Uralkali Company has held events devoted to introduction of an integrated enterprise management system based on Oracle E-Business Suite. They were attended by the representatives of Oracle Corporation and its partners, journalists representing federal, regional and city mass media.

The participants in the events visited Uralkali's ore administrations where they were shown how the system managing the company's resources operates. After that there was a ceremonial meeting at which the heads of Oracle and Uralkali signed a certificate of acceptance of the work carried out for putting the integrated management system into commercial operation.

Uralkali launched the project for the introduction of a resources management system on May 15, 2002. The implementation of the project took 14 months and on July 1 of this year the system was put into commercial operation.

The strategic goal of the project is to provide full understanding and effective management of the company's expenses. In the first place, it is the possibility to carry on prompt and continuous analysis ensuring effective utilization of the company's resources. At present, eighteen modules have been introduced in eight divisions of the enterprise. The automated processes now include the main production, marketing, supply, budgeting, warehousing, auxiliary production, including repairs and capital construction. Introduction of the Oracle system cost Uralkali more than four million dollars, i.e., one percent of the annual budget of the enterprise. The effect obtained by the company from streamlining its cash flows, reducing expenses and establishing tighter control thereover is equal to several percent of this turnover.

"We have benefited very much from this project, and not only in terms of optimization of the management of the company's resources," says Maxim Shirokov, General Director of Uralkali. "One of very important results of the work is that a team has been formed in the course of the implementation of the project. Another highly important result of the process which went on in Uralkali for almost fourteen months is achievement of a mutual understanding with the heads of Uralkali divisions. Besides, I think, it is no exaggeration to say that in the number of simultaneously introduced modules our project is the largest in Russia."

Oracle Corporation is the world's largest supplier of information management software and the world's second major software supplier. With annual sales of about $10 billion the company offers a full set of technologies for building an IT infrastructure of a modern enterprise. Oracle supplies its products and services in the field of consulting, training and technical support to more than 145 countries of the world and has over 200 thousand client enterprises. Oracle's services are used by thousands of enterprises in the CIS countries, working in various sectors.

"Uralkali Company is ready to work under international standards and aims at operating profitably for a long period," believes Boris Shcherbakov, Director of Oracle CIS. "Automation of practically all areas of the company's activity will, in future, allow the competitiveness of the company to be raised and will increase its transparency and, consequently its investment appeal. The management of Uralkali is not simply succumbing to the fashion of the time but makes a conscious economic choice. The Oracle system which was introduced by the company is not just software. First and foremost, it is a system of efficient economy. The project has been completed on time and within the planned budget, rather a rare fact today because of a complicated economic situation in the country. Therefore the joint work with Uralkali has impressed us most favorably."