DM solutions in Utilities, key element in improving customer relations

90% of communication with customers is done through documents. The verdict is mostly verified in the interaction of utilities with the beneficiaries of their services. A complex interaction whose sophistication has increased with the liberalisation of the industry and the rise of competition. This amplifies the need for complex IT solutions that can efficiently manage large volumes of data.

Working with increasingly demanding customers, who have for several years had the option of changing service providers and choosing between different tariff systems, has made it necessary to significantly improve the quality of service provided by suppliers. This phenomenon has beneficial effects both among customers and within companies, which thus reach a higher level of efficiency.

However, how can you be efficient when you are dealing with a huge volume of paperwork imposed by working with a large number of clients and other complex parameters?

Need for DM

Basically, the problem lies somewhere between invoicing management, contract management, document management and financial-accounting management. The answer is obviously also a complex one, which is covered by the integration of several solutions, from ERP and Document Management to Contract management, Customer support and GIS systems. Simplifying the scheme, the Document Management solution is a key element in the equation, integrating and operating with information from all the other solutions mentioned, with specific security and back-up requirements.

“Due to unprecedented growth in energy and resource requirements, utility managers have had to make difficult decisions about strategy, operations and the technology they use. As a result of these decisions, often conflicting operational information has been obtained that has been of no use at all. Processes are extremely complex and often disconnected from each other, IT systems are disconnected and there is not always clear and accurate information to help make truly valuable business decisions. Customer information is incomplete or inaccessible, the invoicing process is separate from the collection process, in short, although the organisation works as a whole, at departmental level documents and information are disparate and processed separately. Thus there is a need for a DM solution that unites all this information, work processes and provides a single and global picture of the activity of the utility operators”, explains Cezar Rusu, Utilities Division Manager Ness Romania.

Specific requirements

According to Ness‘ representative, the main requirements in DM projects in this sector are divided into business needs requirements and information infrastructure requirements.
Thus, the business requirements are:

• Management of content generated by engineering activities, including CAD drawings, specifications and inspection documents;
• Integration of unstructured content with GIS information;
• Ensuring the safety of operations in production units and compliance with applicable regulations;
• Management of standard operating procedures and business-critical content, while ensuring their accuracy and secure storage;
• Control and accelerate contract processes, from initiation and approvals to execution.

Information infrastructure requirements relate to:

• Information security – the solution must provide identification, authorization and secure access to sensitive information;
• Data rescue, recovery, restore and archiving solutions;
• Quick search and retrieval of electronic records and establishment of audit rules;
• Business information continuity and availability solutions;
• Possibility of integration with other existing solutions and exchange of information with them.

Online extension

Beyond the specific aspects of DM solutions and their integration with other IT applications within the Utility’s integrated IT system, a special area is development in the online area. “The relationship with the customer is improved by the fact that the institution providing the utilities can easily create through the DM solution a portal through which all customers can find out at any time and from anywhere, all the information related to their accounts – invoices, billing data, information of general interest, reminders, etc. Thus, the customer finds out everything he needs by simply accessing a web browser, and the utility provider makes his work easier, freeing his employees from various tasks and redirecting them to others. Also, expenses are reduced by minimizing the human factor in different types of transactions – thanks to the fact that the DM solution automates more and more of the business processes”, says Catalin Iosif, Sales Director of XOR IT Systems.

Billing, a special problem

Let’s go back again to the original point – working with paper in the customer relationship in a utility company is mainly in the billing operation (online solutions still having a predominantly informational role), a complex process not only because of the large number of customers a utility company has, but also because of the large degree of territorial dispersion and the different ways of collecting payment for services rendered. The situation quickly becomes more complicated if we take into account different tariff systems, but also take into account overdue payments and new customers, service delivery incidents, price changes or changes in legislation.

“The billing solution is an important aspect of a DM implementation in an organization. Through the functionalities that such a solution must offer, the entire process of capturing, classifying, indexing invoices and related documents, as well as the approval and archiving operations is automated. Control over the lifecycle of invoices is increased and cash flow decisions can be clearly improved by providing reporting tools at the management level of the institution that give a comprehensive picture of the payment situation. Integration with an ERP or contract management solution (there are many successful implementations containing Contract Management solutions based on the DM platform) really streamlines the business processes in the organization, providing a complete solution that ensures contract lifecycle management and associated content, easy exchange of information between implemented IT systems, but also an environment for communication and collaboration between users of these systems”, explains Cezar Rusu.

Outsourcing, a solution for times of crisis

As can be deduced from the previous paragraph, billing is a complex operation that consumes a lot of the Utility’s resources. In addition, there are a number of specific problems such as:

• identification of appropriate human resources;
• finding a suitable space for such operations;
• identify the financial resources needed to cover hardware and software purchases;
• the profitability of the purchases made (the depreciation rate is quite long).

Under the pressure of these factors, billing can be approached as a process that is not part of the core business of the respective Utility, whose main object of activity remains the provision of services to customers. From this perspective, outsourcing billing operations can prove beneficial, bringing quick wins to the supplier. Thus, according to Cezar Rusu: “In the current economic crisis, outsourcing billing solutions can be a solution if companies want to reduce their operational costs of activities caused by complex internal procedures related to these solutions, as well as those derived from investments in new equipment, consumables or other services. The advantages of outsourcing are manifold, ranging from lower long-term costs, more efficient allocation of internal resources, focus on the core business of the company and faster response time. However, there is a reluctance on the part of companies regarding the security and confidentiality of the data they provide. This reluctance can be overcome by the outsourcing service provider’s live presentation of the framework in which document processing takes place, the security and privacy criteria and the professional experience of the outsourcing team. Another argument for outsourcing is back-up and disaster recovery solutions. Solution providers have the possibility to store information in data centres with distributed architectures and with much higher security than client solutions. All performance conditions must be specified in a Service Level Agreement (SLA) agreed with the outsourced billing service provider to ensure quality of service delivery and compliance with regulatory requirements.”

The advantages are manifold, ranging from focusing on the corebusiness of the utility company, to the possibility of a more accurate control of costs and quality of services provided by the outsourced company. By choosing such an option, a utility company can significantly streamline its operations, achieving a higher return in the relationship with the beneficiaries, which contributes significantly to creating a favourable image among important segments of the population.

Benefits of DM in Utilities

Basically a Document Management solution offers Utilities companies the following benefits:

• Increase the speed of information/document retrieval;
• Decrease the probability of errors and mistakes in data handling, eliminate processing errors, loss/damage of records;
• Ability to continue specific activities even in case of serious events;
• Centralisation of all information and documents in a single source of information;
• Strict control of access to data and information, based on the access rights of each individual user;
• Removing bottlenecks caused by the crowding of activities on certain users;
• Permanent monitoring of activities with the possibility of automatic notification in case of special conditions/events;
• Availability of documents and information anywhere and anytime, to any participant in the system, within the limits of his competence and authorization;
• Eliminate the possibility of destruction/loss of documents;
• Introducing the possibility of immediate control of any workflow/document by authorised persons;
• The ability to accurately track and trace the phases a document has gone through and the users who have interacted with it at each stage of the document lifecycle;
• Possibility to expand/modify the system relatively easily to incorporate new areas of activity or to modify existing procedures;
• Increase operator efficiency by eliminating map manipulation;
• Lower costs associated with printing, managing and storing maps;
• Drastic decrease in the effort required to supervise document processing activity and identify non-compliant situations;
• Lower interface costs with other institutions and the public by implementing electronic interaction services (scheduling, document submissions, work progress, timely response, etc.);
• Decrease public waiting time by increasing worker efficiency.

Developments for a satisfied customer

“The main requirements in the Utilities area are automation of internal workflows, online information centres or portal solutions, with or without user and password for structured information distribution, digital and physical content management, electronic archiving and fast information retrieval. Through all of these, efficiency and transparency are ensured and the customer is satisfied.”, Catalin Iosif, Sales Director XOR IT Systems.

Harmonisation of customer relations

“DM solutions obviously help to harmonize the relationship with customers, by continuously and visibly improving the quality of services offered, by maximizing their efficiency and, last but not least, by diversifying them. The new electronic services offered by DM solutions for the customers of a utility company are characterized by their accessibility and ease of use, by increased availability and speed of operations and above all by an openness of the company towards its customers. All of this leads to higher customer satisfaction and greater transparency towards customers.”, Cezar Rusu, Utilities Division Manager Ness Romania.

Document management solutions are a pressing priority for companies in the Utilities sector, which need to efficiently manage the interaction with a large volume of customers, to cope with their increasingly complex requests, but also with legislative requirements, complying with European standards in the field.

As mentioned in the previous article on Document Management that, as 90% of communication with customers is done through documents, companies working with a large number of customers have a big problem in efficiently managing their large document flows and volumes. A problem that becomes even more complex as the variety of services offered and the geographical spread of customers increases. And companies in the Utilities sector (and not only) fit this description perfectly, as explained byGabriel Munteanu, Enterprise Accounts Manager Star Storage: “In the case of Romanian companies operating in the utilities area, the needs are among the clearest and most acute. We are talking about specific processes, all oriented towards customers, millions of customers. The processes are well regulated by law and monitored by dedicated control bodies. The more customers there are, the more complex the management of processes and documents generated becomes. The trend towards alignment with European standards has become mandatory, so the need to quickly change and implement new flows and procedures at company level can no longer be ignored. Utility companies are now facing obvious problems in efficiently managing the documents that need to be circulated in various formats, in the shortest possible time between offices across the country and most importantly to and from millions of customers. Centralising and handling millions of complaints in a uniform way according to the rules in force, a short intervention time in the field, tracking and monitoring customer satisfaction, personalised communication to an impressive number of customers, these are just some of the challenges that a document management solution successfully manages.”.

Main challenges

The challenges currently facing Utilities companies are, from Gabriel Munteanu’s perspective, Star Storage:

• the impressive number of clients and therefore the huge volume of documents generated;
• the need to align with binding standards and norms;
• very high coverage of the distribution networks and maintenance of the operation at optimal parameters;
• personalised communication with the client;
• managing very old technical archives, which are mandatory for the continuation of the business;
• the need to outsource all non-core business services;
• Maintaining a high level of satisfaction of all customers and therefore achieving a higher percentage of customer retention.

Pro – DM arguments

The “classic” advantages of DM solutions, such as the lower costs associated with printing, managing and storing maps, become significant when you consider that we are talking about companies with thousands of customers.

“In order to better understand the benefits of such document management solutions, whether the institution is related to electricity, gas, water, sewage or various services to the population, we need to focus on how these institutions want to improve the services they provide. Certainly, the way in which the staff of an institution collaborates internally to solve tasks depends on the speed of reaction that the institution has in relation to its partners, the citizens; the quality of the decisions taken depends on the rapid access to useful, structured, coherent information; access to a history, traceability of documents, rapid retrieval of information and – why not? – the avoidance of “reinventing the wheel” depends on the way in which documents, information and projects are structured and centralised. Document management solutions make a major contribution to supporting these activities, the main advantages being found in time savings in working with documents, availability of information, increased staff performance, which are common concerns of the management of any institution.”explains Alin Nita, General Manager ^FivePlus® Solutions.

Two categories of beneficiaries

“In order to increase efficiency in business processes and gain strategic advantages, companies need to automate workflows, enforce and control work procedures, optimise time to complete activities and maximise productivity through fast access to information, all in conditions of maximum security,” says the Star Storage representative. According to him, the advantages offered by a document management solution can be divided into two main categories, depending on the direct beneficiaries of these advantages, namely:

• For company management, including middle management:
  • A powerful decision support is obtained that allows monitoring, administration, control and performance marking for all management processes;
  • Allows quick identification of nodes and critical points in the process so that new resources can be allocated when needed;
  • Increase the efficiency of business processes through automatic notification and task assignment tools;
  • Facilitates rapid design of workflows and immediate modification of a designed workflow according to process needs;
  • It offers the possibility to automate even the most complex processes;
  • Ensures documentation of know-how and controlled access to permanently updated information
• For executive staff:
  • Allows users to collaborate and obtain the information needed to accomplish common tasks;
  • Increase employee productivity by using automated tools to notify time details for completing a task, by automatically forwarding a task to another employee after it has been completed, by tracking responses received from departments collaborating to complete a collective task, by alerts on approaching deadlines;
  • Enables better documentation for employees to solve a task by accessing electronic archives and all editions of a consulted document within integrated workflow and electronic archive solutions.

“Workflow applications make business processes more efficient by automating the transfer of information flows along optimal routes, saving time and money for everyone who uses them. Using collaborative models for any stage of business processes and offering the possibility to view on demand the image of documents held in electronic archives and launched in a work process, workflow applications can significantly increase the efficiency of business processes throughout the company”, argues Gabriel Munteanu.

DM Platform

From our introducer’s perspective, any document management solution is extremely effective in the utilities sector. The greater the integration and the more automated workflows gain ground over manual workflows, the greater the productivity, the faster the decision making and the result in cost savings and profit increases. “Any document and workflow management platform must be scalable and allow integration with core business applications. Most of the time certain workflows exist in ERP applications, only they are limited and difficult to modify. Document management solutions come to complete and strengthen the integration with other departments, with other processes of major importance in the company”, explains the Star Storage representative.
Thus, a complex DM solution becomes a key element of a homogeneous IT infrastructure, and the document management solution can act as a software platform for the development of customized solutions.

The customer at the centre of attention

“A document management platform provides the basis for consolidating and managing dedicated solutions modeled on existing business processes. Thus on a single platform we can build ‘brick by brick’ solutions that meet specific requirements. Thus we can speak of a Contracts Management solution, which will increase the efficiency in the contractual relationship with each customer, any historical or current information is just a click away. Another solution that has a direct impact on customer satisfaction is Claims Management, which allows the centralization and consistent handling of complaints and monitoring of the resolution of complaints, thus generating multiple possibilities for increasing customer satisfaction. The solutions built in this way, interconnected when appropriate, converge to direct and tangible benefits for the company, all resulting in improved customer relationships”, Gabriel Munteanu, Enterprise Accounts Manager Star Storage.

How we measure success

“The current problems we face have become much more complex, we need to simplify all processes, including those involving human resources. Success is measured by operational efficiency, with lower service costs, improved customer service, improved business partners, while maintaining a high level of profitability. The use of DM solutions helps to make quick and accurate decisions, which is extremely important when talking about efficiency and image”, Alin Nita, General Manager of ^FivePlus® Solutions.