Unipec, the trading arm of Sinopec, is the largest international crude oil trader globally, supplying raw materials to Sinopec Group and handling half of China’s crude oil imports. In order to achieve business and financial integration, improve operational efficiency, and enhance management capabilities, Unipec has adopted the Fusion system as its sole comprehensive execution and operational platform. The Fusion system covers the entire lifecycle of Unipec’s business, integrating business, financial, and risk management into a unified platform.
With numerous overseas subsidiaries and the characteristics of a large central enterprise, Unipec’s business demands diversity and complexity. To meet these requirements, the Fusion system provides multiple modules, including physical trade entry, physical trade execution, physical inventory management, investment portfolio management, mark-to-market profit and loss management, mark-to-market exposure management, physical settlement, futures and paper commodity settlement, financial system interface, fund management, contract signing management, risk value, and hedging accounting as the core of financial accounting (SAP), among others.
Unipec’s large branches include the headquarters in Beijing, Asian companies, UK company, US company, and Singapore company. The implementation of the Fusion system took approximately three years and was fully launched and operational in 2021. Through the application of the Fusion system, Unipec has successfully achieved business and financial integration, improved operational efficiency, and elevated management capabilities, laying a solid foundation for the company’s sustainable development.
The implementation of the Fusion system has brought significant benefits to Unipec. Firstly, it has increased work efficiency. The Fusion system seamlessly connects the front and back ends of business processes by integrating the entry, execution, mark-to-market, settlement, and other aspects of physical and futures transactions. This reduces manual intervention by business personnel, significantly improving work efficiency. According to Unipec staff, the implementation of the Fusion system has saved 40%-60% of time in business processes, greatly shortening the business processing cycle and improving response speed.
Secondly, the accuracy of the Fusion system is remarkably high. The system, through automated calculations, validations, and other means, can substantially reduce human errors. Additionally, the system supports various valuation methods, such as transaction-by-transaction settlement and weighted average settlement, adapting to different business scenarios and enhancing valuation accuracy. Unipec, through the use of the Fusion system, can comprehensively monitor and analyze business data, promptly identifying and correcting errors, ensuring the accuracy of business processing.
Lastly, the Fusion system has helped Unipec effectively reduce costs and increase benefits. The system’s automated processing capabilities reduce manual intervention, lowering the cost of business processing. Through data analysis and risk control functions, the system effectively reduces business risks, enhancing benefits. Unipec, by using the Fusion system, can better control business costs and improve the company’s profitability.
Since its completion and launch in 2020, Fusion has gradually become indispensable in Unipec’s daily operations, serving as the central nervous system for China’s crude oil import and export business.
