Hottlet Sugar Trading, a division of the Südzucker Group, is an international business specialist in sugar. Annualy more than 500.000 tons of sugar is traded. Historically, Hottlet Sugar Trading has been specialized in the export of European sugar. A few years ago, Hottlet Sugar Trading expanded its activities to Brazil and a solid network has been constructed with various sugar producers and refineries in other majorsugar exporting countries, allowing Hottlet Sugar Trading to manage an extensive portfolio of different sugar, sugar qualities and various forms of packaging to fulfill client specific requirements.
“Our main objective is to achieve excellence in logistics and documentation.”, says Wim Depla, head of sugar trade at Hottlet Sugar Trading. In the high volatile world market of sugar it is essential to assess constantly the impact of logistic influences. European sugars are primarily exported from the port of Antwerp, where the largest bulk sugar terminal is situated. Shipping also takes regular place from major ports such as Rouen, Hamburg and Gdansk. Wim continues: “In Brazil, our main shipping port is Santos. This requires a constant process and monitoring of travel times, packaging and transport costs to bring true value to our customers.”
Hotlett Sugar Trading is a growing organization serving its clients with a highly motivated team. Hottlet Sugar Trading has its main office in the city of Antwerp. The Brazilian office is situated in São Paulo.
"Hottlet got excited about the possibilities Agiblocks offers as it has the unique combination of sugar trade specifics and new technology. During our search and selection no other CTRM solution had such potential."
Finding CTRM software for Sugar Trade
“Finding a suitably commodity trade and risk management solution for sugar is not that easy as it might look on the surface”, says Wim Depla. “There are only a few software solution providers specialized in sugar trade. Sugar has its specifics which all need to be incorporated in one single approach. Missing a crucial functionality would make a solution unusable, as we need to monitor our position at any given moment. In logistics we require constant information about our shipments and the impact it has on our operations. The people at Agiboo immediately understood our requirements and needs, because of their specialization in sugar trade solutions.”
“Hottlet got excited about the possibilities Agiblocks offers as it has the unique combination of sugar trade specifics and new technology. During our search and selection no other CTRM solution had such potential. It is true that there are other systems out there, but they are usually constrained because of older technology or not supporting the flexibility that we require”, continues Wim Depla. “The product was not complete and in its early development stage when we decided to go ahead with Agiblocks, we nevertheless immediately saw the potential of this new generation of commodity trade and risk management solution.”
“One of the main reasons for choosing Agiblocks was the user friendliness and ability to make complex matters simple. The position screens in Agiblocks are providing capabilities to have a complete overview of our situation. The beautify is that it comprises of all the sugar necessary functions, such as position by sugar specification or even white premium position rolling. With a few clicks, the entire logistics chain is initiated and managed. The flexible configuration of Agiblocks and numerous possibilities for integration to other systems such as SAP Financials was also very important to us. Being live and fully functional, it emphasizes that we made the right choice in our selection.”
Agiblocks according to Hottlet Sugar Trading
“During the implementation process of Agiblocks, it became obvious that we had a new generation of CTRM solutions in our hands. The possibilities to create value for Hottlet Sugar Trading, but also for our our clients, appeared to be numerous. Implementing a new system supporting the core of your operations always has its challenges. Agiblocks allowed us to deal with these challenges in a relative easy way. Agiblocks is providing Hottlet with complete control over the trade, logistics, inventoriy, risk and finance processes. All integrated in one solution, which is easily accessible.”
“All needed functions are there, such as Mark to market, P&L, Foreign exchange management and premiums. Who could think of the possibility to manage position on a tablet? Now these types of features have become real for us! In addition to all the functionality we require there was an additional challenge: this was the integration of Agiblocks to the SAP Financial Systems of our mother company Südzucker. Here again Agiblocks proved to be the right choice. Out of experience, I know that those kind of integrations can be very complex. Agiblocks’ technology could handle this very effective and with success.”
“The true value of Agiblocks for a company like Hottlet Sugar Trade can be found in the flexibility, easy usage and it allows us to execute all of our sugar trade activities in one combined process. This means for us a reduction of work and risk and therefore we can create a better service for our clients. That makes Agiblocks a truly next generation of commodity trade and risk management system. We became fully operational in 2014 and Agiblocks continues to support us in our growth.”
Find out for yourself
Agiblocks is the first CTRM software solution that simplifies the daily practices of commodity trade professionals. It has been developed with the single goal of making your fixed routine of commodity trading and risk management more efficient. Its clean user interface is simple with fast access to key functions. For every task, from creating a contract to evaluating your risk, all required information is readily available. It is as powerful on smartphones and tablet computers as it is on the desktop, so it’s accessible anytime, anywhere. Experience our CTRM software solution for free and get a front-row seat to all the benefits Agiblocks has to offer with our free demo. The full range of Agiblocks functionality is available within the demo environment for your browsing leisure. Familiarize yourself with the tools and features of our powerful and agile software solution and find out how you can make the daily practices of commodity trade and risk management more efficient.
