Transforming a Midwest utilities company with Oracle solutions

A Midwest utilities company found themselves operating two autonomous and highly customised information systems after acquiring a competing electricity and natural gas distributor. With increasing disruptive forces challenging the utilities industry, this Midwest Utilities Company wanted to modernise their operations by uniting their IT infrastructure in order to deliver a new standard of excellence for their customers. They chose PwC to help guide them through this business transformation and realise their objectives of having a single platform powered by Oracle Utilities solutions.

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Case studies

What business challenges has the utilities industry faced?

Throughout the industry, utilities companies struggle with manual process inefficiencies, reporting limitations and fulfilling compliance regulations. On top of that, customers’ expectations are increasingly demanding technological advances.

Our Midwest utilities company client wanted to address all of these challenges and reduce their overall risk and operating costs while enhancing their customers’ experience when interacting with them. Leveraging Oracle technologies, PwC was able to provide our client with a solution to their problems - a single integrated Customer Information System (CIS) solution including Oracle Customer Care and Billing, meter data management, analytics, CRM and customer self service capabilities which would support the business’ long term organisational vision.

Why choose PwC + Oracle Utilities Solutions?

Simply put, technology solutions provide companies operational support which help them run and maintain their businesses. But PwC wants our clients to know that they can exploit technology to work for them rather than just work through technology to receive its maximum benefits.

Leveraging Oracle Utilities solutions, PwC was committed to showing our Midwest Utilities Company client that we could work together to provide not only a configurable and scalable solution to support their business but foster innovation.

PwC + Oracle utilities solutions = transformation + innovation + greater value for customers

The innovation seen at our Midwest utilities company client was the people, process, business and technology transformation they were able to reach while working with PwC. This transformation was made possible by strategically investing in Oracle technologies and through PwC’s guidance, maximised its value.

“Working with PwC over the last three years...has been a truly collaborative effort, and a testament to PwC’s commitment to our success. Going into our three weeks of operations under the new solution we have achieved, and/or exceeded, many of the stabilisation goals we had projected to achieve in months four, five, and six after Go Live…”

Project Director at Midwest utilities company

How PwC delivered Predictable Value for positive business outcome

PwC’s Predictable Value approach is our unique difference creator for clients. We help clients such as the Midwest Utilities Company visualise what end business outcomes are attainable highlighting value, speed, focus and agility and guide them through their transformational journey to make the impossible, possible.

PwC stayed committed to steering enabling Oracle technologies to deliver business value for our Midwest utilities company client to realise operational benefits including:

Value: achieved significant IT cost reductions from strategically moving towards a single CIS solution which increased reporting capabilities, decreased nightly batch windows and provided O&M cost savings through process standardisation and optimisation

Speed: after being in business for more than 130 years, the Midwest Utilities Company was able to exceed stabilisation goals that were projected to achieve six months after go live in a mere three weeks after the new solution was put into place

Focus: improved billing accuracy, reduced number of client calls and increased customer self service capabilities provided the opportunity for employees to focus on making other business decisions with greater analytical support

Agility: streamlining processes benefited customer service contact centers through increased self service capabilities aiding the client to service more than their current 850,000+ customers and communities