references
SER solutions for public utilities and energy suppliers
The amendment of the Energiewirtschaftsgesetz (energy industry law) confronts Germany's energy suppliers with major challenges such as separating network operation and power generation (unbundling). The purpose of these measures is to create more competition in the electricity and gas markets. The consequences are not only structural alterations with energy suppliers, but also more duties of reporting and documentation for companies. In order to guarantee non-discriminatory access by all competitors to the relevant network infrastructures, the Bundesnetzagentur (federal network agency) has been given far-reaching authority to examine documentation relevant to competition such as calculations etc. They must be recorded in a very precise manner by the supply companies and made available to the agency on demand. Without a high level of IT support, the supply companies will not be able to comply with the new requirements, let alone bring about a drastic cost reduction in order to increase profitability.
Automated reading and checking of network operator invoices
Due to the liberalisation of the electricity market, energy suppliers now have to process an enormous number of network operator invoices. They are characterised by a complex structure which means a lot of work is involved in entering and checking the invoices. This is why it is worthwhile for many energy providers to introduce comprehensive optimisation of invoice processing and a fully digital process from invoice receipt and automatic scanning and checking to automatic posting. DOXiS4 InvoiceMaster is an SER solution for processing incoming invoices which is fully integrated with the SAP component SAP FI and the industrial sector solution SAP for Utilities (SAP IS/U).
IT measures that comply with the requirements for unbundling business information
The unbundling process, i.e. separation of power generation, transport and energy distribution into legally independent units, also involves separating data from the areas that were previously integrated. This means that the units have to collect, manage and archive their own data separately. With the DOXiS Archive system it is possible to manage clients which are independent of each other for every unit and to protect access down to document level. Interfaces from the DOXiS4 Archive to SAP IS-U, Navision, Wilkens Energie 2000 etc. also make the unbundling operation easier. Comprehensive links to specialist applications make daily administration easier.
Compliance with documentation requirements for the federal network agency
The federal network agency has to ensure effective competition in the electricity and gas market. To make sure they can fulfil this requirement, the legislature has imposed extensive reporting and documentation requirements on the energy industry. The federal network agency can demand that energy suppliers hand over data and documents, for example showing the basis for calculating remuneration for network transmission. At the same time, however, operational secrets and business secrets must continue to be protected. For this, effective energy data management is required. The DOXiS4 archive allows selective access to the stored document, e.g. with differentiated user profiles and sophisticated access rights.
Electronic building record management
Digital records can be dealt with in the same way as paper records and they provide much more functionality, faster access and security. In particular they make access to records much easier where the company's geographical distribution would otherwise make it difficult. The electronic records management system in the DOXiS4 iECM Suite is able to manage commercial and technical documents, graphics and multi-media objects and display them via an integrated display module (viewer). Integration with accounting systems and CRM systems makes daily administration easier here too.
Extensive archive functions for supply companies
The digital archiving offered by the DOXiS4 iECM Suite is in a class of its own and fits into every IT infrastructure. DOXiS4 Archive is suitable as a central content repository for all the company's data and documents, irrespective of the application they have been created in. The close integration of DOXiS4 Archive into SAP IS-U allows for example the display of archived documents from the SAP user interface.
GDPdU solutions, especially for system shut-downs
Very few companies use a homogenous application landscape from one IT provider. Consequently, it is important that a GDPdU-compliant archive covers all IT systems (e.g. SAP R/3 with the IS-U module) in which tax-relevant data originates. With the GDPdU complete solution from SER and Audicon, companies comply with the tax authorities' requirements for GDPdU-complaint long-term archiving and electronic analysis of tax-relevant data using three required access modes Z1, Z2 and Z3. The solution makes companies independent of the productive system which makes release upgrades, migrations and shutting down old systems easier.
DOXiS4 InvoiceMaster for general invoice processing
In addition to network operator invoices, supply companies receive a large number of supplier invoices and cost accounts which have to be checked, entered in a financial accounting system such as SAP R/3 Fi and posted. In this area energy providers can achieve a substantial increase in their profits from rationalisation if they automate the activities which still tend to be carried out manually. Processing of incoming invoices is much quicker with DOXiS4 InvoiceMaster. The benefits are liquidity gains due to timely input tax deduction and consistent use of discounts.
Automatic inbound mail processing with CRM connection
Efficient customer service is becoming more and more important for energy suppliers. Optimum customer centre support is provided by automated inbound mail processing with SERdistiller. Incoming correspondence is scanned, classified automatically by the intelligent software according to content and then forwarded to the relevant administrators, e.g. to departments handling discount processing, direct debits, meter reading entry and address changes. With automatic assignment at the time of receipt, staff are in a position to reply to customer queries more quickly, irrespective of whether they reach the customer centre by letter, fax or email. An electronic comparison of the sender with the customer data in the CRM gives the administrator all the relevant data on the screen.
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