Shanxi Coal Import and Export Group Co., Ltd (“Shanxi Coal Group” for sort hereinafter) is one of the four export enterprises with coal exporting right in China and the only large state-owned enterprise with two channels (export and domestic marketing) in Shanxi. With the operation goal of “first-rate within Shanxi province as well as domestic fame and international transaction”, Shanxi Coal Group has promoted four transforming strategies: transforming from majoring in coal transaction to integration of coal production, transportation and marketing, transforming from conventional industry to “high-tech, new-typed and cutting-edged” industry, transforming from traditional management model to modern management one, and transforming from product operation to capital operation. With this developing concept, the business of Shanxi Coal Group has developed rapidly, and three industrial modules are formed: coal industry, high-speed rail manufacturing industry and finance investment industry. As the core industrial module, coal industry has gone into operation successfully, and its industrial chain has been further broadened. A fleet of ships has been formed to develop coal blending business actively and improve market adapting ability. As the business scale become larger and the industries becoming more diversified, Shanxi Coal Group has set higher standards of internal coordination, budget and performance management, resource integration, risk control and professional service ability to realize sustainable development of the company.

The rapid development of the business of Shanxi National Coal Group has put forward higher requirements to the informatization construction of the Group. Under this background, the Group had finished the overall planning of informatization project by the end of 2009, and the planning started from the business strategy of Shanxi National Coal Group and analyzed the business and informatization condition of the Group. By comparing with the advanced practice and summarizing improved direction and informatization demand, the informatization goal of the Group was clarified as: support effective operation with informatization to promote business coordination and modern management, and forge a first-rated information platform with the characteristics of “integrated, synergy, open and innovation”. Under the informatization goal of the Group, the plan has made out the information structure and application structure of the Group in the following five years. And because of the Group’s urgent need of informatization and its independence to informatization projects, the Group put forward an implementation route of “unified planning, step-by-step implementation, key-point breakthrough and rapid propulsion”.    

Problems solved by business platform
Business platform is one of the core business systems in the overall informatization planning, and it aims to complete management of coal supplying, marketing and stocking and the management of import and export business, so as to support the development of “unified marketing and unified settlement” and coal blending business of Shanxi Coal Group, help the realization of effective organization and allocation of coal resource and transportation resource, learn about client’s demand, provide the clients with proper products and service, improve client satisfaction degree and increase the overall management to the income and profit of the Group.
The establishing of business platform adapts to all business systems with various business models, including: coal supplying and sales system, trade management system, contract management system, client management system, supplier and sourcing system. The business platform has realized the management to coal source organization, transportation, stocking, marketing, trading and other transaction sections, the management to sales contract, purchasing contract and transaction contract, the management to client information, client credit, client relationship, market information, and the management to supplier information, supplier credit and supplier relationship. Among which the contract management system, supplier and sourcing management system will provide foundation to the material management system of later stage as public service system. 

The implementation of business platform has realized:
(1). Integrate supply, marketing and trade businesses; obtain information about business of coal source organization, coal transportation, marketing, transaction and settlement;

(2). Realize visualization of the whole process of coal stocking;

(3). Improve controllability in the process of coal source organization, coal marketing and coal trading, strengthen the controlling to purchase price, purchase contract, budget and control of purchase, sales price, sales contract and trade contract budget;

(4). Realize effective organization and distribution of coal resource and transportation resource; reduce total cost of coal supplying to ensure the consistency of coal supply. 

(5). Realize right comprehension to the different demands of customers. Provide customers with proper products and service, improve client satisfaction degree and increase enterprise revenue through coal blending plan and other management methods.  

(6). Strengthen sales team management, support stimulation of marketing team and improve coal sales volume. 

Business platform phase I has set up business platform framework, and has realized the management to coal source organization, logistics, storage, marketing, salesmen and other business links, as well as the management to contracts, basic client information, basic supplier information and so on. With more than a year’s development, business platform phase I has went on line and has been implemented successfully in the first half year of 2011, which has realized basic control to business information control, overall visualization of coal storage and business process.  
 

Business platform phase II will finish all the functions of business platform, and will realize internal coordination as well as internal control and management.

Business platform project phase II will cover Shanxi Coal International Energy Co., Ltd and its subordinate secondary local companies related to coal business, port companies, coal blending center, import and export companies and Jinshida Company. As to the coal stations held or operated by other companies, the coal storage of Shanxi Coal Group shall be managed by its corresponding secondary company to ensure the correctness of the inventory.

Until now, business platform phase II has also gone online and been implemented successfully. With these two project phases, Shanxi Coal Group has realized the project goal of operation informatization, management informatization, internal coordination informatization and policy making informatization. Besides, Shanxi Coal Group has realized internal coordination of coal production, transportation and marketing business, and with supplier coordination gateway system, purchase efficiency has been realized. Client gateway system has improved sales revenue, and the realization of internal coordination has realized external coordination of suppliers and clients.
 

At present, the function goals made in Phase I and Phase II have all realized and have been put into use.