Identifying over £800k of savings through automation

The Goal

A business energy provider partnered with Ten10 to enhance their automation capabilities, transitioning from unsupported Python scripts to a sustainable and manageable automation framework that could streamline business processes and improve efficiency.

The Project

The client faced significant operational hurdles following the sudden termination of a partnership with a third-party provider. This left them with unsupported automation scripts critical to two key business processes. Additionally, they sought to increase their use of automation, focusing on supportability, scalability, and enhanced operational capability.

Processes to Automate

Standard Default Tariff (SDT) Process

To ensure all of the client’s customers utilise Smart Meters and avoid additional charges, this process involves:

• Report Generation: Weekly database reports highlight customer applications that failed due to missed appointments or reversals.
• Customer Verification: The Junifer CRM system is used to search and verify affected customers by account number.
• Case Handling: Identified cases are updated in the CRM system to assign customers to the correct default tariff, ensuring compliance with the client’s Smart Meter policy and avoiding extra charges.
• Workload Overview: The team processes approximately 22,500 cases annually, with each case taking about five minutes, managed by a dedicated team of six employees.

This process ensures efficient case management, aligning customers with appropriate tariffs while maintaining regulatory compliance.

Disconnection Process

This process transitions eligible customers from a direct debit model to a pay-as-you-go model to prevent further arrears:

• Eligibility Identification: Scheduled reports evaluate criteria such as account balance, debt status, and overdue payment severity to identify eligible customers.
• Initial Actions: If criteria are met, a ticket is raised for manual verification, and the customer is notified via automated communication.
• Follow-Up: Tickets older than seven days are reviewed, balances rechecked, and, if criteria are still met, the tariff switch is initiated, followed by automated customer confirmation.

Previously automated with a Python script, this process required an in-house solution to ensure adaptability and eliminate reliance on Python expertise. Without automation, processing 250 daily cases manually would take up to 15 minutes per case, posing a significant cost risk.

Negative Billed Consumption Process

Approximately 700 negative consumption readings are submitted monthly by client customers. These readings are validated by a team of eight outsourced employees:

• Validation: Confirmed valid readings prompt recalculations of estimates between the most recent meter reading and the actual reading, ensuring accurate billing.
• Follow-Up for Invalid Readings: Additional evidence is requested from customers for invalid readings, maintaining data integrity and billing accuracy.

Terminations Process

The client dedicates approximately 6,800 hours annually to managing customer termination requests. This involves updating CRM entries to generate final bills and ensuring all related tasks are completed efficiently. The process, currently managed by a team of four employees, presented an opportunity to reduce manual effort and streamline workflows through automation.

Half-Hourly (HH) Process

The client processes daily requests for Half-Hourly (HH) electricity usage data, which are vital for accurate billing and regulatory compliance:

• Customer Request: Requests are logged via telephone or email.
• Notification and Validation: Notifications are recorded in Salesforce, with basic validation checks performed to ensure data requests are valid.
• Data Extraction: Data is retrieved in 30-minute intervals based on the dates provided by the requester.

Challenges: The process is currently managed by an unsupported Python script, which lacks adaptability and effective exception handling, leading to inefficiencies. With 25 daily requests, manual processing would take approximately 30 minutes per request without automation.

The Solution

Ten10 conducted a tailored ten-day discovery phase to address the client’s specific requirements. The approach included three key steps:

1. Review

• Analysed the client’s short-, medium-, and long-term objectives.
• Evaluated current processes to identify key requirements and success metrics.
• Recommended an appropriate toolset and detailed “To Be” solutions for each process.
• Provided detailed effort estimations and ensured the organisation could support the solution in-house post-development.

2. Feasibility Study

• Assessed the effort required to automate three manual processes and migrate two Python-based processes to a scalable enterprise solution.
• Collaborated with stakeholders to identify pain points and optimise processes.
• Recommended solutions while ensuring transparency and stakeholder involvement throughout the process.

3. Business Case

• Delivered a comprehensive business case outlining the feasibility of each automation initiative.
• Presented proposed solutions and their potential return on investment, along with key financial and non-financial benefits.
• Recommended tools capable of supporting both UI and API automation at an accessible price point.
• Emphasised governance, documentation, and education to empower the organisation to independently manage future changes effectively.

The Results

• Identified three manual processes suitable for automation and demonstrated how the two Python-scripted processes could be hosted on a low-code/no-code platform.
• Recommended Microsoft Power Automate as the enterprise solution, citing its cost efficiency and seamless integration with the client’s Microsoft ecosystem.
• Highlighted potential annual savings of over £800K through automation, with each project requiring no more than 43 days to implement.
• Enabled the client to independently automate the Negative Billed Consumption and Disconnection processes using Junifer APIs, providing clear walkthroughs of the necessary steps.

By addressing these challenges and delivering scalable, maintainable solutions, the client is now equipped to streamline operations, enhance customer satisfaction, and achieve substantial cost savings.