Meeting the future in a changing Utilities world: How modern solutions can help to manage the current industry challenges / De encontro com a

Transcription

1 Meeting the future in a changing Utilities world: How modern solutions can help to manage the current industry challenges / De encontro com a inovação no Mercado de Utilities: Como soluções modernas podem auxiliar na gestão dos desafios da indústria Alberto Oppenheimer

2 Meeting the future in a changing Utilities world: How modern solutions can help to manage the current industry challenges Alberto Oppenheimer, SAP Company, Latin America & Caribbean In a competitive and changing market, utility companies should analyze current trends and market forces in order to align their business and IT strategy. This paper introduces the main utilities trends and challenges for the electric, gas and water market. It also takes into account various experiences in utility companies and market research. Current trends in the utilities industry Firstly we should consider that utilities are seeking operational excellence. Companies need to be efficient and profitable regarding the reliability of assets the customer relationship management, and the risk management for pricing in the wholesale market. In Latin America utilities need to define polices and tools to manage frauds and debt reduction. On the other hand, It is also important to take into account that IT organization must reduce their total cost of ownership (TCO). For these reason utilities are beginning to outsource and use Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) for their applications. Secondly some regions are slowly starting operations in a non regulated energy market. In Latin America only a few countries such as Columbia, Chile & El Salvador, (where the regulatory organs have defined specific market rules splitting the business for generation, transmission, distribution and retail), have started operating in a non regulated market. These companies need sophisticated tools in order to: manage energy data on line & execute complex billing processes manage demand forecasting data exchange between the different operators of the market. Thirdly, regarding the technological point of view utilities are investing in: Renewable Energy, Interval Metering, Automated Meter Reading IT tools such as Customer Portals, User Portals, System Collaboration, Business Intelligence, Enterprise Service Architecture, Workflows, Mobiles, Knowledge Management, etc. Finally according to some market research the IT investments in the next 5 years will be focused in: outage management systems, geographic information systems (GIS), work management systems, energy trading & risk management, customer relationship management, commercial systems, enterprise asset management and outsourcing and call center. For the water market the priorities are electronic bill layout and payment, remote access technology, CRM, and upgrade process control systems. Besides the previous solutions electric companies are prioritizing also in asset management and enterprise application integration. Challenges in the utilities industry According to the competitive market, utilities are changing dynamically in order to be more profitable. Taking into account the business needs, utilities are affronting this challenges: Optimize asset utilization, managing and monitoring cost intensive assets, applying upto date preventive strategies allowing an integrated view on all asset related processes.

3 Focus on the customer, offering better services increasing customer satisfaction but also considering the reduction of the response time for customers Cope with deregulation impacts, considering new processes caused by the business unbundling according to the local regulatory requirements Gain 360 o view of their business, making strategic decisions rapidly based on trusty information considering key performance indicators (KPI) to optimize all the business processes Offer new products and improve cash flow, offering multiple products in one invoice taking into account flexibility for tariffs and also reducing fraud & debts. Operate in a global environment, consolidating operations across geographic boundaries, but also reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) and maintenance in the IT environment.

4 Biography Speaker: Alberto Oppenheimer Position: Strategic Industry Director Utilities Company: SAP Country: Latin America & Caribbean Alberto Oppenheimer is Strategic Director of SAP for the Utilities industry in Latin America & Caribbean. After graduating from University in Uruguay with a degree in Systems Engineering in 1989, Oppenheimer worked in the Utilities sector for 12 years coordinating and leading Commercial and Distribution projects in utilities in Spain, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic. He joined SAP in May 2003 to lead the utilities industry in SAP, representing the Industry Business Unit (IBU) of SAP AG in Latin America supporting the complete customer cycles process in the Region.

5 Company Background Information Company: Country: SAP Brazil SAP is the world's leading provider of business software solutions. SAP offers a comprehensive portfolio of solutions, applications, technology, and services for utilities in all market segments: electricity, gas and water, and supporting integrated business processes from utility asset to customer management. And that's why 850 utility companies from 56 countries run SAP.