Situation presented by the client
Samarco Mineração, a joint venture between Vale and BHP Brasil, started operations in 1977 and is known for being a pioneer in Brazil in extracting low-grade iron ore and transporting the slurry through pipelines. With two operating complexes located in Mariana (MG, Brazil) and Anchieta (ES, Brazil), Samarco is responsible for the production of iron ore pellets, an essential raw material for the steel industry.
In order to remain competitive in the market, Samarco hired Stefanini Consultoria to evaluate its operations and improve the performance of its units. One of the suggested proposals was the digitization of the entire process in SAP. This approach aims to automate manual and repetitive tasks, providing significant gains in productivity and efficiency for the teams involved.
Thus, the solution was developed by the IT team and by Samarco’s business area, leaving the implementation and development in charge of the agile team of Fourtrust Consulting. With the right idea and team, Samarco decided to embark on a digital transformation journey.
Samarco’s project scope
Samarco Mineração developed an automation solution to improve its monthly service measurement process. This solution covers everything from the generation of monthly measurement bulletins (BMM) to the issuing of invoices, allowing for greater control of the entire process flow and reducing the number of repetitive manual tasks.
More details about Samarco’s digital transformation
The process is fully developed on the SAP platform, with an interface available on SAP BTP (Business Technology Platform), where the supplier can register the BMM that will be accepted by both Samarco’s inspector and the contractor’s representative. The BMM is then inspected by the Contract Administration team to validate the compliance of the process, including the documentation, before being approved by the appropriate Samarco approval bodies. This entire process is monitored in the tool, in a cockpit structure, for monitoring, controlling and managing monthly measurements.
Once the necessary approvals have been made, the system automatically generates all the documents needed to complete the process (RC, Order, Measurement, Pre-edited MIRO), as well as sending an e-mail to the supplier requesting the issue of the Invoice, which can be sent or inserted into the BTP platform by the supplier itself.
All documentation related to the process is stored in SAP-DMS (Document Management System), also automatically, without the need of collecting information in e-mails for storage, as previously done.
Results we achieved with our service
The implementation of the tool was completed and began to be applied at Samarco Mineração in January, 2023. In March and April, around 530 Samarco contracts were already measured using the new tool. All these improvements have not only optimized working time, but also increased productivity for the team.
Based on data from 2021, it is estimated that, in one year of full use, this new tool will reduce the number of hours spent in the areas involved by more than 28,000, generating savings of more than BRL$2 million a year for the organization.
This initiative by Samarco Mineração demonstrates its commitment to constantly improving its processes and adopting innovative technologies to increase its operational efficiency. The digital transformation and automation of the monthly service measurement process are important steps to boost the company’s competitiveness and ensure its sustainability in the market.
