Customer Service & Billing in Utilities

Customer Service & Billing (CS&B) is the way that utilities companies optimise their cost-toserve customers by reducing the time between consumption and payment. At the same time, utilities use data and insight to provide the consumer with the best level of service and new products.

To make the transformation, utilities will address CS&B in two ways. They will increase the productivity of the customer relationship in the short-term through process efficiencies. At the same time, future changes can be met and new products and services developed by building a flexible approach to systems and processes.

Productivity:
Maximising productivity of existing business models and systems is a source of immediate revenue and profitability. Reducing the cost of service and improving the meter-to-cash process requires utilities to view systems and processes together.

Optimisation, automation and standardization are critical to reducing costs and maximizing existing investments, while laying the foundation for future advantage.

Flexibility:
Smart evolutions and other external factors are going to bring new capabilities in service delivery in the next few years. Utilities customers (consumers, companies and even cities) will all require more in terms of quality of service, transparency and help in managing resources and usage. Competition is opening up and pressures on traditional business models will come from all sides. And regulation is still evolving – creating more uncertainty, but also more opportunity.

A flexible infrastructure in terms of process, systems and services is essential for utilities to meet the changing requirements of the market, regulators and consumers in the future.