29.09.2010

PKN ORLEN Awarded the IT Leader Title

An independent jury, composed of industry experts, representatives of the editorial board of the Computerworld monthly and winners of the previous editions of the IT Leader award, named ORLEN as the best user of IT technologies in the industrial sector. One of the key criteria was the proven contribution of IT solutions to a firm’s market success. PKN ORLEN collected the award during the gala ceremony of the 14th edition of the ranking, which was held in Warsaw. 

This year, the IT Leader title was awarded in six categories: industry, banking and finance, trade and services, public sector, healthcare and utilities. The entrants included entities from outside the IT sector, i.e. users of the technologies, rather than their vendors. On the short list, drawn up by the jury based on questionnaires sent in by the entrants, were three firms or institutions representing each category. The winners of the IT Leader statuettes were selected following a detailed review of the information provided and interviews with the candidates.
The projects entered in the competition by PKN ORLEN are projects delivering tangible business benefits to the Company.

 - Retail Sales Platform – a solution which enables effective management of the goods supply chain and the retail sales process within a network comprising more than 1,330 service stations, as well as effective, centralised use of cutting-edge methods of promotion at the stations. The Platform also offers new possibilities of monitoring and ongoing management of sales at the service stations.

- Self-Service at Depots – a solution that has brought down the cost of service and improved the quality of the process of preparation and collection of fuel products at ORLEN’s fuel terminals. There has also been a noted improvement in the process of customer service, as the average time of products collection has been shortened by one-third. The project is critical to improving the sale handling process at the Company.

- Voice Over IP (VOIP) Telephony – a set of infrastructural solutions that have brought down the telecommunications costs for fixed-line and mobile connections by more than 50%. The project has also enabled the deployment of new services, designed to increase the productivity of teamwork, as well as of other areas.
 
- Production Scheduling (COMp4) – a solution that has enabled the application of advanced production modelling and optimisation methods, with a view to rendering the complex process of production scheduling at a refinery and petrochemical complex more efficient. Its effects can be seen in improved convergence between the actual margin and the assumptions included in optimised operating plans, as well as in enhanced products quality – which is especially important, given the scale of ORLEN’s oil processing operations.

ORLEN has also implemented a Group-wide IT consolidation project, integrating the IT processes of the companies based in Poland, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Germany.

- The award granted to PKN ORLEN was a token of recognition of the innovative way in which we manage our data transmission systems. We owe the award to an ingenious combination of innovative business processes and available technological solutions. In my opinion, it also confirms the assumption that in modern times a leading position in business is largely a function of carefully planned implementation of IT solutions - said Jacek Krawiec, President of PKN ORLEN’s Management Board.

PKN ORLEN is committed to technological innovation across many areas of its operations. It has consistently implemented an effective IT management model at the Group, introducing solutions designed to make the work of thousands of users of its corporate network easier and more efficient.

- The IT Leader title confirms that two years ago we chose the right development direction for our IT area. We are happy to see our strategy appreciated by external experts, who look at IT in terms of the value it contributes to a business - said Marek Frąckiewicz, Head of the IT Office at PKN ORLEN.

The award was initiated by the Computerworld monthly in 1997. Since then, more than a thousand companies and public sector institutions have been entered in the competition. This year’s edition was held under the auspices of Waldemar Pawlak, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy.