Mobile Workforce Management & Wireless Technology Streamline Italian Gas Utility Italcogim
The context in which Utility companies operate today is one of heavy competition - both to increase service standards and control costs. Italcogim approached Capgemini to improve customer orientation, flexibility, internal communications and efficiency.
- Industry
- Energy, Utilities and Chemicals
- Country
- Italy
- Solution
- CRM
- Infrastructure Management
- Mobility Transformation
Capgemini teamed up with partner TXT and implemented for Italcogim a mobile workforce management solution. Italcogim’s Customer Contact Center is integrated with planning software to reduce complexity in receiving orders. Wireless WAP technology beams daily schedules to field technicians. Supplies are already in the trucks, and no time is wasted at the warehouse. Material reorder is automatic, co-ordinated with order fulfilment and stock alignment.
Italcogim realised phenomenal benefits beyond expectations streamlining operating costs and greater organisational efficiency when providing services to clients in the field.
Client Profile
Italcogim is an industrial multi-service Group active in natural gas distribution and in the provision of energy, water, and environmental and waste management services. Italcogim is rated first as an entirely privately owned operator in Italy in the traditional gas-distribution service segment.
With over 40 years experience, Italcogim enjoys strong positions in the Eastern European and Southern Italian market. In a recent year, the Italcogim Group achieved sales of over 550 million euros with a work force of 3,700.
Business Issues
The competitive environment for energy changed in the late 1990’s. This led to drastic price reductions and changes in customer demand patterns, when faced with offers from the competition.
Italcogim’s business of making and controlling a pipe net presents special challenges in the utilities market associated with
- deregulation
- an evolution towards providing multi-services
- an increase in customer needs and expectations
- more restrictive rules imposed by authorities
- new enabling technologies
- an extension of the number and quality of business relationships
Italcogim’s needs were to control costs, improve quality standards and service levels while developing connectivity and communication.
Solution
Capgemini’s solution was focused on Italcogim’s Gas sector using dynamic mobile technology tools. The project timeline was structured into five phases:
- process analysis and outline
- organisational redrawing
- software selection (TXT)
- legacy and new package parameterisation & implementation
- pilot roll out
How does it function? Italcogim’s Customer Contact Centre is integrated with planning software to reduce complexity in receiving orders. Wireless technology communicates to Italcogim’s field technicians managing daily schedules according to a technician’s skills and movements/ Stock reorder is automatically co-ordinated with order fulfilment and stock alignment.
TXT, partner with Capgemini, offers B2B software products for industrial, service and media companies. The mobile work force management (WFM) forecasting software is customised to meet automation requirements in receiving, planning and scheduling.
Work Management, Repair and Operations (MRO) is becoming increasingly important to Utilities companies these days. both for Generators (plant maintenance) and for Pipe & Wire companies - including Distribution companies such as Italcogim. Capgemini’s dedicated Asset Management Service Line supports Energy, Utilities and Chemicals clients. Expertise Centres both in Europe (Netherlands, France the UK) and in North America assist clients to manage and leverage their physical asset base by reducing maintenance costs and inventories, improving capital allocation and decision making.
‘Before’ and ‘After’ Scenario:
To best appreciate the value of the Supply Chain & Customer Management
solution a comparison of two different working methods confirms obvious advantages
in favour of the new organisational model.
‘Before’ - a client requested an intervention by calling or visiting a local office. A confirmed appointment could not be immediately given. The office needed to firstly locate and verify the technician’s availability. then return the call to the client to arrange an appointment. The technician would receive every morning a list of scheduled visits Assignments were hand written or given over the phone. The technician then stopped at the warehouse to collect required materials for his visit to the client. At the end of the workday another trip was made back to the warehouse to return unused materials to stock. The back office summarised the technician’s activities and updated material inventories.
‘After’ - The client calls the Contact Centre or logs on the website to request an appointment. The scheduling system sets an appointment, checks required skills materials, priorities and routes. Intervention orders are now dynamically dispatched to the technicians on their mobile devices. Supplies are already in the trucks, and no time is wasted; technicians go directly to their first appointment. Intervention feedback is entered directly into a WAP mobile device - details on execution, materials used, etc. In ‘real time’ the mobile work force software automatically updates warehouse inventories and material orders. Reports are available to analyse data, trends etc. Technicians need to only refill their vans once a week with materials, eliminating the daily trips to the warehouse.
The TXT tool was developed by TXT together with Capgemini All the interfaces in the project were configured to work with SAP®.
Benefits
Italcogim is now a ‘flat and lean’ organisation having realised phenomenal results beyond expectations.
- streamlining operations, from 97 offices to 18 operating centres
- operative field resources were reduced by 24%
- contact centre resources were reduced by 55%
- service execution lead time was reduced by 30%
- inventory was reduced by 65%
- estate reduction was reduced by 35%.
The TXT Demand Planning module allows for better estimates of customer requests; Production Planning provides better estimation of needed resources and a web-based diary permits setting up appointments on an Available to Promise (ATP) basis. The Scheduling module permits assigning of work orders to technicians within the most efficient sequence. Dispatching permits leveraging of mobile devices to communicate with Field resources. Reporting facilities allow better control, efficiency and effectiveness
Written in co-operation with Italcogim
