In the past trading houses had only two options: spreadsheets or big-budget custom software development programs. Now SaaS-delivered solutions combined with Cloud Computing offer a real, cost-effective alternative. With the global economy, regulatory environment and credit shrinkage increasingly mandating formalized systems for even small trading companies, SaaS offers fast-start, turnkey solutions without up-front investment or resource demands.
Steve Hughes
President & CEO
Aspect Enterprise Solutions
Cloud-based applications — aka Software as a Service (SaaS) — have seen steady growth over the past few years and will continue to grow.
Gartner, Inc., Cloud Computing: The Next Generation of Outsourcing, Ben Pring, November 1, 2010

According to Technology Research Analyst Firm Gartner…

We are in the midst of a fundamental shift, as more enterprises start to use services enabled by cloud technologies. This will heavily impact IT services providers, who must now consider strategies for coping with profound changes in the marketplace or risk being left behind.
Cloud Computing:
The Next Generation Of Outsourcing
Ben Pring, November 1, 2010
According to Technology Research Analyst Firm Gartner…
Increasingly, hosted or SaaS-based solutions are gaining favor among end users as a means of reducing capital costs, deployment times and support overheads. While traditionally these solutions were preferred options for smaller end users or end users with limited functional requirements, as the functional capabilities of SaaS - or application service provider (ASP)-based deployments grow, the appeal to larger organizations will widen.
Magic Quadrant For Energy Trading And Risk Management Platforms
Keith Harrison and
David Furlonger
March 18, 2011
AspectCTRM was installed and working for us so fast – quickly enabling us to get a real-time understanding of profit and loss, exposures, price movements in the markets and how we can better manage risk.
Peter Malcom King
Business Development & Strategy Manager
Linetrale Oil Supply & Trading Company, Nigeria

AspectPM: Analysis Tools

Price Calculator

The Price Calculator performs a multitude of functions for analysis, like bringing price curves together and calculating new forward curves. It uses functions like curve splicing and interpolations to combine multiple curves and time periods.

Analysis Tool

Store every forecast along with years of historical prices to produce charts that show current and historical forecasts compared against actual prices.

Repository

The Repository is a central database that allows you to manually enter market prices and curves as well as automate uploads. All data can also easily be exported.

Alerts

Use the Alerts Tool to send automated messages that highlight price anomalies when prices on your watch list reach or exceed certain values. Set triggers that send automatic email reminders to personnel responsible for updating prices.

AspectPM forward curve analysis

AspectPM allows forward and historical curves to be defined. Historical curves can be mapped to forward curves for analysis and reporting purposes. Other features include:

  • Interpolation of prices with different time horizons such as prices in monthly and weekly buckets, and others in weekly or split horizons.
  • Calculations of derived curves from other derived curves.
  • Automatic volume-volume (eg. cpg to $/bbl) and volume-mass conversions between curves.
  • An archive of historical forecasts for forecast accuracy analysis.

Quickly And Accurately Analyze & Validate Large Volumes Of Prices

AspectPM allows slicing-and-dicing of curves in hierarchies of data providers, locations and products. It also applies validation checking during data entry to ensure that manually entered prices are entered within sensible floors, ceilings, and deltas. A range of charting options is provided, including historical charts, forward curves mapped-to-historical equivalents and seasonal trend charts. Perhaps the most valuable feature of AspectPM is the powerful analysis you can perform with charts, which takes you beyond what you can do in spreadsheets. View scenarios using history, seasonality trends and forward pricing in the same chart. Once you load the contract history and curves you want to analyze, you simply point and click your way through the screens to change scenarios. Archive charts for future reference and historical comparisons for accuracy. This gives you an unprecedented repository of historical forecasting data. The chart above shows a 2011 forecast versus 2010 historical prices with 2010 historical forecast. This is a powerful tool in helping determine forecast accuracy.

Chart Seasonal Trends

 

The chart above shows three years of pricing history compared against a 4-month forward curve. Easily change criteria by choosing a different time frame, location, curve, or data provider using drop down menus.

Chart The Accuracy Of Forecasts

 

The chart above shows a 2011 forecast versus 2010 historical prices with 2010 historical forecast. This is a powerful tool in helping determine forecast accuracy.

AspectPM

AspectPM is a powerful tool for companies that require support for the forecasting process. This complex process can involve many individuals and systems, manual and automated, which AspectPM pulls into one central database, including:
  • Support for Oil and Petroleum Products
  • Futures and spot prices imported from AspectDSC and other market data providers.
  • Curves from 3rd party providers such as Platts and Argus.
  • Prices or differentials being entered or imported directly by traders.
  • Forward prices from brokers.
  • Curves created by trading and risk groups.
  • Consolidated pricing from across organizations.