operations digital transformation

cloud, Internet of Things and big data will continue to underpin and support the

evolution of OFID’s global operations and further en-

hance its avowed commit-ment to end extreme pov-

erty.

In the OPEC Fund for Inter-nat iona l Development (OFID), the Public, Private,

Trade and Grant operations are charged with the oner-

ous responsibility of deliver-ing on the institution’s noble

mandate and her strategic vision of “Uniting against Poverty”. As OFID’s opera-

tional base continues to grow and expand due to an

increased portfolio potential; and as new windows of busi-

ness opportunities are being exploited, the imperatives

for a more integrated, stand-ardized, reliable and secure enterprise information man-

agement system becomes

even more critical. Digital

advances such as analytics, mobility, social media, the

Executive Summary

Introduction It was a warm Saturday morning specifically for the government and people of

the old Republic of Sudan, having been the first to re-

ceive approval on August 07, 1976 for the sum of

US$7,450, 000.00 Balance of Payment (BOP) facilities from the OPEC Fund. This

operation supported by its earliest pioneer staff mem-

bers, did not only announce the arrival of OFID in the

development finance institu-tion’s arena but also marked

a significant milestone in the

evolving south-south coop-eration narrative.

OFID was established by

member states of OPEC as a collective channel for aid to

developing countries. OFID works in cooperation with developing country partners

and the international donor community to stimulate

economic growth and allevi-ate poverty in all ramifica-

tions. It does this by provid-ing development based fi-nancing to build essential

infrastructure, strengthen social services delivery and

promote productivity, com-

petitiveness and trade. OFID’s work is people-centred, focusing on projects

that meet basic needs – such as food, energy, clean water,

and sanitation, healthcare and education – with the aim

of encouraging self-reliance and inspiring hope for the future.

As OFID’s operational base continues to grow and ex-

pand due to increase in its lending portfolio, windows of new business opportuni-

ties are being exploited and challenges continue to be

uncovered. In this context, the evolution of a more

integrated, standardized,

OFID

July, 2015 Volume 1, Issue 2

Operations Digital

Evolution

Special points of interest:

Briefly highlight your point of interest here.




Inside this issue:

Inside Story 2 Inside Story 2 Inside Story 2 Inside Story 3 Inside Story 4 Inside Story 5 Inside Story 6

reliable and streamlined oper-ational support system be-comes more obvious. This

phenomenal growth over the years meant OFID had to get

ready for increased global opportunities, contributions

and challenges.

Prior to 2004 most of the operational activities that

related to projects, loans and disbursement were undertak-

en as separate entities using manual steps, disparate com-puter application systems and/

or in-house developed appli-cation – Management Infor-

mation System (MIS). The risks associated with the op-

eration of these systems cou-pled with the need for a visi-

ble, transparent, integrated

and auditable platform to support growth, necessitated the re-appraisal of OFID’s

information technology sup-port model and the evolution

of an integrated strategic plat-form. OFID’s external and

internal Auditor’s recommen-dation over the years on the need for a streamlined system

incorporating best practices, and the mitigation of observed

challenges and risks were also given priority.

from this position grew within OFID almost at a precipitous rate resulting to an operation-

al /administrative slowdown in the years 2003.

The segregated or depart-mental approach to handling OFID’s corporate data in

individual data silos worked for many years. The demand

for increasing transparency, visibility and accountability as

OFID’s operation and staff strength grew; (including the associated risks and issues of

data silos without a corre-sponding Management over-

view) resulted in the clamour for change. The challenges,

issues and conflicts resulting

Key Challenge

Need for Digital Evolution programmed in Gupta pro-gramming language; serving as the first operational support

and management reporting system. At the time, the total

number of operational project was just over 600 with an

approved total loan amount of approximately US$2.97B while the signed net contract

was US$2.5B.The MIS was commissioned by the Opera-

tions Department for its pub-

lic sector loans and disburse-ment management functions with the aim of further

providing a system for track-ing the progress of projects,

administering disbursement and re-payments, while also

providing loan accounting functions. It is noteworthy that the MIS system design did

not fully deliver on the above objectives but as operations

and the associated complexi-ties grew, system re-design,

daily design modifications and manual interventions were

constantly required. These manual modifications and interventions grew with time,

aggravating support and maintenance cost, user moti-

vation and morals coupled with other critical business

The phenomenal growth in operations, both in terms of number and size (see figure 1-

OFID Operations) necessitat-ed the provisioning of a com-

puter system to better facili-tate project execution, moni-

toring and reporting. Hence the year 1992 marked the commencement of the MIS, an

OFID in-house designed stand-alone application based on

the Centura database system;

Using technology to radically improve

performance and

propel OFID’s core

business into the

Digital Age…

Jacobs Edo

Operations Digital Evolution

OFID Sectorial Allocation

Enterprise information man-agement is the key transform-ative technology for the digital

economy. It equips the digital enterprise with the ability to

simplify, evolve, and accelerate its business processes in a

digital-first world. We now live in a digital age, and infor-mation is its currency. Infor-

mation has replace size, scale, access to resources, and geo-

graphic presence as a key driver of competitive ad-

vantage for the enterprise. Only institutions that can

leverage their information asset to evolve, innovate and grow will be the ones that

succeed in the medium to long term.

In view of the foregoing, an

OFID enterprise information system adoption became nec-

essary to better address the aforementioned challenges and get the institution ready

for the future. All administra-tive and transactional process-

es for core businesses – com-pliance, loans and grant man-

agement, risk and project man-agement needed to be com-prehensively integrated into a

single system. In 2006 after due considerations, OFID

Management adopted and

started the implementation of the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System and

OpenText Electronic Docu-ment Management System

(EDMS) as its strategic infor-mation management systems

going forward. The vision was and still is to streamline and standardize all OFID’s admin-

istrative and core business processes to be able to work

with timely and accurate data that would support effective

and efficient decision making in the future.

Implementing the above solu-

tion at the enterprise level

to 17 different international organizations led by the United Nations) customer implemen-

tations including implementa-tion by other sister organiza-

tions – first pioneered by the African Development Bank im-

plementation. SAP ERP promis-es to deliver powerful func-tionality, global orientation,

and flexible enhancement package options needed to

gain a sustainable, competitive advantage and position the

entire institution for viable

The SAP ERP application plat-form is the leading software foundation enterprises trust

to achieve business excellence and innovation. Leveraging

this foundation and its inte-grated industry-specific func-

tionality, one can build the best business processes re-quired for today as well as for

future businesses. Based on industry best practices, SAP

ERP draws from more than 30 years of experience with

more than 182,000 (in addition

and sustainable growth. SAP's enhancement package strategy provides a more economical

and less disruptive way of adopting and managing soft-

ware releases and future sys-tem upgrades. This unique

delivery and deployment method for enterprise soft-ware enables OFID to take

advantage of new software functionality while meeting the

expected need to maintain stability and integrity of the

application systems and

Operations Digital Evolution Strategy

SAP Enterprise Resource Planning?

Operations Digital Evolution Objectives the need to further leverage

existing in-house ERP systems

with the SAP Consumer

Mortgage and Loans (CML)

and Business Partner (BP)

modules completely integrat-

ed with OpenText Enterprise

Content Management (via

enterprise workspaces – pro-

jects, loans, disbursement, ac-

counting, treasury and payment,

etc.), creating the integrated

ONE OFID working space for

documents and records.

Integration and Opti-

mization

Centralization and

standardization

Automation and Sim-

plification

In order to meet and surpass

the above expectations, Man-

agement also wished for

greater transparency and con-

trol over complex business

processes related to managing

and streamlining of projects,

loans and business partner

data. As a strategic and go-to

support partner of operations,

the IT department realized

“SAP ERP -as a

dynamic &

innovative platform

to support OFID’s

digital evolutionary

objectives”

Volume 1, Issue 2

allows the institution to get rid of standalone and disparate

computer application systems replacing them with a single

enterprise software solution. The key difference is the crea-

tion of a ‘Single Version of Business Truth’ thus eliminating

enterprise data inconsistencies and organizational conflicts. This requirement is now a

common denominator and country independent legal stat-

ute for both national and inter-national businesses and transac-

tions.

stronger focus on its Adaptive Digital Strategy Framework

(ADSF).

At the core of the institution’s activity are its operation busi-ness processes in the public,

private, trade and grant units tasked with the onerous re-

sponsibility of delivering on its noble mandate. To do this

effectively and efficiently, the operations officers need a wide range of tools to per-

form tasks such as: project solicitation and capture, pro-

ject appraisals, project and loans management, analysis of

previous and current perfor-mances (including risk situa-

tions) to make decisions about future operations and

undertakings, taking into ac-count global economic cir-cumstances. The aforemen-

tioned requirements had to be comprehensively covered by

the new system for the suc-cess of the ADSF guided digiti-

zation efforts.

The new loan management system will provides cutting-edge functionality and loan

accounting support functions powered by SAP NetWeaver

technology to manage the full loan cycle and aggressively

improve loan processes. Now the institution can design and deliver new loan products

quickly, reduce loan manage-ment costs and risks, and

improve customer service and satisfaction.

Loan Management & Accounting

Record Archive and Storage Proper storage of paper docu-

ments helps to manage paper

records effectively over time.

It ensures that the record will

survive and remain accessible

for as long as legally and statu-

tory required. The safe care

and custody of records ena-

bles the creation of official

records, thus documenting

the actions and decisions of

“Document management is at

the heart of the day

-to-day operations

of OFID”

Miguel Linares

Senior Public Sector Officer

Operations Digital Evolution

Caption describing picture or graphic.

Digitizing Operations Processes

Key Benefits

seamless integration of loan accounting functions with

existing GL account, treasury operations and bank communication manager.

Reduction of loan cost, risk exposure and improve

lending processes.

Customization of loan products and get to market

quickly including support for Islamic financing.

Enhancement of customer service and satisfaction via

automated workflow.

Reduction of operational cost and TCO in the long

term.

OFID’s staff, Management

and Board. It ensure that

those records which are

authorized for destruction

are managed efficiently, and

that records which have

significant on-going value

survives, and preserved as

archives with authorized

accessibility. Records by

their nature are unique and

irreplaceable, hence the need

for a central record archive

and storage. OFID’s paper

records are important busi-

ness assets which should be

managed carefully while miti-

gating the following risk asso-

ciated with poor storage:

- damaged & inability to find

record when required.

Another key sub-component of the operations digital evolu-tion is the enablement and

integration of an enterprise-wide Electronic Document

Management System (EDMS). The EDMS system aims to

manage content (documents and all manner of saved rec-ords) throughout their indi-

vidual life-cycles, from crea-tion/acquisition to destruc-

tion. Initially, the EDMS sys-tem will consider all docu-

ments as a work-in-progress until they are reviewed, ap-

praised/approved, and poten-tially saved or published (internal & external) for for-

mal use. The final version of the form that is saved contain-ing all user meta-data will

become a formal record with-in the institution with a legally

enforceable retention and governance policies applied

(see figure 2 and 3 for more information about retention policy).

Key Benefits

Management of information flows across OFID from incep-

tion through archiving and disposition.

Application of dependable, consistent retention and govern-

ance policies across all content regardless of origin – be it

internal or external.

Adaptation of information governance to the needs of all

users, building it into business processes and applications – SAP, new MIS and EDMS.

Provision of users with rapid and seamless access from any

device, or any location of the enterprise documents and records.

Incorporation of a common, documented and standard

content creation and management processes via enterprise

workspaces.

ONE OFID Document Management System

Business Partner Management agement process model with

robust governance, risk and

compliance provisions and

safeguards was recommended

the team. The proposed mod-

el also provides a comprehen-

sive institutional coverage,

integration and automation

across the information tech-

nology application landscape

with fault tolerance specifica-

tions that are forward looking

and future-proof. The unique

selling point of this model is

the decoupling of business

partner data administration

A business partner is a com-

mercial entity with which

another entity has a business

relationship. A business part-

ner (vendors, borrowers, loan

administrators, sister institu-

tions, grant agencies, counter-

parties, banks, etc.) is there-

fore a contractual alliance

between two or more enti-

ties, which is a critical element

in maintaining the quality,

safety and soundness of insti-

tution’s records. The current

practice of departmentization

of business partner manage-

ment processes has raised

issues of segregation of duties

and other associated risk ex-

posures especially those con-

cerning business partner data

quality, credit rating and other

management reporting defi-

ciencies. Stemming from the

above challenges, a new cen-

tralized business partner man-

Volume 1, Issue 2

and management from all front

office activities in the various

operational departments/units

while guaranteeing a single-

source of institutional data and

reporting. This approach will

engender best practice in gov-

ernance as recommended by

Parkring 8

A1010

Vienna

AUSTRIA

Phone: +43-51564-142

Fax: +43-5139238

E-mail:[email protected]

The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) is the development finance institution

established by the Member States of OPEC in 1976 as a collective channel of aid to the developing

countries. OFID works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international

donor community to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in all disadvantaged regions

of the world. It does this by providing financing to build essential infrastructure, strengthen social

services delivery and promote productivity, competitiveness and trade. OFID’s work is people-

centered, focusing on projects that meet basic needs - such as food, energy, clean water and sani-

tation, healthcare and education – with the aim of encouraging self-reliance and inspiring hope for

the future.

OFID

mandate while preparing for the challenges of the coming decades.

The use of technology to

improve performances or

reach of organizations will

continue to be a hot topic

across the globe. At OFID,

apart from the strategic focus

on ending poverty, digital

advances such as analytics,

mobility, the cloud, and social

media will continually play a

significant role in the institu-

tion’s daily work. The IT appli-

cation landscape will continue

to be optimized, although

transformed stakeholder ex-

periences are the most visible

When completed, the digitali-zation efforts will reduce the institution’s human and tech-

nical complexities, minimize effort and operating cost,

while optimizing its benefits in the medium to long term. The

new system will continue to demonstrate the benefits and operational efficiencies of

running a shared services center of excellence, particu-

larly for the institution’s core operation.

This phase is a necessary step

towards achieving an integrat-ed technological infrastructure

and services needed to sup-port the entire OFID stake-

holders’ community and deliv-er significant improvement to

the attainment of its noble

and arguably the most exciting

part of the institution’s work,

other aspects of digital trans-

formation at OFID like pro-

cess digitization, worker ena-

blement and business process

re-engineering will continue.

Conclusion

Uniting against Poverty

Caption describing picture or graphic.

WWW. OFID. ORG

134PARTNERCOUNTRIES

FOUNDED

1976182PEOPLE

$17BILLION

ENERGY POVERTY