Article written by Gary Vasey, owner at Commodity Technology Advisory.
Amongst the many commodity-focused solutions marketed by Quoreka is its Insight Stockyard and Terminal Management solution, which uses 3D digital technology to optimize bulk commodity handling for tier 1 iron ore miners. It was originally acquired by Eka back in 2013 and now forms an important part of the Quoreka offerings. I recently chatted with Quoreka’s Ben Koch to learn more about the solution.
“The solution helps operational teams avoid contract penalties, capture quality premiums, and improve hedging accuracy by providing real-time visibility into material composition and blending capabilities,” he told me. Currently, the Quoreka product serves most large storage and handling companies in Australia for agriculture and processes significant portions of global iron ore, bauxite, and coal production as well. Core modules include 3D ACS (anti-collision system), 3D SMS (stockpile management system), 3D QMS (quality management system), and SAC (Site Automation Control). Ben emphasized the solution handles everything from making stockyards fully autonomous to advanced material tracking, inventory management, quality control, and blending.
Quoreka innovated stockyard management by analyzing and controlling operations in three dimensions rather than traditional 2D approaches, he explained. Ben described its approach to me as a "digital shadow" that understands everything happening at facilities in 3D where necessary for optimization. “The technology enables precise control of material stacking and blending, avoiding the need to "band everything to within a wider grade" or make overly conservative decisions. This real-time digital twin approach underpins all their key technologies and differentiates them from traditional weight-based or box-thinking systems.”
Ben sees the recent acquisition of Eka by Quor to form Quoreka as extremely helpful for further development and sales of its Insight Stockyard and Terminal Management solution. “The merger provides access to a global sales organization and shared customer base, positioning for expansion into new geographic markets over the next 2-3 years,” he said. “The Quoreka customer base overlaps significantly with commodity trading companies, as many build their own physical infrastructure to reduce costs and compete effectively.” He explained to me that commodity trading and storage handling solutions often serve the same customers, creating natural integration opportunities for the company.
Furthermore, the acquisition provides access to a "well-oiled global sales and customer success organization" for geographic expansion. However, Ben also emphasized the importance of local support for these solutions since they control machinery and connect to IT networks. “The merger creates synergies through shared customer base and 24/7 support capabilities that can't be delivered entirely remotely,” he said. “Quoreka’s FinTrade and Trinity systems are naturally suited for metals, providing additional opportunities beyond Quoreka's agriculture focus.”
It also allows for more development of the product in line with Quoreka’s overall strategy including future AI and ML enhancements. Ben outlined plans to integrate AI for stockyard reclamation optimization over the next 2-3 years while observing that Machine learning enhancements will improve quality predictions beyond traditional lab capabilities. “The roadmap includes expanding closer to ROM yards in mines and entering the copper market by end of year.” The ultimate goal, he said, is creating "full loop systems" that combine live incoming material data with predictive capabilities for integrated sales and hedging decisions.
It is easy to see the potential benefits of integrating such a solution with CTRM and other software. For example avoiding contract penalties for specification variations, capturing premiums for quality content and improving hedging consistency through better insight into inventories. Ben highlighted the ability to maximize profitability from existing material, especially important as mines dig deeper and face declining grade problems. “The solution provides traders more confidence in delivery capabilities, enabling pricing innovation and more sophisticated contract structures,” he said.
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