Solutions Overview

XempleX is an ideal solution for bridging the gaps between technical mining, financial, accounting, and business planning systems.

Repeatable Reliable Robust

Geotechnical mining systems usually reach their technical limit with a mining schedule. However, mining professionals must then manipulate that physical schedule into a format that can be incorporated into costing and business planning activities. The revised schedule must be consolidated with labour and cost  accounting data, and then another stage to apply financials. This is a collaborative effort over multiple sites, departments, shift rosters, and IT systems.

These end-to-end translations and calculations can be lengthy, expensive and difficult, resulting in the development of very large and complex spreadsheets that are almost impossible to maintain. By the time the reports are collated, the original assumptions may be well out of date.

Then next month you have to do it all over again.

A XempleX solution can gather, translate and merge all this data, leaving your professionals free to analyse, learn and adapt. Services include consulting, modelling, training and support.

Solutions are developed with the tools XempleX Professional and XempleX Enterprise Broker and take advantage of service-oriented architecture (SOA) technologies. Most users will never see the underlying technology, and will continue to interact with familiar spreadsheets, forms and applications.

XempleX solutions are:

Repeatable 

• Model and compare a range of scenarios with complete control.
• Make every site consistent.
• Proccess your figures exactly the same way every day, week, month or quarter--until you choose to change your methods.

Reliable 

• Be confident that the process is completely under  control.
• Know that the results accurately reflect the data, not a corrupted macro somewhere.
• Depend on the results, every time.

Reusable 

• Build libraries of your own business rules and data connections.
• Create, adapt and share components.

Flexible 

• Staff can respond quickly to requests for information, explanations or variations.
• Fully linked and integrated to your existing data and applications.
• Create a common ground for both technical and financial users.

Maintainable 

• Rules and processes are easy to change to match changing business circumstances.
• Use your own people for maintenance.
• Changes can be tested and deployed easily and quickly across the organisation.

Robust 

• Choose exactly how you want to deal with bad or missing data.
• Detect and recover quickly from errors.

Auditable 

• Models are developed by creating a graphical flow chart of business rule "building blocks" known as Xemplets. Xemplets can be audited individually and then locked, which simplifies future audits.
• Xemplets are individually tracked and managed.
• Record version information about each data and rule  used for each analysis. What version of the mine schedule? What version of the tax model? What shipping cost assumptions were made?

More than just software

XempleX mine budgeting and forecasting solutions (for example) occupy the process layer between mine planning software and corporate ERP systems:

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The XempleX models collect and combine technical and financial data, reformat it as required, and then insert it into the corporate ERP system.

These activities are typically performed manually, through multiple spreadsheets, macros, formulae, import routines, scripts, copying, pasting and tinkering. This type of work can consume up to 50% of a professional's time--time that could be better spent in more meaningful analysis and work.

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Data Entry and Import

A XempleX solution can access data directly from existing systems, and new data entry portals can be developed as required:

• Mine Planning Software outputs such as the mine and equipment schedules are imported through special import models.
• Opening balances, labour and costs information can be entered through the familiar medium of (controlled and customised) spreadsheets, and imported into the system with a single click.
• Data entry forms can be created to manage any other information, such as activity codes, constants and parameters.
• Web Services can query other systems or information brokers. For example, currency exchange rates can be looked up in real time each time a model is run, or stockpile opening balances can be read live from an ERP system.

Import models can also validate, clean and report on the data.

Business Logic

In XempleX solutions, business logic is kept separate from data management activities and reporting requirements. 

This greatly simplifies the task of describing business rules.

Experts in each functional area can own and manage their own business logic. This independence protects the business logic from changes in data formats, entry forms or reporting requirements.

Scenario modelling is achieved by running different data sets through identical calculations and reporting processes. For example, you could run multiple scenarios with different taxation levels, cutoff grades, or labour costs. You can immediately see the impact of any change on your balance,  cash flow, or profit and loss sheets.

Reporting

In XempleX solutions, reporting requirements are kept separate from business logic. Any reporting tool can be supported, such as Excel or Crystal Reports or your own corporate system.

Separate models satisfy any additional requirements for data manipulation for your preferred reporting tool. This ensures that any figure in a report can be traced through an unbroken line back to the source data.

Development and Maintenance

XempleX can assist mining organisations to build their business models within XempleX Professional. Once completed, the model can be maintained, extended and updated by your own personnel.

The owner has control and independence: models can be quickly adapted and updated to reflect changes in your business environment.

As you build models within the XempleX environment you gradually capture the intellectual capital associated with each process. 

Stored as re-useable components called Xemplets, these building blocks are configured for your current and future unique budgeting and forecasting requirements.

Request a demonstration.