Celonis Brings Light into the Dark: Process Excellence Instead of Meter-to-Crash

Let's face it - nobody likes to pay bills. The same can also apply to the issuing of invoices. Companies in the energy industry are especially feeling this. Legal developments such as the new regulations on electronic market communication 2020 are not only changing the meter-to-cash process for network operators and energy suppliers, but are also introducing a third market participant in the form of the metering point operators for smart meters - and thus additional complexity and potential for conflict. Clarification cases in the communication between the players can increase risk of an inefficient process by delaying the billing and thus the cash flow. For example, 18 percent of meter readings on average must be checked for plausibility, which explains part of the additional work involved. In the worst case, bumpy processes annoy customers who want to receive invoices under orderly and reliable conditions.

Demanding that affected companies ensure a smooth billing process even under the new conditions is easier said than done. But how to implement it? The short answer: With data-based decisions that are implemented quickly and efficiently.

For example, companies in the energy industry can use Celonis Intelligent Business Cloud not only to identify weak points in the process chain through process mining, but also to make direct adjustments in the back-end processes through a unique connection to SAP IS-U, which can automated by Celonis. As a result, the billing process could run smoothly and without interruption.

More than just market compliant communication

But why should network operators, energy suppliers or metering operators even bother with it? Quite simple: compliant market communication depends on all parties involved in the system playing efficiently and on continuous monitoring of the process flow. Only in this case meter-to-cash does not become meter-to-crash. In addition, a well set up and monitored process has tangible advantages over and above its mere functioning.

Firstly, you can save a lot of process costs by reducing the number of clarification cases, for example due to implausible meter readings, such as zero consumption or fat-finger errors. With our Intelligent Business Cloud, you can automatically correct implausible meter readings with low values through machine learning. And for more complex cases, the analysis data can be used to make recommendations on how to optimize the process.

Second, you optimize your working capital by making sure customers pay their bills as quickly as possible. If a customer takes too much time to pay, Celonis allows you to send payment requests directly and automatically. And if it is because your invoice was sent too late or does not arrive due to outdated master data, this can also be quickly detected and automatically corrected by an intervention in your SAP or Salesforce system.

Thirdly, you increase customer satisfaction by ensuring that invoices arrive on time and free of errors so that they can be paid directly. After all, automating the invoicing process can shorten the processing time and increase the quality of the results, which will also please your customers. Saving time and money with the Intelligent Business Cloud - that's exactly what EWE is doing With 2000 implemented solutions, it's proved that our process mining solutions also work with enormous amounts of data. Among others, EWE, Germany's fifth largest energy supply company, has recently started using the Celonis Intelligent Business Cloud and is a good sparring partner for us due to its previous experience with process mining. This helps us to make our solution even better. This relevant experience with the industry also allows us to deal competently with the industry-specific SAP module IS-U, to make it transparent for our customers and to make direct adjustments to it.

In short: Celonis provides comprehensive support for process changeover within the scope of MaKo 2020, resulting in more than just compliance with the specifications. Depending on the customer base, enormous cost savings can be expected. With Celonis, an energy supply company with 150,000 customers currently saves 350,000 euros annually. And one with 400,000 customers even saves 940,000 euros. Meter readings in - bills out - money in. It can actually be as simple as that.

Learn more in our upcoming webinar on Meter-to-Cash according to MaKo 2020. Register now.

Celonis

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Celonis helps you drive process improvement. Across your entire business. At speed. Companies all over the world use Celonis to optimize their processes, boost their business performance, and lighten the load on mother earth.