However, we are in frequent contact with experts from SAP Consulting. They are only a phone call away whenever we need them. And we certainly wouldn’t go anywhere else for advice.”

Parallel to the upgrade, competence center staff went ahead with the task of internally checking how SAP NetWeaver BI was being used. “We were quite surprised to find the component wasn’t being leveraged to its full potential,” ex-plains Narayanan. On the back of these findings, a quick-action team was estab-

lished to explore ways to drive SAP NetWeaver BI adoption across the enterprise and enhance its business value.

Facts and Figures for Everyone

In the past, SAP NetWeaver BI had been predominantly leveraged by man-agers from various regions and at com-pany headquarters. But Narayanan’s team discovered that middle manage-ment and sales staff could also benefit from having timely access to key perfor-mance indicators. “Waiting for charts and graphs to be passed down from the head office often takes time,” says Narayanan. “But our people in the field need to see the relevant business met-rics as soon as they’re available. It’s not just top executives who make im-portant decisions every day.” So the team went about giving more employees access to SAP NetWeaver BI. They increased the number of user licenses from 200 to 600 and demonstrated the power of SAP NetWeaver BI in various business contexts. What’s more, to help ensure optimum performance, they upgraded to the latest version of the component.

As part of the initiative, decision makers opted to integrate data from BPCL’s customer loyalty card programs and give sales managers at retail outlets access to the software – a smart move, as Narayanan explains: “Using the in-sight gained using SAP NetWeaver BI, our sales force developed strategies to increase membership in the loyalty pro-grams. This move has helped dramati-cally increase the business generated

“We’ve developed a strong, long-term partnership with SAP. And we defi-

nitely want to build on it. SAP software offers a tremendous opportunity

to innovate and find flexible solutions to specific business challenges. . . .

And we’re very excited about what the future holds.”

by the card schemes. In fact, at least 30% of the growth can be attributed to SAP NetWeaver BI.”

And it’s not just sales force that bene-fited from SAP NetWeaver BI: employ-ees at all levels of the enterprise are now using the powerful analytical com-ponent. As a result, they have better insight into vital business metrics. More-over, decision making, reporting, and analysis are now much faster. “When people saw the software in action, they began to understand the power of busi-ness analytics. They soon realized that SAP NetWeaver BI is not just about technology, but that it delivers real busi-ness value,” says a satisfied Narayanan.

Simpler, Smoother, Faster

With the volume of data and the number of users constantly on the rise, BPCL has decided to introduce SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse Accelerator (SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator) software. This solution comprises state-of-the-art SAP software and high-performance servers from leading hardware vendors. It leverages aggregation and compres-sion technology to deliver more accurate results even faster.

“User acceptance and satisfaction are closely linked to the user experience,” explains Narayanan. “By offering an even swifter, smoother way of calling up information, we can encourage more people to use our business intelligence software. And this, in turn, will help streamline decision making, boost pro-ductivity, and improve the way we do business overall.”

K. B. Narayanan, General Manager, ERP Competence Center, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

“We are in frequent contact with

experts from SAP Consulting. They

are only a phone call away whenever

we need them. And we certainly

wouldn’t go anywhere else for advice.”

K. B. Narayanan, General Manager, ERP Competence Center, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

50 xxx xxx (09/02) ©2009 by SAP AG. All rights reserved. SAP, R/3, SAP NetWeaver, Duet, PartnerEdge, ByDesign, SAP Business ByDesign, and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and other countries.

Business Objects and the Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, Crystal Reports, Crystal Decisions, Web Intelligence, Xcelsius, and other Business Objects products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects S.A. in the United States and in other countries. Business Objects is an SAP company.

All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this document serves informational purposes only. National product specifi cations may vary.

These materials are subject to change without notice. These materials are provided by SAP AG and its affi liated companies (“SAP Group”) for informational purposes only, without representation or warranty of any kind, and SAP Group shall not be liable for errors or omissions with respect to the materials. The only warranties for SAP Group products and services are those that are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services, if any. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty.

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The Journey Continues

Once SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator is up and running, BPCL expects to increase the number of users to ap-proximately 1,000 – making powerful functionality and business analytics available to an even broader employee base. BPCL has invested considerable time and effort in establishing a cutting-edge IT infrastructure and specialist in-house resources – and the organization is reaping significant benefits. But the story does not stop here: “We’ve de-veloped a strong, long-term partnership with SAP. And we definitely want to build on it,” explains Narayanan. “SAP software offers a tremendous opportu-nity to innovate and find flexible solu-tions to specific business challenges. We’re keen to explore the possibilities a service-oriented architecture can offer BPCL. And we’re very excited about what the future holds.”

50 075 954 (09/07) ©2009 by SAP AG. All rights reserved. SAP, R/3, SAP NetWeaver, Duet, PartnerEdge, ByDesign, SAP Business ByDesign, and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and other countries.

Business Objects and the Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, Crystal Reports, Crystal Decisions, Web Intelligence, Xcelsius, and other Business Objects products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects S.A. in the United States and in other countries. Business Objects is an SAP company.

All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this document serves informational purposes only. National product specifi cations may vary.

These materials are subject to change without notice. These materials are provided by SAP AG and its affi liated companies (“SAP Group”) for informational purposes only, without representation or warranty of any kind, and SAP Group shall not be liable for errors or omissions with respect to the materials. The only warranties for SAP Group products and services are those that are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services, if any. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty.