Annual billing is a hugely significant time of year for the water industry with around 50% of customers receiving their bills at the same time. It represents an opportunity for water companies to generate income and cash-flow early in the reporting year. The shear volume of bills and subsequent contacts which are handled also account for a large proportion of water companies’ performance against regulatory targets; especially on key measures such as DG6 and DG7.
Of crucial importance in the annual bill process is the accuracy of the bills. Reports from EnergyWatch and surveys by the likes of MoneySupermarket.com have highlighted the extent of the issue in the gas and electricity sectors and the damage that inaccurate bills can do to household budgets and customer relationships.
It’s no different for the water industry. In a time of increasing affordability issues for customers and greater regulatory scrutiny for water companies, accurate bills are a top priority. Getting customer charges right ensures that complaints are minimised and vulnerable customers are not faced with unnecessary difficulties.
Given the specialist nature of the services which it provides, these challenges always provide an opportunity for Echo Managed Services to excel. This year Echo again issued accurate bills for its water company clients, handled expertly the subsequent contacts and commenced collection activities effectively and efficiently; all in all a straightforward story of reliability and dependability. Look under the surface though, and some remarkable achievements are uncovered.
Echo’s RapidXtra billing and customer care system delivered a successful cycle of 2008 bill processes for all its water customers, as it does year after year. However, this year also saw RapidXtra improve on its already impressive track record of reliable, quick and accurate billing runs. The system, used by seven of the UK’s water companies set new records in turnaround time for the billing process; even with four companies completing the process over the same weekend!
This year was on average around 15% quicker, saving as much as 1.5 hours for the larger customers and reducing the entire process down to around 30 minutes for the smaller companies. The team at Echo can be extremely proud of RapidXtra’s performance; made all the more remarkable given the critical and highly sensitive function for which system is responsible. Aside from the direct benefits of this performance, keeping downtime to an absolute minimum is also of crucial importance for operational and ‘field’ related work. The sooner these requirements can be handled the earlier that jobs and problems will get fixed.
Mike Butt, Systems Administration Manager for Wessex Water, commented that “RapidXtra ran our annual billing cycle successfully again, in record time and without any problems. We’ve come to rely on this level of performance and we’re delighted that such an important part of our infrastructure is so consistent and accurate, and yet also continues to deliver performance improvements.”
The annual billing success comes on the back of another successful year in which important customers, such as Wessex Water, Bristol Water and Hartlepool Water, have all increased their investment and commitment to the product and its ongoing development roadmap. RapidXtra’s highlights over the last twelve months have also included each of its water customers standardising on RapidXtra OA; the enhanced web based platform which delivers greater accessibility, increased flexibility and faster response times.
Andy Mack, Head of Software Development for Echo, remarked that “Historically, reliability and accuracy have been the acknowledged strengths of the product. In recent years though RapidXtra has become as much appreciated for its speed, innovative functionality and its integration compatibility; being just as effective within so many different environments and systems.”
It may be no more than paying water customers expect but, for Echo’s client’s, annual billing 2008 has been a success. One of the first major hurdles in the year has been cleared with customer reputation and relations in tact; Echo’s clients are now ready to face whatever other challenges the year ahead may present.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
For more information, please contact Robert Stait on 07816 323804 or at robertstait@echo-ms.com
Echo Managed Services
Echo provides customer process management services for UK and Ireland regulated organisations. A wholly owned subsidiary of South Staffordshire Plc, it has around 450 employees across service centres in Northern Ireland and the Midlands. Echo’s customer process management services encompass multi-channel contact management, revenue management, billing software and consultancy services.
Echo provides services for the following UK water companies: