Power and Utilities Organization Consolidate Multiple CRMs to Target New Markets

Overview

VNB Consulting assisted a Power and Utilities organization to consolidate multiple CRMs into a single Dynamics 365 CE to target new markets.

Customer Profile

Customer delivers electricity to more than five million consumers in eleven states. It ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. It owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a 39,000-mile (63,000 km) network that includes 765 kV  ultra-high voltage transmission lines, more than all other U.S. transmission systems combined.

Customer Situation

The customer has a vast network of electricity distribution in the US. As part of its business infrastructure revamp, the customer is targeting to launch gas services along with their existing electric services in residential and commercial markets. Customer wants to integrate their new gas service information within their existing electric CRM using Dynamics 365 CE. VNB Consulting's Apps & Integration team reviewed the task and architected a low code operations platform based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE. This meaningfully extended their existing investments in Microsoft Dynamics 365 to integrate gas-related entities and workflows and include automation in Dynamics CE.

Our Solution Offering

Following a thorough analysis of the client's needs, VNB Consulting suggested using existing Dynamics 365 CE integrated with Power Platform tools (such as Power Automate and Power Apps) which will help to automate the overall process. Our team integrated the Gas Canvas app into a model-driven app that requests a small amount of data from the sales representative before triggering Power Automate, which then sends back a prediction of usage for the next 12 months to Dynamics CE, so that the sales representative can use it as needed. Excel was initially used to complete this procedure. We implemented lot of automation to save sales representative's time, including managing volatile days, making SharePoint files, auto-filling data fields, and computing fields. Address validation was a big problem for the customer. When a sales representative enters an incorrect address, there were lot of issues. Therefore, we suggested using Power Automate custom connector using Smarty Street API, which fetches a record's address, cleans, validates, and sends the revised address to the fields. By doing this, we have decreased process-related human mistakes in the sales representative data collection process. We also proposed an idea to use PCF components that auto-completes the address when the user types in the address field. This was possible using the Bing API key which saves sales representatives time and reduces typing errors. The design was meticulously thought out so that the integration and operation of the electric and gas would be smooth. A sales representative can easily enter records for accounts, addresses, contacts, and other information into the same forms, and depending on the commodity selected. Depending on the selection, all the forms and fields will transition to the appropriate supplier type when the sales representative enters record specifics in the user interface. This was possible using JavaScript and C# codes in the backend for validations, switching forms, automation, etc. The overall solution is a complete transformation in the way their contact center advocates and sales representatives interact with customer data.

Customer Benefits

  • Improved Customer Service: Sales representatives can now easily access all the necessary information related to a customer's gas and electricity services in one place, which helps them to provide better customer service.
  • Increased Efficiency and Customer Satisfaction: Sales representatives no longer have to switch between different systems or manually enter data, which saves time and reduces the chance of errors. This increased efficiency leads to better customer service and higher customer satisfaction.
  • Reduced Costs: No need to invest in separate systems for gas and electric services, and the automation of various processes has reduced the need for manual labour.
  • Better Analytics: Sales representatives can now easily track user usage patterns and make informed decisions about their services. This can lead to improved pricing strategies and better targeted marketing campaigns.
  • Scalability: The solution provided by VNB Consulting is scalable, which means that it can accommodate the organization's growth and future needs. The organization can easily add new services or expand into new markets without having to worry about the limitations of their CRM system.
  • Improved Compliance: The integration of gas CRM with electric CRM improved the organization's compliance with regulatory requirements. They can now easily track and report on gas and electric usage, which helps them to comply with various regulations related to the energy industry.

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