SK Gas Builds 'i-Excel' Platform to Innovate Work Methods

Case Study of SK Gas Using 'i-Excel' for Foreign Exchange Management. Data provided by SK Gas

SK Gas is innovating its work methods by building a specialized Excel platform for digital transformation.

Named 'i-Excel' (Intelligence Excel), this platform was independently developed by SK Gas based on Microsoft Excel, which is the most frequently used tool among its employees. SK Gas developed this platform to improve the inefficiencies of Excel, which is closely and critically used in the workplace, enabling employees to focus on high value-added tasks and generate greater results.

SK Gas selected 10 tasks in areas where Excel is heavily utilized, such as foreign exchange management and volume management, and analyzed common problems and task-specific solutions. They identified that errors occurred in the existing workflow where Excel files were shared via email between departments after data entry, and that large file sizes caused delays depending on the task. Based on the idea that these issues could be resolved if Excel data were automatically linked through the cloud, they developed the solution.

'i-Excel' offers excellent performance at a lower development cost compared to other solutions. Since it leverages the Excel already in use, there are no additional costs such as license fees for development programs, making it up to 80% cheaper than typical development methods. Furthermore, built as a cloud-based open platform capable of data linkage, it provides ▲user convenience with various automation elements ▲faster simulation calculations for better performance ▲high scalability to integrate with other databases.

SK Gas expects that 'i-Excel' will dramatically improve work productivity by enabling processing from data collection to processing, sharing, and management. It is estimated that the time spent on the same tasks will be reduced by about 2,000 hours annually based on SK Gas’s standards. Additionally, it overcomes the difficulty of identifying errors or mistakes in formulas during Excel work. The platform includes a check logic feature that triggers an alarm when data errors occur, reducing manual errors and significantly improving data accuracy.

Because the platform itself is cloud-based, there is no need for email sending and collection processes when collaborating with other departments, enhancing the convenience of information sharing. It also makes it easier to review and compare past records, improving data management efficiency. Since it uses the familiar Excel program already known to employees, it can be used immediately without separate training, promising visible results in a short period.

Going forward, SK Gas plans to expand the scope of the 'i-Excel' platform, currently built for individual tasks, to cover overall business processes by sector. The strategy is to establish 'i-Excel' as a tool that secures SK Gas’s differentiated competitiveness in work productivity and to transform SK Gas’s work culture through it. There is also potential to share the idea and basic framework with small businesses that struggle with digital transformation due to limited investment capacity in system construction.

Park Seong-hyeok, Head of IT Strategy Support Office at SK Gas, said, "We are pleased that efforts to listen to the voices from the field and solve problems since early this year have resulted in differentiated achievements. Based on SK Gas’s excellent IT capabilities, we will continue to accelerate digital transformation."

Meanwhile, SK Gas continues to strengthen its IT capabilities and bring about new waves of change. Last year, SK Gas developed the world’s first AI-based ‘Chemical Process Yield Prediction System,’ elevating the chemical industry into the realm of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. To this end, it operates a CDS (Citizen Data Scientist) training program to cultivate practitioners with data analysis and processing skills, earning recognition as a smart energy company.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.