SaaS stands for Software as a Service; it is a delivery and licencing model that allows users to access their software over the Internet. A SaaS CTRM is a software application where users access their commodity trading risk management, or broader commodity management, through their web browser. SaaS software usually has a very different pricing model to older software applications.
For too many years, CTRM systems have been seen by traders as more of an administrative task that complicates workloads than as a tool that can speed up processes, manage risk and ultimately improve trading margins.
In the last few years, there has been a growing awareness amongst commodity traders that technology can do more to support their work than these legacy systems allow. A growing number of commodity traders are now discovering that modern CTRM technology can do far more for trading teams than the legacy systems whose limitations they are used to.
Agility has become necessary for survival in commodities. During the lockdowns triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic it enabled teams to keep the business moving whilst working remotely. Even when we return to less volatile times, this new-found agility can create a significant advantage to businesses. It allows them to move quickly; seizing new opportunities and finding new ways to add value by constantly learning, adapting and growing.
To support these agile outcomes, commodity traders and other organisations need to ensure their systems are also agile, particularly core commodity management and CTRM systems. If your digital processes are rigid and inflexible, they can impede or negate the advantages of the agile environment created in the physical world.
2020 was a year of rapid change in the commodities industry. CTRM systems will need to adapt to keep pace with these market changes or risk becoming obsolete. We explore 7 ways all CTRM systems will need to prove they have modernised if they are to continue meeting their clients’ expectations.
