Sasol

Key challenges included:

• Highly sensitive financial data requiring stringent regulatory compliance
• Complex, dual-project workflows running simultaneously under Tier One priority
• Need for near real-time insights instead of weeks-long manual aggregation
• Requirement for a robust, scalable, and future-proof analytics platform

Our Approach

Sasol is one of South Africa’s largest integrated energy and chemicals companies, with operations, supply chains and safety requirements that span many business units. Rather than building isolated reports for each department, we treated the Sasol BI analytics platform as a shared foundation. Common data models, consistent definitions and governed access mean Finance, Sales and Operations all work from the same version of the truth.

Requirements were gathered with each business area, prioritised with stakeholders and delivered in phases. This kept the build focused on the decisions people actually need to make, and allowed early dashboards to go live while later phases were still in progress.

What the Sasol BI Analytics Platform Delivers

• Finance: consolidated reporting and analysis that reduces manual spreadsheet work.
• Marketing and Sales: dashboards that track performance across products, customers and regions.
• Supply Chain and Operations: visibility of key operational measures in one place.
• SHE: reporting that supports safety, health and environmental oversight across the business.

Built on SAP

The solution runs on SAP HANA, SAP BW on HANA and SAP BusinessObjects, aligning with Sasol’s existing enterprise landscape. In-memory processing on HANA keeps reports responsive, while BusinessObjects gives business users familiar, secure access to the insights they need.

An Ongoing Partnership

With the build phase complete, our team continues to support and extend the platform as new reporting needs emerge. For other large enterprises, the Sasol BI analytics platform shows the value of investing in one well-governed analytics foundation instead of many disconnected reports: lower maintenance effort, faster delivery of new requirements and greater trust in the numbers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which business areas does the Sasol BI analytics platform cover?
It covers Finance, Marketing and Sales, Supply Chain, Operations and SHE (Safety, Health & Environment), all on one shared data foundation.

Which technologies were used?
The platform is built on SAP HANA, SAP BW on HANA and SAP BusinessObjects, in line with the existing SAP landscape.

Is the project complete?
The build phase and implementation are complete. Digital Knowledge continues to provide ongoing support and enhancements as new reporting needs arise.

Can a similar approach work for my organisation?
Yes. Whether you run SAP, Microsoft, Oracle or a mix of platforms, the same principles apply: agree on common definitions, govern access properly and deliver in phases that give business users value early. We are technology-agnostic and design around the systems you already have, so you get a single, trusted view of performance without starting from scratch.

How do we get started?
Book a discovery call with our team. We will discuss your reporting challenges, review your current landscape and outline a practical, phased roadmap.