SUCCESS STORY ENTERPRISE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY Energy sector CUSTOMER IWB PARTNER Ajila AG CHALLENGES n The previous output management solution was not flexible enough and led to dependency on customization and specialized programming knowledge. n Generating new templates and documents took too long and was too expensive. n Printing invoices was only possible on paper, and so in the medium and long term, customer expectations could no longer be met. SOLUTION n OpenText StreamServe BENEFITS n Reduced administration costs and resources required n Reduced processing times n The flexibility of the text and template generation and the multichannel document output improves the effectiveness of customer communications and overall loyalty. Customer Communications Management: With OpenText, IWB develops document templates within a short time Invoices and reminders become an effective sales and marketing instrument The invoice run has always represented a challenge for energy providers. For Swiss energy provider IWB, this means generating no fewer than 1.5 million invoices a year. Until recently, shear volumes of invoices have presented performance issues on their own; and the challenge is only compounded by the complexities of email, social networks, and mobile devices. This is because, today, customers expect to access invoices from their energy provider across a number of channels and devices of preference. For this reason, IWB has relied on the OpenText Output Management Platform. Customer Communications Management from OpenText enables greater flexibility Transforming SAP ® print streams into ready-made documents for various output channels is no easy task in technical terms. For this reason, specialized SAP programming skills and customizations are required to prepare the layout for many output management solutions. For companies, this normally means high costs, or depending on a small number of highly-skilled staff, or both. At IWB, this was the case. There was only one specialist who was able to adjust any invoice issues, structure and appearance of the documents through customization. “When the support for our old system expired, we searched for a solution for printing invoices that was seamlessly integrated with our SAP system, especially the IS-U module, and that also enabled changes to the document layout to be made without needing specialized programming skills,” explains Marcel Holzer, manager of SAP systems at IWB. OpenText solution reduces the effort and cost of administration When evaluating OpenText StreamServe, IWB quickly discovered that the customer communications management solution was not only an appropriate replacement I WB is a major utilities company, providing customers with energy, water and telecommunications. It provides service for customers in and beyond the Basel region, and focuses on doing so in a committed, competent and reliable way. IWB is a leading service provider for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Transcript
SUCCESS STORY
E N T E R P R I S E I N F O R M A T I O N M A N A G E M E N T
INDUSTRY
Energy sector
CUSTOMER
IWB
PARTNER
Ajila AG
CHALLENGES
n The previous output management solution was not flexible enough and led to dependency on customization and specialized programming knowledge.
n Generating new templates and documents took too long and was too expensive.
n Printing invoices was only possible on paper, and so in the medium and long term, customer expectations could no longer be met.
SOLUTION
n OpenText StreamServe
BENEFITS
n Reduced administration costs and resources required
n Reduced processing timesn The flexibility of the text and template
generation and the multichannel document output improves the effectiveness of customer communications and overall loyalty.
Customer Communications Management: With OpenText, IWB develops document templates within a short time Invoices and reminders become an effective sales and marketing instrument
The invoice run has always represented a challenge for energy providers. For Swiss energy provider IWB, this means generating no fewer than 1.5 million invoices a year. Until recently, shear volumes of invoices have presented performance issues on their own; and the challenge is only compounded by the complexities of email, social networks, and mobile devices. This is because, today, customers expect to access invoices from their energy provider across a number of channels and devices of preference. For this reason, IWB has relied on the OpenText Output Management Platform.
Customer Communications Management from OpenText enables greater flexibilityTransforming SAP® print streams into ready-made documents for various output channels is no easy task in technical terms. For this reason, specialized SAP programming skills and customizations are required to prepare the layout for
many output management solutions. For companies, this normally means high costs, or depending on a small number of highly-skilled staff, or both. At IWB, this was the case. There was only one specialist who was able to adjust any invoice issues, structure and appearance of the documents through customization.
“When the support for our old system expired, we searched for a solution for printing invoices that was seamlessly integrated with our SAP system, especially the IS-U module, and that also enabled changes to the document layout to be made without needing specialized programming skills,” explains Marcel Holzer, manager of SAP systems at IWB.
OpenText solution reduces the effort and cost of administrationWhen evaluating OpenText StreamServe, IWB quickly discovered that the customer communications management solution was not only an appropriate replacement
IWB is a major utilities company, providing customers with energy, water and telecommunications. It provides service for customers in and beyond the Basel region,
and focuses on doing so in a committed, competent and reliable way. IWB is a leading service provider for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
for their legacy system, but also an exceptionally flexible platform. The OpenText approach of a layout design without programming skills and with auto-matic document output in all the desired channels in parallel promised profitable use for any type of document in customer communication. “Once we understood all the things that the OpenText solution can do, we immediately expanded the scope of the project. As early as the initial phase we switched over to the new output management not only for issuing invoices, but also for reminders”, explains Marcel Holzer. “It’s true that did require higher investment at the start, but now that we can develop and modify document templates in a short time with StreamServe, the future advantages and benefits are all the greater. Thus today we can manage to issue the invoices with a single template, instead of having to maintain twenty as in the past. Now we would also be able to automatically provide our documents with personalised marketing messages.”
Reduced processing times“A project for customer communications management must bring all those involved in customer communication to the table from the very start and requires well- organised project management”, explains Beat Steiner, the output management specialist at OpenText Swiss partner, Ajila AG. In addition to the features of the product and the numerous references of the inter-national manufacturer, the expertise of the local partner in project management was decisive in winning the tender.
Costs were cut, since only half of the hardware was required. However, IWB profited in particular from the shortened processing times of the documents.
OpenText turns “boring” invoices into instruments for customer advertising and loyaltyFrom early on in the project, invoices and reminders at IWB have been generated using the OpenText solution from the SAP print data stream. Since OpenText allows text modules and templates to be generated flexibly, IWB documents in the future can also become sales and marketing instruments. Thus for example, customer-specific offerings can be integrated into invoices in a targeted way, customers in a particular region can be informed of a new wind farm and other activities and company management has the opportunity to select special templates for particularly prestigious documents.
“The OpenText solution takes our customer communications to a completely new level. Thus “boring” administrative documents turn into active instruments for customer advertising and loyalty. It is worthwhile to drive the next phases of the project forward in the coming months and to take full advantage of the possibilities of our new customer communications management product”, says Marcel Holzer confidently. n
“With OpenText StreamServe, we received a modern output management solution which completely satisfies the demanding requirements of an energy provider.”
MARCEL HOLZER, MANAGER OF SAP AT IWB
Following the advice of Ajila AG, the Marketing, Sales and Customer Service departments were also involved in the project, as was the legal unit of the energy provider, the specialists for calculating tariffs.
The core competences of the Swiss OpenText partner, Ajila AG, lie in the development and implementation of formula-based processes without media disruption. Projects which emphasise formula-based processes, but also additional requirements such as “Document Rights Management”, that is, secure document processes and contents, are being implemented successfully by a highly specialised and experienced team of engineers.
