Meter Point Quotation System

Meter Point Quotation

Streamlining customer acquisition and retention at point-of-sale

The Meter Point Quotation prototype that we have developed, introduces automation to the ‘sharp end’ of energy retail, enabling the Sales person or agent to capture customer information and provide on-line quotations whilst on-site. The solution is designed to make the job of the Sales person easier, quicker and more cost-effective. The customer benefits too, because of the speed and efficiency in which their account is managed. But the business benefits can be substantial. New customer details are validated at source so that they are ‘right first time’, ensuring a smooth path through registration. This improves cash flow, settlement performance and customer satisfaction and reduces exceptions, data duplication and re-keying, minimizing the need for debt management.

Features:

Captures validated supply point information based on postcode
Provides tariff / pricing selection based on technical information
Calculates quote based on consumption from previous bill
Transmits accepted quotes to central system for registration
Minimum data entry through pull-down lists and selections
Automatic tariff updates for real time pricing
Walk list download for profitable customer targeting
Electronic signature capture and portable contract printing for on-the-spot decision
Contract upload – real time wireless transmission and automatic initiation of registration process

Click here to see a demonstration of the prototype.

Issues Addressed

Failed registrations due to poor quality of data received from Sales Agents
High costs due to inaccurate contract pricing on poor quality data
Address errors
MPAN core and topline errors
Use of inappropriate/out of date prices
Re-keying of data entry errors
Lost paperwork
Process delays
- Providing staff with up-to-date pricing
- Getting quotation sheets back to HQ
- Re-keying data
- Resolving errors in captured data
  - Data Entry
  - Registration
  - Billing
  - Debt Management

Benefits delivered

Reduced cost to serve
Improved customer service
Increased throughput of sales
Reduced re-working/fixing of quotes
More time for more selling
Fewer lost sales due to failures or delays
More accurate and timely commission payment
More satisfied customers
More satisfied sales staff
Quicker, easier switching
More accurate billing
Better customer service

Functional Summary

Supply Point / address look-up on database via entry of postcode. Database may be held locally on PDA or accessed remotely via PDA communications
Supply point technical information capture through validated pull-down lists (electricity – MPAN top line data : profile class, meter timeswitch configuration, line loss factor)
User selects required tariff from valid tariff selections based on technical details
Calculates quote from entered consumption – estimated annual consumption (based on profile), estimated annual charges (consumption, CCL, VAT, total), estimated monthly charge
Capture customer contact details for accepted quotes
Validates bank details via remote communication with Eiger software
Optional printing of quotes on PDA printer
Optional electronic capture of customer signature on PDA
Transmits accepted quotes to central system on completion, ready for immediate registration
Previous quotes can be reviewed on PDA

Technical Summary

The handheld device used is a Pocket PC running the Windows Pocket PC 2003 operating system.

The application is written in Visual Basic .NET for Pocket PC and requires Microsoft .NET Compact Framework to be installed on the device.

Status / Product History

A prototype available for demonstration now and a production version to be developed based on client requirements.