Trade Data

With hundreds of possible distinct information elements, the complexity of energy transactions requires a robust data structure for efficient management.

The main goals are data reliability, data completeness, information integrity, and the facilitation of highly performant data processing.

ChorusLink is built on an entirely re-engineered approach to trade data management – Trade Templates and Market Templates. These templates define defaults and drive data standardisation, allowing significantly increased data control as well as processing efficiency.

By controlling the various data points on energy transactions in a stringent manner via Market Templates, ChorusLink promotes data standardisation and significantly simplifies data workflows (like trade matching). Smart Contracts assigned to Market Templates provide valuable tools for the automation of processes.

The main benefits of Market Templates are the following:

• Simplified and Faster Data Migration
• Performance Improvements
• Improved Trade Control
• Reduced Risk of Incorrect Data Capture
• Joint Platform Benefits

Controls, monitoring and, if required, restrictions and limitations can be implemented on the level of Market Templates, both for system users and interfaces.

Market Templates exercise rigorous control over the trade capture process with required / forbidden fields and by defaulting data, all but eliminating the risk of incorrect data capture.

The standardisation brought by Market Templates also supports the functioning of a core feature of the ChorusLink common trade repository – the electronic matching of trades.

Data migration becomes a lot simpler and faster, as trades only need to be mapped to the correct Market Templates. These then default many data points that do not need to be migrated and validated anymore.

As they also set the configuration of trades, any system implementation is relieved of up to 95% of related efforts and can focus entirely on special cases, custom master data and custom workflows.

Market Templates ensure the data structure optimally supports performance-dependent processes – such as position valuation and reporting – by grouping trades of the same type.

In the ChorusLink shared data model, Market Templates (and with that full trade configurations) are available to all platform subscribers.

Configuring new instruments on ChorusLink (e.g. due to market development or on subscriber request) is included in ChorusLink support services. New Market Templates are defined once on the platform and validated with automated testing routines, minimising related efforts for subscribers.

As more and more Market Templates get released on ChorusLink, all related configuration – tested and validated – becomes available to all subscribers – relieving them from the costs and efforts related to the setup and definition of new instruments: as long as anybody has already traded an instrument on ChorusLink, all corresponding settings are there for all subscribers.

The vision of ChorusLink is to become the data backbone of the energy industry for trade data. The benefits of a common data repository include comprehensive centralised master data management, relieving the back office (or system admin) of an unnecessary burden.

Energy market participants need to maintain various types of master data required for trading operations in their IT systems. Ensuring that this data is always kept up to date in every system generates costs and is frequently a manual (and error-prone) process. APIs to build interfaces are only available for a limited number of sources, which until now made automation of master data maintenance all but impossible. ChorusLink now makes this possible.

• ChorusLink subscribers no longer have to spend resources to keep this data current.
• ChorusLink subscribers receive verified data from one source.
• ChorusLink subscribers can connect any downstream systems via ChorusLink APIs.
• Where both trade parties are ChorusLink subscribers, the same master data is used. This simplifies communication and facilitates the matching of trades and invoices.
• Master data management is included in the monthly ChorusLink license as core ChorusLink functionality.

ChorusLink connects to various sources of publicly available information and maintains master data as part of the trade repository. This data is then made available – for no additional cost – to ChorusLink subscribers via the ChorusLink Master Data API.

Master data managed centrally in ChorusLink includes:

• Company base information
• ACER master data
• Shipper codes
• Holiday calendars
• Exchange / product calendars
• Exchange instrument information
• Payment term definitions
• Published index price definitions

ChorusLink already manages master data for several exchanges as well as for a variety of other sources. As further subscribers join ChorusLink the array of covered master data will be expanded in line with subscribers’ requirements.