Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/201852
Utility Week research BILLing Which, if any, of the following actions are needed for your existing billing system to cope with internal retail separation/competition? Select all that apply. 52% 44% 28% 20% 12% Upgrade the billing system Integrate billing Create ring-fenced Replace billing with other apps billing system system Few would argue that the top three business areas cited – billing, call centre operation and account management – do not deserve their high positions. However, it is surprising that business areas such as CRM (customer relationship management) and marketing do not attract greater mention. CRM The survey asked incumbent water companies whether their existing CRM processes were capable of handling the enhanced customer services likely to be required by retail competition. Respondents showed some confidence Don't know at this stage that their existing CRM systems would meet the new challenges. Only 15 per cent said their CRM solution definitely could not handle the enhanced customer service functions competition would demand. The same proportion were entirely confident, while the bulk – 59 per cent – said existing systems would be partially adequate. There was considerable uncertainty, though, about what actions would need to be taken to get CRM systems fighting fit. Most (42 per cent) admitted to not knowing. The combination of confidence and uncertainty our survey has uncovered around CRM issues seems to point to one of Metering and field operations Do you plan to alter your current method of route optimisation once the new retail competition arrangements are in place? Removing 'not my area of responsibility' means just 16% say yes The business has not confirmed its plans 37% Yes 15% This is not my area of responsibility 7% No 41% Staffing Which of the following issues related to retail/wholesale reorganisation do you expect to affect your staff the most? Please rank (1st to 6th) the following so the most affected areas are towards the top. 15% 4% 23% 15% 4% 19% 23% 8% 8% 11% 15% 23% 31% 31% 23% 19% 12% Ranked 2nd 46% Average ranking 3.2 2.7 4.7 8% 46% 42% 8% 23% 27% 15% 4% 19% 15% 12% Ranked 1st 4% 8% Ranked 3rd Change of roles/responsibilities Adapting to new process Training/retaining 10 | 1st - 7th November 2013 | UTILITY WEEK 12% 12% 11% 4% Ranked 4th Ranked 5th Ranked 6th New roles/responsibilities New ways of working New cost pressures Average ranking 3.3 3.0 4.2 two things. Either incumbents are lacking in competitive ambition and imagination about what customers will want, and plan to build competitive offerings around existing systems and customer databases. Or they have as yet failed to grasp the extent of the challenges looking after customers in a competitive situation will throw up. Billing We asked incumbent water companies about the ability of their billing systems to handle the changes and the additional requirements retail competition would necessitate. Companies displayed confidence that their existing billing systems could at least partially cope with competitive demands. Only 12 per cent said their system would have to be entirely replaced. Most said they felt a billing system upgrade or greater integration of the system with other applications such as CRM, work management and payments handling were the most appropriate actions. Metering and field operations Only 15 per cent said they planned to alter their current method of meter reading route optimisation post 2017. The importance of accurate, timely meter reads is likely to increase significantly once the market opens. Not only will customers become more knowledgeable, and hence more demanding, about consumption and costs, but financial settlement between wholesalers and retailers will depend on it. Our findings suggest that a significant proportion of the industry may not yet have acknowledged the looming complexity. As with meter reading route optimisation, few had concrete plans to alter their existing mode of field operation management in light of competition. Over half are still grappling with the issue and as yet haven't confirmed their plans. A much more complex set of relationships is set to characterise the handling of operational issues or operational requests from customers under competitive arrangements than is currently the case. Incumbents would be wise to consider how best to manage the new arrangements. Staffing There was no great consensus on which issues relating to retail and wholesale reorganisation of businesses would most affect staff – a spread of effects was expected. The industry is expecting retail competition to swell the demand for staff in a wide variety of areas, including: sales and marketing; leakage and efficiency services; key account management; meter services; billing and payment handling; customer service; and research and development. There is a clear bias towards employing these additional staff directly rather than contracting out the extra workload.