A Strategy Implementation Journey in the Oil & Gas Sector

An energy and trading group in an Asian market, operating in the oil & gas downstream sector, used BSC Designer to replace fragmented, spreadsheet-driven planning with a modular, cascaded strategy system—cutting reporting time from days to minutes, aligning cross-company KPIs, and building auditable execution discipline.

Company Context

Leadership also wanted to establish clear cross-company “synergy KPIs,” manage quarterly performance with monthly data entry, and improve the visibility of exception handling.

Another concern raised early in the process was the ability to justify investment in a new platform:

“How do we prove benefits to management? We can estimate cost easily, but the gains—clarity, faster reporting, fewer errors—are hard to quantify upfront.”

There were also practical requirements about maintaining familiar workflows and integrating with existing systems:

“Can we keep quarterly tracking, comments on KPI exceptions, and integrate with our Oracle-based ERP if needed?”

How the Strategy System Was Implemented

The implementation focused on creating a structured but flexible framework that reflected the group’s organizational reality, while minimizing disruption to existing workflows. Instead of a big-bang transition, the system was introduced in modular steps that aligned with current reporting and decision-making processes.

• Modular Cascaded Scorecards: A hierarchy mirrored the organization (holding → company → division → department). Each scorecard remained independent for ownership and speed, while performance aggregated upward automatically—eliminating manual roll-ups.
• Horizontal Alignment For Shared Functions: Functional scorecards (e.g., risk controls, cost metrics) served as the single source of truth and were referenced where needed by business units.
• Quarterly Steering, Monthly Cadence: KPIs allowed monthly entry with quarterly aggregation. Period-level exception comments could be converted into initiatives with owners, timelines, and attachments to ensure follow-up.
• Audit Trail & Integrity: Historical data locks and change history provided compliance-grade traceability across entities and over time.
• Familiar Data Integration: Continued Excel import/export ensured ease of transition, with optional connectivity to the Oracle ERP for automation when ready.
• Auto Strategy Maps: Maps were generated dynamically, enabling teams to brainstorm visually while keeping the data model consistent.

Results Achieved

Within the first reporting cycles after the rollout, the organization experienced tangible improvements in reporting speed, data clarity, and accountability. Instead of chasing files and reconciling multiple versions, decision-makers began working with a single source of truth, supported by transparent performance data and clear links between measures and actions.

• Reporting Time Reduction: KPI consolidation moved from multi-day spreadsheet reconciliation to a few clicks, creating a single source of truth for performance conversations.
• Clear Line Of Sight: Leaders can now see how department-level objectives and KPIs contribute to divisional, company, and holding outcomes, helping prioritize initiatives with measurable upstream impact.
• Cross-Company Synergy KPIs: Shared indicators (e.g., risk controls, quality metrics) are defined once and reused across companies, eliminating duplication and disputes over data ownership.
• Exception-To-Action Loop: Period comments are converted into trackable initiatives with assigned owners and due dates, tightening the feedback loop between measurement and action.
• Governance & Confidence: Audit trails and historical locks reduced disputes and rework; approvals are now faster because stakeholders can clearly track what changed and why.

Key Factors Behind The Success

Several design and implementation choices played a critical role in achieving these outcomes. The focus was on minimizing change resistance while building a scalable, data-driven structure that supported both operational decision-making and strategic alignment across entities.

1. Modular Start, Structured Scale: Independent scorecards enabled a quick pilot without disrupting ongoing processes, then scaled to other levels once templates stabilized.
2. Single Source of Truth: Functional scorecards (e.g., risk, quality) became shared data layers, eliminating reconciliation cycles and improving trust in performance data.
3. Exception Handling Built In: Turning period comments into initiatives embedded accountability (owners, timelines, attachments) and closed the loop between KPIs and actions.
4. Familiar Workflows Preserved: Excel compatibility and optional ERP integration lowered adoption barriers and supported phased automation.
5. Traceability By Design: Historical locks and change history made reviews faster and improved control in a multi-company structure.

How To Align Strategy In An Energy Trading Company?

To summarize, this section answers how an energy trading business can keep teams moving in the same direction while dealing with operational changes, market shifts, and coordination across business units.

• Start With Clear Ownership – Give each department its own scorecard so responsibilities and priorities are easy to understand and update.
• Share Key Measures Across Teams – Keep common KPIs (risk, quality, service levels) in one shared place and reference them instead of recreating separate versions.
• Review Progress Regularly – Use monthly KPI reviews and quarterly discussions to turn issues into concrete follow-up actions rather than repeating comment cycles.
• Use a Purpose-Built Strategy Platform – A tool like BSC Designer helps maintain consistency, automate roll-ups, and reduce reliance on spreadsheets without forcing workflow changes.

BSC Designer

BSC Designer is strategy execution software that enhances strategy formulation and execution through KPIs, strategy maps, and dashboards. Our proprietary strategy implementation system guides companies in practical application of strategic planning.