Barrick’s integrated platform delivers group-wide, real-time data
The Barrick/Randgold merger and the subsequent Nevada joint venture with Newmont left the new group with more than 20 separate financial planning, transacting and reporting systems.
Drastically simplifying the global end-to-end solution, with one single model and source of truth for all financial data and operating KPIs, was consequently a critical priority in the quest to make Barrick the world’s leading mining company.
Towards the end of last year, Barrick passed another important milestone in its digital transformation journey with four more sites moving over to the single SAP solution which is now in place across all the Company’s North America, Latin America and Africa assets.
The platform will ultimately consist of three, layered applications: SAP (transactions), OneStream (financial planning, reporting and consolidation) and Xeras (operating cost modelling). Each has been configured to use a standardized language.
“The SAP roll-out was done at an unprecedented pace for an organization with Barrick’s scale,” says senior executive vice-president and chief financial officer Graham Shuttleworth.
“This was achieved by keeping the design consistent and aligning business practices to a standard model. With common data and business processes across all our mines, we now have the ability to benchmark our operational performance. OneStream has also been successfully implemented globally and the roll-out of Xeras will be completed in the second quarter of this year.”
Vice-president for group integration Nico Hoffman says a single integrated knowledge platform will give Barrick the ability to convert updated mine plans into financial models and roll them up into a consolidated group view, all in a matter of minutes. It can also quickly compare the financial viability of multiple mine planning scenarios and perform what-if analyses to select the best. Measuring key cost drivers in real time enables us to flag issues which require immediate attention.
“The new platform has cut the processes involved from weeks to hours – monthly operating KPIs and financial results are now available within five days instead of weeks – and has significantly improved not only the availability but also the accuracy of our information. It has also provided a robust foundation for our continuing investment in new projects related to data and analytics, benchmarking and efficiency management,” Shuttleworth added.
