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Energy and Utilities

Navigating energy market changes with effective business process management

Global energy companies undergo constant changes due to shifting markets, changing customer behaviour, and technological advances. Both conventional and renewable energy businesses must adapt continuously to changing supply chains, regulations, and procurement, storage, and transmission technologies.

In fast-changing times, energy companies are choosing energy outsourcing services to streamline operations, achieve organisational goals, and drive efficiency, agility, and innovation. Studies have shown that BPM can optimise production times and cut administrative costs by 50-60%.

This article discusses how to use effective BPM for energy market adaptation.


Reasons for energy companies to implement BPM

Business Process Management (BPM) within the energy industry analyses, manages, and optimises processes to achieve results with better, faster, and fewer resources. Effective BPM for energy market adaptation helps in the following ways:


Maintain compliances and regulatory standards

The energy industry must comply with several regulations based on the region and undergo audits to keep up with the certifications. The Energy Policy Act addresses the efficiency of conventional and renewable energy sources in the US. The Department of Energy (DoE) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) implement conservation standards for residential and commercial equipment and regulate interstate transmission.

ISO 50001 certification facilitates the implementation of energy-efficient technologies by helping businesses improve efficiency. Adapting to energy market changes with BPM allows companies to implement and follow the best practices, adhere to energy policies, and comply with standards.


Maximise production and reduce operating costs

The benefits of technological advances range from increased output to meeting energy demands, reducing operating costs, and leveraging newer opportunities. It also includes transformation in internal processes, including finance and accounts, analytics, reporting, and sales and marketing.

BPM leverages technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and data analytics to transform the internal and external processes in the energy sector.


Reduce processing time

Adapt to Energy Market Shifts with Smart Business Process Management

Adapt to Energy Market Shifts with Smart Business Process Management

There are hundreds of subprocesses within legal, operational, financial, and production processes in the energy industry. Energy outsourcing services streamline these processes and use technology automation to reduce the burden on staff, saving time and transaction costs.

For example, by leveraging automated workflows within the procurement system, you can accelerate approval of issuing purchase orders, receiving supplier consignments, and approving payments. Amidst constantly fluctuating prices on both procurement and sales sides, you can automate to reduce processing times in supply chain management, customer experience, production, distribution, payments, HR, and more.

Energy businesses can use an effective BPM for market adaptation, improving grid management, renewable energy management research, asset maintenance, and designing newer business models.


Integrate existing systems with newer technologies

For large businesses running on existing systems, it may not be easy to switch to an entirely new energy outsourcing services and a new technology. This requires a gradual transition wherein existing systems can seamlessly integrate with newer ones to provide enhanced services.

For example, you can enhance the results of a logistics system by introducing ML, AI, and analytics. This gives you a 360-degree view of suppliers, the global position of vehicles, fuel consumed, the best transportation routes, and much more.


Automate failure detection and response

Internet of Things (IoT) devices and connected systems detect malfunctioning or failed electrical devices and systems and raise alarms before they can cause significant loss. For example, a malfunctioning panel in a solar farm may be complicated to detect manually. But with automation, the panel automatically generates an alert if there is physical damage or a reduction in power production.

Energy outsourcing services help corporations design early response processes to mitigate the damage. With analytics layered over early detection systems, you can analyse the frequency of faults and take long-term corrective steps.


Achieve higher customer satisfaction

Conventionally, customers seeking a new connection or trying to raise a complaint had to travel to the energy provider’s site physically. This involved inconvenient and time-consuming processes and bureaucracy.
With customer-facing self-service portals, they can raise a request from home and follow up over an omnichannel system. This reduces the time to provide a service or resolve complaints and elevates the customer experience.


Standardise and reduce the volume of documentation

Non-standardisation and a large volume of documentation can spread misinformation, cause delays in customer service, and be costly to maintain. With energy outsourcing services, you get standardised documentation in a central repository and role-based access, and you can end expensive delays due to bottlenecks and multiple approvers.

The ML and AI technologies can automatically fetch information from the central repository to provide 24/7 customer service.


Continuously review and improve processes

Synthesising high-quality information from a pool of data is slow and complex. However, it helps analyse capital and operational costs at every step. It defines the roles and responsibilities of each team member and provides greater control over daily activities. With continuous process review and improvement, managers can drive greater ownership and a cultural shift within the team.


How can Infosys BPM help businesses adapt to energy market changes with BPM?

Infosys Topaz drives BPM transformation with customer-centric solutions that leverage cutting-edge technologies such as AI, ML, RPA, gen AI, and analytics.

Read more about energy outsourcing services at Infosys BPM.


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