It’s time for mid-tier mining companies to embrace the cloud | EY

Cloud and clear

Times have changed. SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition is a ready-to-run, cloud-based ERP solution that enables companies to quickly and cost-effectively take advantage of leading processes and solutions. And SAP manages the day-to-day sustainment of SAP systems themselves — a compelling value proposition for mining companies.

The payoffs of SAP’s public cloud solutions can be significant for mining companies that find themselves lacking visibility or struggling with comparability across their assets, for example. Or, perhaps, when a heavy reliance on work done outside of their systems is creating pain points that distracts from the business at hand.

Having a centralized, scalable solution with visibility across operations and corporate functions can help embed resilience and agility and provide greater access to insights for reporting and forecasting. The benefits add up:

• Efficiency gains. Digitizing operations and intelligent automation have proven to enhance productivity and efficiencies and realize critical time and cost savings. Standardized SAP-enabled business processes and solutions across assets, for example, can support reliable and robust process execution and reporting.  
• Data-driven decision-making. With readily available, real-time data, mining companies can make the most of value and supply chains, better allocate resources and benefit from predictive maintenance schedules that limit downtime and protect assets.
• Security of systems and data. In a world where cybersecurity issues continue to escalate, timely updates and public cloud security measures can add an extra layer of protection and distribute risk.
• Reporting and compliance. At a time when decarbonization targets loom and disclosure and reporting pressures mount, readily accessible data can help meet regulatory requirements, with nonfinancial data bolstering mining portfolios and inviting critical investment.
• Growth and expansion. In addition, integrated platforms can help position businesses with long-term plans for success when it comes to mergers or acquisitions, allowing new assets to get up to speed more quickly or, in the case of a potential sale, supporting evaluations.

SAP powers mining 

When it comes to ERP systems, SAP sets a high standard in the mining industry. And with their public cloud version, they are proven to be an affordable solution for mid-tier companies.

Moreover, the EY Americas Mining and Metals Center of Excellence (COE) has worked closely with SAP and industry leaders to glean insights and capture the needs of the mining community and address mining-specific processes, advanced analytics, intelligent automation and ways to simulate environmental impact, and break out costs for projects.

We’ve developed a preconfigured mining and metals template that includes mining-specific, SAP-enabled processes and solutions across finance, procurement and plant maintenance. Implementing SAP’s public cloud solutions alongside EY’s SAP mining and metals template can be completed for a fraction of the time and cost of historical SAP solutions.