BASF ANTWERP

INFORMATION SYSTEM

• Why does a company require an E.I.S.?

• Content of an E.I.S. (General)

• The BASF Antwerp Information System

• History

• Content

• Project Organisation

• Architecture

• Advantages

• Why SAS?

Why does a company require an E.I.S.?

• An E.I.S. can help to solve two major

problems in managing a company

– Lack of consensus on the destination

(long-term objective) and/or the course

(strategy)

– Lack of relevant control information in order to

check and/or change management policy

• Classic operational information systems fail

Content of an E.I.S. (General)

Indefiniteness

EIS

DSS

Classic Operational

Information Systems

Decision Support

System

Operational

Support

System

Executive Information

System

Knowledge (critical

success factors)

Information (middle

management decisions)

Data (operational

decisions)

Content of an E.I.S. (General)

The content depends on the

‘type of company’

– Operational excellence

– Product leadership

– Niche market

History

In 1992 “Top Management”

required a flexible

“Information System”

board

• user-friendliness

• integration of information from different sources

• immediate access to all information

• different types of information on one screen

• flexible data representation

Requirements (general)

7/’93

History business minded

operation minded

board

divisional director

plant manager

7/’93

4/’94

1/’96

Requirements (specific)

• drill down

• hotspots - simulation

• trend analysis - optimalisation

• graphic evaluation - forecast

- what-if

• communication by electronic mail

• ad hoc questions

• modelling:

Content

Components of the E.I.S.

at BASF Antwerpen

1 Financial information

2 Production

3 Technical information

4 Plant geography

5 Personnel

6 Environment

Project Organisation BIS

Management

(Client)

Sponsor

Steering Commitee

Project team

SAS consultancy

Work

(transpiration)

10 %

90 %

60 %

40 %

Contribution to

success

Architecture

PC

unix

novell

Server: - Unix is used to keep the data

- Novell keeps the application

Client: - Each user has his own PC,...

- SAS is kept at PC-level (Performance reasons)

• Client-server - PC - Novell - Unix

• CD - Laptop

Architecture

• Client-server - PC - Novell - Unix

• CD - Laptop

Mobile Computing

Advantages

Selected information readily available

anywhere at any time

This results in: better planning/control (quality and speed) in strategic,

financial, economical and operational domains

manpower savings

– financial/economic analysts

– administrative work

Cultural change in use of other information systems

Better communication

Improved personnel management

Why SAS ?

Platform independent (HW - O.S.)

Interface to most DBMS

Flexible : everything is possible

E.I.S. at BASF HQ : SAS

SAS support staff in Belgium